Should Governments Audit the Science Behind Their Policies? 1 Academic Thinks So

A photo taken on Sept. 22, 2014, shows fish swimming through the coral on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The 2,300-kilometre-long reef contributes A$5.4 billion (US$4.8 billion) annually to the Australian economy. William West/AFP via Getty Images

Scientist Peter Ridd has called for the Queensland state government to establish an official audit of scientific evidence used to underpin government policy like climate change initiatives.

Ridd had applied to the Queensland LNP government to give the state’s Productivity Commission the task of auditing research—outside of established science—and particularly the type used to justify Great Barrier Reef (GBR) regulation.

Such a move would likely have a bearing on newer areas like transgender healthcare and COVID-19.

The current GBR rules have an impact on farmers, forestry operators and fisheries, which Ridd says is based on science that is “very, very flawed” and “completely unchecked.”

Scientist Peter Ridd. Supplied

“We’re trying to get the underlying science behind a lot of regulations that affect agriculture checked,” Ridd told The Epoch Times on the sidelines of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Brisbane.

The academic raised the example of the Burnett and Mary River Basins being included in the GBR catchment region, which is subject to additional rules around land use, earthworks, and farming practices.

“The Burnett and Mary Rivers don’t even run into the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park,” Ridd said.

“They’re 70 kilometres from the nearest coral reef, and in addition to that, the ocean currents flow away from the Great Barrier Reef, so it takes any pollution coming out of those rivers away from the Reef.”

Ridd says the response from the Crisafulli LNP government has been disappointing, but notes support from One Nation and Nationals leader Matt Canavan.

“If there’s a change of government in Queensland with the rise of One Nation, I don’t think there’s any doubt we’re going to get this to happen,” Ridd said.

Meanwhile, he also criticised the peer review process, which is the backbone of academic research, saying in less established fields of science, some of the research was only 50 percent accurate.

“The work of one scientist is given to a couple of other scientists who might spend ... an afternoon, or something like that, to look at the work and decide whether it’s right,” Ridd said.

“So it’s a very cursory quality assurance.”

Ridd noted the “replication crisis” in science where researchers are not able to reproduce the same results from published research.

Meanwhile, the Queensland LNP government said it had reviewed GBR regulation.

Queensland Environment Minister Andrew Powell told The Epoch Times the government had allocated significant funds to studying the natural wonder.

“The Crisafulli government has committed a record $330.5 million over five years to the Queensland Reef and Catchment Water Quality Program to support landholders, communities, and industry to deliver on-ground action to protect the Reef after a decade of neglect under the former Labor government,” he said.

Statutory reviews in 2024 and 2025 found the existing regulations did enough to support broader efforts to protect the GBR.