Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane has dismissed Al Gore's climate change documentary, saying he would not be taking advice from an unsuccessful presidential candidate. The former US vice-president, who narrowly lost the 2000 election to George W Bush in controversial circumstances, is in Australia to promote his documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. The film documents the dangers of global warming and Australia is singled out twice as lagging behind the rest of the world on climate change.
Mr Gore has urged Prime Minister John Howard to join the fight against the growing environmental problem. But Mr Howard has said he will not be meeting Mr Gore during his Australian visit, while Mr Macfarlane has dismissed the film as "just entertainment".
Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek was thrown out of parliament for interjecting as Mr Macfarlane said he would not ask someone who could not win an election for advice on climate change.
"There are three places I do not go for advice on climate change," Mr Macfarlane said. "One of them is to unsuccessful candidates for the US presidency who cannot even convince their own people that they are right. The second place is the movie ... the third place is the Labor Party, who promote a policy that will cost jobs in Australia."
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http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Gores-climate-change-movie-dismissed/2006/09/11/1157826870596.html