Media
Nobel Prize-winner adds his voice to ‘Checking the Science’
15 April 2026
Professor Barry Marshall, Nobel Prize-winning Australian physician, has added his voice to the call to “Check the Science”.
In a video conversation with Australian Environment Foundation Chairman Dr Peter Ridd, Professor Marshall speaks about the role of science-checking in gaining significant advances and benefits for the general community.
Dr Ridd said: “His work is a powerful reminder that widely accepted scientific beliefs must always be open to challenge and rigorous testing.”
Together with pathologist Dr Robin Warren, Professor Marshall overturned decades of medical orthodoxy by proving that stomach ulcers are caused by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, not stress or lifestyle factors as long believed. Their discovery fundamentally changed global medical practice, replacing symptom management with targeted antibiotic treatment.
At the time, their findings were dismissed by many in the scientific community. In a now-famous act of scientific conviction, Professor Marshall ingested the bacteria himself to demonstrate the link, developing — and later curing — gastritis.
In 2005, the pair were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work, which continues to save millions of lives worldwide.
In the interview, Professor Marshall talks about evidence being an essential element of science checking.
He also responds to questions around why the Queensland Government does not currently undertake independent checking of science which is used to make policy decisions.
Dr Ridd said: “This interview highlights the importance of ensuring that science underpinning public policy is subject to ongoing scrutiny.
“Professor Marshall’s work shows that consensus alone is not proof. Even deeply entrenched scientific views can be incomplete or incorrect if they are not continually tested against evidence.
“For policymakers, this underscores the importance of independent review and robust validation of the science used to justify regulation - particularly where it has far-reaching economic and community impacts.
“The Marshall and Warren discovery remains one of Australia’s most significant contributions to global science — and a lasting example of evidence-based inquiry reshaping accepted knowledge.”
Professor Marshall is Emeritus Professor at the University of Western Australia (UWA) and Senior Honorary Research Fellow at the UWA School of Biomedical Sciences
The full interview can be viewed on YouTube at: NOBEL PRIZE WINNER PROFESSOR BARRY MARSHALL ON CHECKING THE SCIENCE
INQUIRY DOESN’T GO FAR ENOUGH, SAYS COST-OF-LIVING CAMPAIGN
15 April 2026
A campaign by the Bundaberg Ag-Food & Fibre Alliance (BAFFA) and Australian Environment Foundation (AEF) has welcomed the news that State Treasurer David Janetski has asked the Queensland Productivity Commission to conduct an inquiry into the impacts of Federal environmental legislation on the State.
But it says the Government has not gone far enough, and the inquiry should be looking into the scientific integrity – as well as the impacts – of both Federal and State environmental legislation that is pushing primary producers into non-existence, based on unchecked science.
Mr Janetzki announced the QPC inquiry on Monday, saying it would examine economic impacts, risk to jobs, cost-shifting to states, impacts on major projects, and the consequences of the changes for agricultural production, land value and land management. He said it also would look at the impacts of resource projects being excluded from the National Interest Fast-Track Assessment Pathway.
The news was welcomed by AgForce CEO Niki Ford, who said the inquiry was a timely opportunity to ensure Queensland’s agricultural systems were properly understood and reflected in national environmental policy.
But BAFFA Executive Director Dale Holliss said while he welcomed the announcement of the QPC inquiry, it was missing an opportunity to make a real difference.
“This can open the door to a dual-pronged approach by the Commission – tackling both the impacts of, and the unchecked science behind Federal and State environmental legislation simultaneously,” said Mr Holliss.
BAFFA and the AEF launched a campaign this week called “Hit There, Hurts Here”, to bring to the attention of the general public the impacts of layers of unwarranted regulations on Queensland producers. It has a focus on the cost-of-living crisis affecting people in cities and communities, and the housing crisis. Within a day of launching a petition, it had almost 1000 signatures.
“It would make complete sense,” he said. “Why just examine one arm of the layers of unwarranted regulation that are driving primary producers – farmers, fishers and forestry operations – to the wall? It makes sense that both Federal and State environmental legislation is put under scrutiny at the same time.
“However, right now the issues around unchecked science behind layers of Queensland Government regulation continue to be ignored.”
He pointed to the State Government’s 25-year blueprint for Queensland’s primary industries, which is aiming to boost output to $30 billion by 2030.
“That’s only a couple of years away, but the way things are going right now for primary producers there won’t be many of them left,” said Mr Holliss.
Third-generation Bundaberg farmer Dean Cayley said the layers of unwarranted, costly and time-consuming rules were getting to the point that food security was under threat, with many producers contemplating walking off the land in the next few years.
Bundaberg region provides 25 per cent of the food and drink put on tables across Australia.
Mr Cayley grows peanuts and sugarcane and says the regulatory pressure - on top of escalating insurance premiums, rising local government rates, and the impacts of natural disasters – is the nail in the coffin for many producers.
"People have lost whole tomato and watermelon crops this year - you don't get that back in 12 months," he said. "It's now or never for many people - something's got to change and the quicker the better."
AEF Chair Dr Peter Ridd said of the inquiry announcement: "It's not specifically targeting science but it will be forced to look at it," he said. "We've been asking for action around checking the science behind many Queensland layers of regulations on producers, and this is an opportunity to tackle both Federal and State layers of red and green tape at the same time.
“I urge the Crisafulli Government not to miss this opportunity, before it’s too late.”
Mr Holliss emphasised that the “Hits There, Hurts Here” campaign was for the benefit of all Queenslanders battling the cost-of-living and housing crisis.
“We are importing up to 70 per cent of seafood consumed , 80 per cent of hardwoods used for construction, and our food security is at real risk. It’s time for the Crisafulli Government to act – expand the inquiry to include the State-level environmental regulations, and ask the Queensland Productivity Commission to check the science behind all of it. I think they will find that there are a lot of questionable regulations in place which are having a devastating impact.””
He added: "It is about ensuring the science is periodically checked against real-world outcomes.
"Independent review strengthens both environmental confidence and economic sustainability. We need to know that the burden being placed on our producers is actually delivering the protection it promises."
The BAFFA / AEF petition can be signed at: https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/Work-of-the-Assembly/Petitions/petition-details/4488-26
Hit there, hurts here: Call to action on cost-of-living crisis
13 April 2026
A call-to-action is being delivered to Queensland households weighed down by the cost-of-living and housing crisis.
People across the state’s cities and regions, from all walks of life, are being asked to sign up to a “Hit There, Hurts Here” campaign being delivered by primary producers and the Australian Environment Foundation (AEF).
The campaign is calling on the LNP Crisafulli Government to “check the science” behind layers of unwarranted regulation that are hitting the primary industries sector – and flowing through to hurt households struggling under the cost-of-living and housing crisis.
Premier David Crisafulli is being asked to refer the matter to the Queensland Productivity Commission (QPC), so it can launch an inquiry into unchecked science underpinning layers of red and green tape directly hurting the State’s vital Primary Industries including farming, fishing and forestry.
The QPC was given a mandate by the new LNP Government in 2024 to provide independent policy advice “to help lift productivity, drive economic growth and enhance living standards for Queenslanders”.
The campaign is being delivered jointly by the Bundaberg Ag-Food & Fibre Alliance (BAFFA), an advocacy organisation for primary producers, and the non-profit Australian Environment Foundation (AEF).
People are being urged to contact the Premier and their local MPs to make their voice heard, and to sign a Parliamentary Petition calling for the inquiry referral to the QPC. The petition can be signed at: https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/Work-of-the-Assembly/Petitions/petition-details/4488-26
BAFFA Director Dean Cayley said: “It’s getting to the point, due to the layers of unwarranted regulation that are costly and time-consuming, that many farmers will be walking off the land in the next couple of years. It’s a real threat to food security.”
Mr Cayley is a third-generation farmer who grows peanuts and sugarcane on his Bundaberg property.
“The Premier must listen,” Mr Cayley said. “We support his Primary Industries Prosper 2050 blueprint released last year, but he needs to take urgent action to stop the downward spiral within primary industries. It’s an easy fix – he just has to refer the matter to the Queensland Productivity Commission.
AEF Director Dr Alan Moran said: “The Queensland Productivity Commission is independent of policy departments and already evaluates regulatory and economic impacts. It would provide a neutral way to assess whether science, outcomes and regulatory burden are aligned.”
Dr Moran is an economist and policy adviser on energy and environmental issues. He has been a senior official in Australia’s Productivity Commission and Director of the Commonwealth’s Office of Regulation Review.
He said: “When government hits farmers, fisheries and forestry operations with layers of unwarranted and unnecessary red and green tape, the flow-on costs hurt every household in Queensland – families, pensioners and struggling young adults.
“They feel it in their hip pocket, in soaring grocery bills and a lack of fresh local produce including Queensland seafood. People trying to build homes also face a shortage of Australian hardwoods necessary for construction.
“That’s why the public needs to understand the full extent of the implications for every household when our farming, fishing and forestry industries are being relentlessly hit by layers of unwarranted regulation, much of which is based on unchecked science.”
BAFFA Executive Chair Dale Holliss said: “In its 25-year blueprint for Queensland’s Primary Industries, ‘Prosper 2050’, the Crisafulli Government strongly recognises farmers as the backbone of the state’s economy. But that is under serious threat.
“Enabling our producers to more easily and cost-effectively create food for every table and deliver hardwoods for construction without layers of unnecessary, and very costly, regulation that is based on unchecked science will help to halt the decline of so many primary industry sectors and support the Government’s goal of growing the sector’s output to $30 billion by 2030.
“But the State Government needs to act now.”
Mr Holliss said: “The proposed QPC review should examine whether scientific modelling, assumptions and regulatory settings remain supported by observed outcomes, and whether regulatory burden is appropriately balanced with environmental objectives and regional economic sustainability.
He emphasised: “This is not about removing environmental protections - it is about ensuring the science behind regulation is periodically checked against real-world outcomes. Independent review strengthens both environmental confidence and economic sustainability.”
He said the QPC was already empowered to start science audits, and simply required a referral from the State Government.
“It’s an easy fix,” said Mr Holliss. “No need for legislative changes, no action needed from the Crisafulli Government other than to refer the inquiry to Productivity Commissioner Angela Moody.”
BAFFA and the AEF have suggested as an initial case study the “Environmental Protection (Great Barrier Reef Protection Measures) and Other Legislation Amendment Regulation 2019”, particularly as applied within the Burnett-Mary region in Central Queensland.
Mr Holliss said: “The Reef Regulations provide a clearly defined, real-world case study where predicted environmental outcomes and regulatory impacts can be independently examined against observed results.”
Find out more at www.baffa.org or www.australianenvironment.org.au
The Parliamentary Petition is at: https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/Work-of-the-Assembly/Petitions/petition-details/4488-26
The Victorian Government’s Public Land Give-Away
29/11/2024
The Australian Environment Foundation (AEF) is a leading environmental watchdog in monitoring events surrounding Australia’s land, waterways and atmosphere.
In line with its goals the AEF has today released a report entitled ‘The Victorian Government’s Public Land Give-Away’ outlining measures that may ultimately lead to the end of public land in Victoria.
The report’s author, Dr David Barton, as well as being a researcher and lobbyist, has decades of experience in forest management and bushfire recovery, his PhD being on the recovery of Marysville after the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires.
Dr Barton asserts that public Crown land, freely open to all citizens, has been a feature of the Australian landscape since the earliest days of British settlement, especially in Victoria.
“All that is about to change” says Dr Barton, “Over the last five years the Victorian government has been handing over National Parks to Aboriginal organisations in what is known as ‘Aboriginal Title’. These organisations are essentially private corporations run for the benefit of their Aboriginal members, not the public.”
Dr Barton explained “The land becomes freehold title, with the new owners having considerable but as yet undefined scope to change its usage. At the very least access to the forests may become subject to the new owners’ permission,”
“The Victorian Environment Assessment Council, along with the newly created ‘Eminent Panel for Community Engagement and Great Outdoors Taskforce’ have an $11 million budget to carry out investigations over the entire Eastern half of Victoria to see where new parks and reserves can be created, and placed under Aboriginal management and/or ownership” concludes Dr Barton.
AEF Chairman, Dr Peter Ridd observed “Australians know about the closure of Ayers Rock/Uluru, Mt Warning, Mt Arapiles, and many other scenic locations, based upon claims of Aboriginal culture, but many people are not aware of the scale of the change in land tenure.”
“As explained in Dr Barton’s report, the Commonwealth’s new Nature Positive Plan proposes to lock up even more land as a part of the new “30 x 30” program which is to convert 30% of Australia’s landmass and waterways into ‘conservation’ by 2030,” said Dr Ridd.
Read the full report The Victorian Government’s Public Land Give-Away can be found here https://www.australianenvironment.org/reports to find out what’s really going on with public land use and land ownership in Australia.
Great Barrier Reef in record coral cover but 97% of Australians don’t know it
April 23, 2023
Left in the dark, Australians are wasting money on the wrong environmental issues ….. Read here
Appendix 1 ….. Read here
Hysterical claims drown out the facts on water
Alan Moran - Herald Sun
2nd March 2018