I love single-issue political parties. They pop up now and again, seemingly with no mission other than to give bloggers fresh fodder, only to attract a couple of hundred members, some media attention for a couple of days, and then disappear off the mainstream political radar. This month’s single-issue party is a doozy; I just know we’re going to have a lot of fun with The Climate Sceptics.

And all power to them. There is a growing number of people out there who are sceptical about climate change or about the role that humans play in it, and a growing number of outright deniers. If the Climate Sceptics Party wants to have a crack at representing those people, then who are we point, laugh and ridicule?
So let’s say you are sceptical about climate change and you are looking to support a political party that will oppose legislation you see as unnecessary and destructive. You stumble across the Climate Sceptics and you like what you see.

The boxing kangaroo means they’re dinky-di Aussie, mate.
But, being a thinking person, you see some contradictions and dodgy assertions. Firstly, you’re a little taken aback to see this graphic.

You know, being a thinking person, that a slick diagram proving that the sun is rooly, rooly big doesn’t conclusively prove shit when it comes to climate change.
And you know, being a thinking person, that our society works best when people take personal responsibility for personal actions, considering how they affect themselves, other people, and shared surroundings, so you’re disappointed to see this hand-washing, guilt-absolving statement.

You wonder to yourself, being a thinking person, if this political party exists to drive better national policy or just clear people’s consciences. You begin to doubt, as a thinking person, the Climate Sceptics, and your doubt only strengthens after reading the About Us page, where you find these statements about the organisation’s philosophy.
- We support family values
- We support a return to basic values, good manners and respect for human values within our society.
And your worst fears are confirmed. The Climate Sceptics are not just a single-issue party that exists to drive better legislation on your behalf, they’re also a conservative movement committed to reinforcing those tired concepts of “family” and “basic” values, like discrimination against homosexuals and restriction of personal freedoms in the name of personal freedom. The Climate Sceptics, far from existing to battle it out on environmental issues, exist only to fight the culture wars.