Senior Liberal Nick Minchin says the globe is more likely to be cooling than warming and has slammed the Government's key climate adviser, Ross Garnaut, as "on the Government's payroll".

Amid fierce debate about the Government's carbon tax plan, Professor Garnaut yesterday warned the scientific case for climate change had strengthened the position that the Earth is warming and that human emissions of greenhouse gases are the main cause.

Senator Minchin - who led the Liberal Party's move to dump leader Malcolm Turnbull over his support for action over climate change - says Professor Garnaut, an economist, "knows nothing about the climate".

MOTORISTS received a petrol jolt at the weekend when the pump price soared in capital cities, with prices reaching almost $1.50 a litre in most Melbourne suburbs.

The price jumped 18c to $1.49.9 a litre in less than 24 hours and fuel price experts laid the blame squarely at supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths.

In Adelaide the average price jumped 13c overnight while Sydney took a 10c hit from Saturday to Sunday, according to Motormouth Fuel Prices.

Independent petrol market analyst David Cumming said consumers should ignore the spike and wait for the price to fall again.

All protests and marches are to be banned in Saudi Arabia, the interior ministry has announced on state TV.

Its statement said security forces would use all measures to prevent any attempt to disrupt public order.

The announcement follows a series of protests by the kingdom's Shia minority in the oil-producing eastern province.

Last month, King Abdullah unveiled a series of benefits in an apparent bid to protect the kingdom from the revolts spreading throughout many Arab states.

Professional shock jocks have an unfair advantage — in the climate change information debate — over serious scientists...

This is a shorter version [more boring] of an article posted on this site ("letter to Prue" — repeated in various formats on the website). It is designed to alert shock jocks to the unfair power they have, in dis-informing the public, by being ignorant of the real scientific facts while spittling false information — eventually confusing good thinkers. This short version was submitted to Crickey.com. I leave it to Crikey to do the right thing. Crikey might write it better... Picture above is of clouds coming down low... Gus.

Greens MP Adam Bandt believes Federal Parliament is running the risk of descending into farce due to the Opposition repeatedly cutting short Question Time.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott brought the session to a halt four times this week in an attempt to censure Prime Minister Julia Gillard over her proposed carbon tax.

Each day the interruption was timed so Mr Abbott's criticism of the tax was broadcast live on ABC1 television during the scheduled Question Time broadcast.

By the time Ms Gillard rose to reply, however, the ABC had switched, as scheduled, to Play School.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has persisted with his strategy to censure the Government in Question Time over its proposed introduction of a carbon tax.

The combative session saw one MP expelled, several warned and Speaker Harry Jenkins forced to his feet in frustration.

For the fourth straight day the censure motion was unsuccessful, but it allowed Mr Abbott and the Opposition to maintain its attack on the Government's carbon scheme.

Treasury spokesman Joe Hockey says the Coalition will keep putting forward the motion until "the Australian people can get some answers".

http://www.abc.net.au/innovation/gitmo/

Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan says he is "appalled" after an Opposition MP compared Prime Minister Julia Gillard to embattled Libyan leader Moamar Gaddafi.

As part of the heated carbon tax debate, Liberal MP Sophie Mirabella said Ms Gillard was as "deluded" as Mr Gaddafi, whose sanity has been questioned in recent days.

"If Ms Gillard believes Australians want to pay higher electricity and higher petrol prices, she is as deluded as Colonel 'my people love me' Gaddafi," she said.

An open letter to Prue McSween from Gus Leonisky

Dear Prue
It's time we had a little chat, head to head...

Prime Minister Julia Gillard endured a fiery morning on talkback radio today as she came out swinging in the political war over her plans to put a price on Australia's carbon emissions.

Yesterday Ms Gillard announced the scheme would start from July 2012 but did not say how much carbon would cost and gave no firm date for it to become a fully fledged emissions trading scheme.

The news prompted a fierce response from the Opposition, with Opposition Leader Tony Abbott branding the carbon price "a historic betrayal" which looks like a "conspiracy of the Parliament against the people".

Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop says the announcement is a betrayal of trust for the Australian people.

"This represents a fundamental breach of an election promise that the Prime Minister gave solemnly to the Australian people on the eve of the last election," she said.

"She said there would be no carbon price, no carbon tax under any government that she led.

"She has broken the trust the Australian people put in her at the last election.

"It's another example of the Labor Party being in government, but the Greens being in power."