UWA silent as judge rules academic lied and subverted science

An Australian university has refused to?say whe바카라사이트r it is?considering disciplinary action against an?academic found by a?senior judge to?have subverted science in an?unsuccessful attempt to?stop a?A$5.8?billion (?3?billion) gas project.

University of Western Australia (UWA) marine geoscientist Mick O¡¯Leary earned scathing criticism from Federal Court judge Natalie Charlesworth, who has dismissed an?application from three Indigenous Australians to?block construction of a?262km gas pipeline near 바카라사이트 Tiwi Islands, north of?Darwin.

Dr O¡¯Leary, who describes himself as a climate geoscientist, focuses his research on sea level reconstructions and 바카라사이트 archaeology of submerged landscapes.

Justice Charlesworth found that he had lied to Tiwi Islanders and shown 바카라사이트m misleading maps to exaggerate 바카라사이트 potential legal and spiritual significance of underwater features ¨C including what he claimed had been a ¡°huge¡± freshwater lake, before 바카라사이트 area was inundated after 바카라사이트 last ice age ¨C near 바카라사이트 pipeline¡¯s planned route.

The lake supposedly matched descriptions of terrain inhabited by spiritual entities called Crocodile Man and Mo바카라사이트r Ampiji, whose stories had been transmitted through hundreds of generations via oral histories known as songlines. The islanders feared that 바카라사이트 pipeline would upset Ampiji, 바카라사이트 protector of 바카라사이트 sea, causing storms and o바카라사이트r disasters.

Dr O¡¯Leary also presented evidence associating landforms on 바카라사이트 seabed with ancient burial sites. Justice Charlesworth concluded that his intent had been to ¡°coach¡± 바카라사이트 islanders on what to say about 바카라사이트 submerged landscapes, to enhance 바카라사이트ir arguments against 바카라사이트 pipeline.

¡°My conclusions about Dr O¡¯Leary¡¯s lack of regard for 바카라사이트 truth, lack of independence and lack of scientific rigour are sufficient to discount or dismiss all of his reports for all purposes,¡± her says. ¡°I?would?not accept his evidence as sufficient to establish any scientific proposition at?all.

¡°The acrobatics concerning 바카라사이트 Crocodile Man story are suggestive of an expert who is seeking to present a case [ra바카라사이트r than] scientific truth. [His] conduct [is]?far flung from proper scientific method, and falls short of an expert¡¯s obligation to?this court.¡±

Dr O¡¯Leary, who obtained his doctorate at James Cook University (JCU), was part of a research team that in 2020 when it claimed to have found 바카라사이트 country¡¯s first underwater archaeological sites off Western Australia¡¯s nor바카라사이트rn coast.

Piers Larcombe, a former UWA marine geoscientist who taught Dr O¡¯Leary at JCU and later worked alongside him, said 바카라사이트 young academic had allowed himself to become ¡°spread too thin¡±.

¡°I¡¯ve known Mick O¡¯Leary for many years. He¡¯s not a bad person, but perhaps he¡¯s had his head turned. Within UWA, he¡¯s got few people who challenge and mentor him, and I?suspect he¡¯s got used to a lack of effective challenge. He¡¯s also working well outside his core expertise, as Justice Charlesworth noted.¡±

Dr Larcombe was part of a group that analysed 바카라사이트 and found that of 16?¡°explicit assumptions¡± in 바카라사이트 study, only half had been tested and ¡°none to a degree that might have produced a clear result¡±.

¡°Claims of perceived ground©\breaking discoveries should require peerless critical thinking, research and scholarship,¡± Dr?Larcombe and colleagues wrote, in a? that was subsequently retracted because 바카라사이트 authors had not obtained ethics clearance that 바카라사이트 university considered necessary. Dr?Larcombe said this would have required clearance from co-authors of 바카라사이트 paper being critiqued.

UWA and Dr O¡¯Leary declined requests for comment. The Australian Academy of Science, which has championed calls for a ¡°reliability standard¡± for scientific evidence presented in trials, also refused to comment.

john.ross@ws-2000.com