This week and next week, prominent climate sceptic blogger Anthony Watts is touring Australia to help promote the country's newest political party, the Climate Sceptics party.  Single issue parties are not unusual in Australia, and the Sceptics have been working to create a "new centrist party" to push for a "truthful, common-sense approach to [climate change] and all issues."

The Climate Sceptics turned heads in January when they had to beg their members for an extra $20,000 to pay Christopher Monckton's stipend as part of $100,000 in tour fees.  This begs the question: where does the cash come from to pay for the speaking tours of Australia? 

DeSmogBlog asked the Australian Electoral Commission if the party had registered itself yet and reported on any income.  Unfortunately, as a new party, they do not need to file their finances until October.  Furthermore, the sceptics party website clearly lists all the rules about what donations need to be disclosed and which ones do not (donations less than $11,200 can be anonymous under Australian law.)

Watts' tour is being billed as a tool to fight the Australian government's weak and industry-friendly Emissions Trading Scheme, which it recently put on hold for about 3 years.  Leon Ashby, the president of the Sceptics party, says "these presentations will make you think hard about the gap between the facts, public perception and where our political leaders want to take us."

The International Geological Congress in Oslo, Norway this month apparently took a break from struggling with science in favor of hosting a reality TV segment on "climate change debate."

Characterized by RealClimate. org as "a step backwards towards confusion," and hailed in the denier community as evidence of open-mindedness, the panel included a grab-bag of international "skeptics" including Dr. Henrik Svensmark of the Danish National Space Centre ("even though he's not a geologist, and said that he didn't understand what he was doing on the panel").

This story is legitimately tragic, but it's far from the first case of climate change delusion. Have they never heard of Benny Peiser? Larry Solomon? Tim Ball? The Viscount Monckton of Brenchley? Bob Carter?

Of course, these guys may not be delusional. They may just be lying. But that would involve a judgment rather than a diagnosis .... Either way, a certain sort of sickness abounds.

In very predictable form, Noel Sheppard at the oil-industry-friendly Newsbuster's, takes to task NASA scientist Jim Hansen's rebuttal to the misinformation and media hype around the minor adjustments to NASA's US temperature records.

Sheppard writes: "So, folks like McIntyre, Fred Singer, Richard Lindzen, Tim Ball, Benny Peiser, Robert Carter, Anthony Watts, and all those around the world including myself who are exposing the flaws in the anthropogenic global warming myth are jesters deceiving the public."

Well, yes, in fact that would be true if you consider that within the context of science, there are those who are actually doing research and publishing their findings in the peer-reviewed literature.

ABC Australia will be airing the UK-produced "Great Global Warming Swindle." Following the show, Lateline host Tony Jones will interview the Swindle's director, Martin Durkin. There will also be a panel discussion on the scientific validity of the Swindle claims that will include well-known denier Bob Carter.

According to media reports , the addition of the Tony Jones interview and the panel were a compromise after much editorial in-fighting over whether to air the documentary.