On Thursday 13 November 2025, Australia's Chief Scientist Prof Tony Haymet spoke at the Australian Science Communicators Conference in Melbourne. 
 
Thank you for that kind introduction, and thanks also for welcoming us to the lands of the Traditional Owners of this Country, the people of the language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation.

I pay my respects to them, their Elders, and to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the audience today.  

As Australia’s Chief Scientist, I am especially keen to elevate the knowledge systems of First Nations peoples, and to recognise their important and ongoing contribution to Australian science.  

Ten days ago, we had the Prime Minister award the first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Knowledge Systems prize, as one of the PM’s science prizes.

It was a great night, and the winner was Professor Michael Weir who started a sea cucumber business in Shark Bay in WA. He is also working on restoring the magnificent sea grasses in Shark Bay that were very heavily affected by hot water back in 2011. So, it’s not just acknowledgement, we are trying to do real things to advance Indigenous Knowledge Systems.

It's great to be here with all of you and see some old friends.  

I’ve worked with science communicators over many years, and I made a special effort to be here today because you and I have a big job ahead of us in the next 12 months and probably longer than that. I’ve deeply appreciated the enormous impact of your work. And I’ve marvelled at your ability to use light and shade to tell compelling stories about complex science.  

In the sixties, you told the story of the moon landing and the role of the Parkes radio telescope: aka the dish!

In the seventies, you explained the ‘hole in the sky’ – making ozone depletion understandable and driving action that led to the Montreal Protocol.

In the eighties, you raised awareness about HIV and AIDS.

In the nineties, you turned climate data into stories people could act on.

In the 2000s, you made the Human Genome Project tangible and showed its promise for medicine.

In the 2010s, you brought the Higgs boson and gravitational waves into public consciousness.

And in the 2020s, you stepped up again – educating the world about COVID.  

We are going to need your talents over the next year in at least two big areas, climate change and misinformation.

I’ll come to climate change later. But let me talk about your role in mis and disinformation.

Scientific discovery and tech progress are accelerating at an unprecedented rate. And because of that, so too is the need for your work.  

Alas, misinformation is also accelerating at an unprecedented rate. So, we need your sceptical gaze … your well-calibrated BS detectors … more than ever.  

I think it was Ernest Hemingway who famously said that every good writer needs a built-in BS detector.  

But in 2025, we all need one.

High levels of scientific misinformation are threatening the wellbeing of Australians and our society.
Let me say that again: high levels of scientific misinformation are threatening the wellbeing of Australians and our society.

Artificial intelligence and social media are turbo-charging the spread of misinformation dressed as science.  

Falsehoods that once travelled slowly, and stayed relatively local, now surge across the globe.  

And when people share them – for example, about vaccines, paracetamol or energy production – the consequences are real and sometimes tragic.  

For example, preventable diseases like measles are now returning to Australian communities because of unfounded fears about vaccines.  

During COVID, misinformation led some people to consume toxic substances such as methanol. And in South Africa, thousands have died because people denied that HIV causes AIDS.

As you know, misinformation is false or misleading information.  

Sometimes it’s spread by people who deliberately lie about the facts; this is referred to as disinformation. And sometimes it’s spread by those who just don’t know better.  

Either way, it’s becoming more pervasive and more corrosive at all levels.

At a personal level, bad information can damage your health. 

It can lead to poor financial decisions. 

And it can undermine your ability to make informed choices.  

At a societal level, it poisons public debate – making it harder to agree on facts and work together to address the shared problems we face. 
It pushes people to extremes, undermining social cohesion and democratic resilience.  
It erodes trust in institutions.  

So, what can we do about it?

Well, there are simple steps we can take to combat misinformation – especially if we understand why we are susceptible to it.

And that’s what I want to focus on today to help us all do our jobs to combat the scourge.

Australia’s top science advisory body to the Prime Minister – the National Science and Technology Council – last year commissioned landmark reports on misinformation.  

As a member of that council, I look forward to their release.

The reports explore why individuals and communities are vulnerable to misinformation.  

Turns out, it’s partly because of the way our brains are wired.

That research finds humans are naturally inclined to believe new information – especially if: 
•    it’s simple 
•    it’s familiar 
•    or it comes from people we trust.  

And the more we see it, the more credible it seems – even if it’s false.  

Poor physical or mental health can also reduce our cognitive capacity, making us more susceptible to falsehoods.

Now, you know more than most about the large volumes of information we face in our daily lives.

Naturally, when faced with that we often rely on mental shortcuts. And why not? They can help us process the information more quickly.  

But in today’s world they can backfire – especially when the information is emotional … or threatening … or if it comes from like-minded people.  

In fact, research shows we’re more likely to believe it, if it aligns with our existing views or comes from someone we trust.

In light of our brain’s wiring, when they’re confronted with new information, we should encourage people to pause.  

And I encourage them to ask a few simple questions:
  
•    Is this the best information I can get?  
•    Would it stand up to scientific scrutiny?  
•    Did it come from someone using the scientific method – or just from someone I follow online?

Sorting through information in real time is hard, and we need all the tools we can get. If we’re not confident doing that sorting alone, we’re lucky in Australia to have organisations that can provide the best available information.  

Organisations like yours, as well as the CSIRO, universities, and museums. Organisations like health and environment departments, and our hospitals.

We need to cherish those institutions and organisations, especially when we face significant challenges – even if the best available information evolves over time.  
In addition to those institutions, education and civic engagement can also play a crucial part in sandbagging our communities against a tide of falsehoods. And your work can play a crucial part in that sandbagging.

It’s also essential that Australians understand you don’t need to be a scientist to spot good science.  I, for example, am an expert in picking the Australian cricket team even though I’m not an expert cricketer!

I tell people: if in doubt, look for scientific consensus – the collective agreement of experts that’s based on accumulated evidence. And this is evidence built through repeated testing, peer review and open debate.

After all, trusting science isn’t about having blind faith in scientists. It’s about trust in the scientific method: observe, predict, test, observe again, refine.  

Now, climate change is another example that you and your colleagues are going to have to deal with.

Unfortunately, climate change is a lot worse than we thought 4 years ago when the government was elected. And I think it hasn’t sunk into the psyche in Australia just how terrible the hot water that surrounds Australia is going to affect our lives.

I sit on the Climate Change Authority which recently made recommendations to the government about our 2035 targets, and in preparing those recommendations, we commission a number of reports and publish them. And if you go to the Climate Change Authority website there is one called Home Safe, which is about insurance costs for home owners in Australia. It documents the terrible trajectory that we are on in places like Lismore, and Taree and Shepparton, here in Victoria, where insurance is either unobtainable or just ridiculously expensive.

That’s because of the fact that floods that were once regarded as happening with a 1 percent probability a year – some people say a 1 in 100-year flood – they’re happening every 2 or 3 years and basically your insurance premium is paying to replace your living room every 2 or 3 years.

So, responding to climate change is an enormous challenge. People often ask me, ‘well what is the good news about climate change?’ Usually, I say we have great young people in Australia. They seem to lack the bitterness that might sometimes exist in my generation – the generation who have created this problem for them. They are well educated. They often say to me, ‘tell us what you know and get out of the way, we’ll deal with it’.

The other thing I don’t often say about climate change is that I am slightly proud of the fact that we have documented exactly what’s going on. We know exactly that it’s CO2 and methane that is heating up the planet, and we know that the heat transfers from the atmosphere into the ocean. I mean, just imagine if we’d never successfully managed CO2 concentrations, if Dave Keeling never did his famous experiments, we’d be sitting here thinking that there is some malevolent force that is turning up the thermostat on planet Earth.

So, as I go to my grave, I can say that I am slightly proud of the fact that we figured out exactly what’s going on even though it’s tremendously frustrating that we haven’t convinced politicians globally to do enough about it.

The stakes are high. If we delay the emission reductions, our grandchildren and their kids will face worsening fires, floods and droughts. There will be billions in economic losses, reduced productivity, escalating healthcare costs, and lives shattered by floods, fires and heat.  

So yes, there are costs associated with taking climate change actions – but they are far, far lower than the cost of inaction.  

So, your collective efforts – be they visible or invisible … and I know they are often behind the scenes – your efforts are critical to Australian science during this period when the climate is in flux.  

Science depends on a social license — the trust, approval, and support of the community for research and innovation. That trust is built on the work you do today, and the foundations laid by those before you.

Indeed, you are part of a great tradition.

For decades, Australian science communicators have shared their passion for science with our nation. A case in point: the Science Show on Radio National.  

Earlier this year, I was pleased to attend its 50th birthday celebration. We held a little event and a series of talks with Robin Williams in Sydney in the old ABC studios. It’s a testament to 50 years of doing something that is not exactly popular, not always in the public eye, but always focussed on digging out the truth, telling stories large and small.
Robin and his colleagues have translated complex ideas into powerful stories told concisely with everyday language.  

This program has nurtured our culture of scientific inquiry.  

It has translated complex ideas into powerful stories told concisely with everyday language.

It has shown us that science isn't just about facts and formulas. But rather – extraordinary tales about perseverance, failure, discovery, triumph and understanding.

And I urge you to continue that legacy. Every one of you.

You are inspiring the next generation.  
You are strengthening our society.  
You are informing people – some of whom will go on to work in science because of the stories you tell.

In the words of Kev Carmody and Paul Kelly: from little things, big things grow.  

You put a spotlight on brilliant minds working in the field and in labs across Australia. In doing so, you make science feel more relatable, more human, and more accessible to many people.

And when science is relatable, it reinforces community trust in science.  

So, I want to conclude by thanking you for the dedication and intellectual curiosity you bring to your work.

Thanks for being powerful advocates for the value of  
evidence-based thinking and facts.  

Thanks for your unwavering commitment to inform the Australian people about the wonders of science, and the challenges that science can help to address.

Your work is nurturing our culture of scientific inquiry.  

It is translating complex ideas into powerful stories told concisely with everyday language.

As scientists, we ourselves often struggle to do that. That’s why we need to go on this journey with you, hand in hand.

So, thanks for your insightful storytelling and analysis that helps Australians understand the science that we do.  
 
And lastly, thanks for letting me be a storyteller today who puts you in the spotlight – for a change – to show the enormous impact of your work and your efforts.  

Thank you.