The claims were reported in the Australian newspaper in August and September 2014.
A briefing , obtained under Freedom of Information laws by the , shows the prime minister’s department prepared a briefing paper proposing that a taskforce conduct “due diligence to ensure Australia’s climate and emissions data are the best possible, including the Bureau of Meteorology’s Australian temperature dataset and other related data.”
The federal government had established a taskforce late last year to inform Australia’s positionon the post-2020 emission reduction targets ahead of the United Nations climate change conference in Paris, December 2015.
The briefing paper – prepared just weeks after the Australian’s media reports - said although the Bureau’s climate figures were based on a scientific and peer-reviewed approach, there needed to be public confidence in the information.
“Nevertheless, the public need confidence information on Australia’s, and the world’s, climate is reliable and based on the best available science,” the document read.
The documents also reveal Tony Abbott had asked for input on the draft terms of reference from three government ministers at the time; Julie Bishop, Ian Macfarlane and Greg Hunt.
Environment Minister Greg Hunt argued against an investigation into the BoM, voicing his concerns in a letter to Mr Abbott on November 18.
“The draft terms of reference refers to the taskforce doing due diligence on the Bureau of Meteorology's Australian temperature data set,” the letter said.
"In doing this, it is important to note that public trust in the Bureau's data and forecasts, particularly as they relate to bushfires and cyclones, is paramount.
"Given the recent publicity about the Bureau's temperature data sets, Senator Birmingham and I established a strengthened governance oversight of the Bureau's ongoing work in this area."
“…It is important to emphasise that this is primarily a matter of meteorology, statistics and data assurance," Mr Hunt wrote in his letter to Mr Abbott.
