In an early forecast of the new Senate climate, a pair of crossbenchers have clashed over the best approach to take to environmental policy - though both agree tax isn't the way.
One Nation's Malcolm Roberts says he'll only support policies based on empirical evidence, and he doesn't believe the evidence shows any need to tax carbon dioxide.
Liberal Democrats senator David Leyonhjelm says his small-government party just doesn't believe there should be more taxes, on anything.
"Our policy is we're politicians or political people, we stay out of the scientific debate," Senator Leyonhjelm told ABC TV on Sunday.
"Excuse me just a minute, David," Senator Roberts replied. "That's disappointing to hear that you're going to make policy without basing it on data."
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Senator Leyonhjelm retorted: "There's plenty of data to show high taxes and costs on business are bad for the economy. That's all the data I need."
Senator Roberts, a mining engineer, also issued a challenge to ABC staff to provide him with "the measured data that shows that human production of carbon dioxide is affecting our climate and needs to be something done about it".
Insiders host Barrie Cassidy, who was interviewing the senator, offered to give him the Climate Institute's most recent report.
