The question of whether penises cause climate change has triggered tense debate among senators.
They don't, as far as scientists are aware, but One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts - a renowned climate change denier - used the hoax, published in a scientific journal, to grill CSIRO scientists over their peer-review methods.
"They claimed that penises cause climate change," he told during a Senate committee hearing in Canberra on Thursday.
"I'm very concerned about some of the peer-reviewed papers."
The line of questioning prompted a frustrated response from Industry Minister Arthur Sinodinos.
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"You've quoted two papers and you've then jumped to a general proposition that this means every peer-review paper in the world potentially is subject to some sort of potential for fraud," Senator Sinodinos said.
"We really are in a very Kafkaesque world."
Senator Roberts insisted he had been misrepresented.
He was just pointing out there may be holes in the scientific peer-review process, he explained, continuing to ask the scientists about their methods.
"I need a biscuit," Senator Sinodinos replied.
