The author has been described by News Ltd as an "iconoclast", "Svengali", a pollie's "economist muse", and "pungently accurate". Fairfax says he is a "Renaissance man" and "one of Australia’s most respected analysts." Stephen Koukoulas concludes that he is "85% right", and "would make a great Opposition leader." Terry McCrann claims the author thinks "‘nuance’ is a trendy village in the south of France", but can be "scintillating" when he thinks "clearly". The ACTU reckons he’s "an enigma wrapped in a Bloomberg terminal, wrapped in some apparently well-honed abs."

Monday, September 24, 2012

Update on Rory Robertson vs Sydney University on academic integrity

A reader writes:

Rory Robertson's dispute with the University of Sydney about "academic and scientific integrity" is hotting up, after a lively email exchange with University's Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research.

Rory reports that the University's overseer of research quality control last week "dismissed concerns about serious errors and false conclusions in the Australian Paradox papers with an arrogant wave of a hand", stating: “If you wish to engage me again on this topic, please do so by sending me a reprint of a publication that you have had accepted by a peer reviewed journal”.

Rory reckons "That’s a rather silly and circular position. That is, I've documented clearly that University of Sydney scientists have published an extraordinarily faulty paper - via a peer-review process that was an extraordinary failure - only to be told by the University that it will not consider my concerns about the disturbing failure of the peer-review process until my claim is peer reviewed and published! What a farce".

Rory also is concerned about the University of Sydney's "serious but undisclosed conflict of interest" in the matter in dispute.

The rest of his reaction and the seven-email exchange is reproduced here.