Australia's chief scientist compares Trump to Stalin over climate censorship

Alan Finkel warns that forcing EPA data to undergo political review before publication will 'cause long-term harm'

Australia's chief scientist has slammed Donald Trump's attempt to censor environmental data, saying the US president's behaviour was comparable to the manipulation of science by the Soviet Union.

Speaking at a scientific roundtable in Canberra on Monday, Alan Finkel warned science was "literally under attack" in the United States and urged his colleagues to keep giving "frank and fearless" advice despite the political opposition.