Q&A: former National party senator taken to task for criticising pope on climate

Ron Boswell admits he had not read the pope's encyclical on climate change, and mistakenly claims Australia takes more refugees than any other country

The former Queensland National party senator Ron Boswell made a gaffe-riddled appearance on Q&A on Monday as the Coalition's only representative, three weeks into the Abbott government's boycott of the ABC talk show.

Boswell, the one-time "father of the Senate" who retired from politics last year, spoke out against the pope's encyclical on the environment, despite admitting he had not read it.