Aussie nuclear expert Rob Parker ‘cancelled’ after single tweet: ‘I’m an engineer but I wanted to cry’

A nuclear scientist who claims he was banned from presenting to hundreds of guests after a single critical tweet from renewable energy advocate and investor Simon Holmes a Court highlights the fraught debate over Australia’s energy future.

Rob Parker, who has a master’s degree in nuclear science and civil engineering, has also been a member of Engineers Australia for 30 years. Last Wednesday he was due to present ‘How to avoid an energy blunder Down Under’ to more than 400 guests during an Engineers Australia webinar.

“The conversation had been planned and signed months earlier,” Parker told Daily Mail Australia.

‘Emails from head office to the office in Newcastle where the lecture was due to take place. All the approvals, everything is done.”

But 24 hours before he was due to speak, the Teal’s biggest backer, Mr Holmes, put a court on X: ‘Seriously @EngAustralia? You’re organizing an anti-renewable energy event for @NukeForClimate? I would have thought your body was dedicated to improving understanding [sic]without muddying the waters!’

Nuclear energy expert Rob Parker (left) and renewable energy advocate and investor Simon Holmes a Court (right)

Just minutes after the tweet went live, Engineers Australia responded to X: “Thanks Simon. This event has been deleted. This does not meet our guidelines and we are investigating how it was planned.”

That tweet was quickly deleted by Engineers Australia after Mr Homes a Court deleted his original tweet upon hearing the event had been cancelled. Engineering Australia then sent an email to guests who had registered for the event stating ‘this event has been canceled due to the speaker being unwell’.

Mr Parker told Daily Mail Australia it was completely untrue that he was ill and he never told Engineers Australia that he was. He recently found out he had been excluded from the event he had been invited to speak at via social media.

“They canceled it on X before they even bothered to contact me. I was all ready to go. This was a knee-jerk reaction to Simon Holmes filing a lawsuit against X.”

Mr Holmes, a judge, rejected Mr Parker’s claim, saying: ‘The event was canceled before my tweet. The reporting on this issue is incorrect.’

Mr Parker says the misleading and false excuse Engineers Australia has given for banning him – claiming he was ill – is a breach of their own code of ethics which calls for integrity among members.

“They’re not even living up to their own standards,” he said.

“I’m an engineer, but I wanted to cry.”

Rob Parker, who has a master’s degree in nuclear science and civil engineering, has also been a member of Engineers Australia for 30 years

Mr Parker accused the association of engaging in ‘cancel culture’ and pandering to ‘woke interests’.

“What they’re doing is sending a message to all young engineers that it’s OK to dissemble, it’s OK to lie and it’s OK to manipulate,” Mr Parker said.

But Engineers Australia told Daily Mail Australia the event had been canceled prior to Mr Holmes a Court’s tweet: ‘After reviewing the final speaker notes, which were received on Tuesday morning, the events team shared the presentation with members of the management team who made the decision of Tuesday afternoon to cancel the event, before our tweet response [to Mr Holmes a Court].’

A spokeswoman for Engineers Australia said the email distributed to registered attendees claiming the event had been canceled because Mr Parker was “unwell” was a “human error on our part”.

‘The incorrect event cancellation message was sent. We organize more than 800 events throughout the year and unfortunately in this case procedural errors were made.’

Engineering Australia said that while the organization “encourages discussions”, including on nuclear energy, “we must maintain our impartial position”.

However, at the time of the Voice referendum, Engineers Australia happily advocated for the constitutional change, even though the referendum did not receive bipartisan support. Opposition leader Peter Dutton opposed the constitutional anchoring of the vote proposed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

A spokeswoman for Engineers Australia rejected suggestions that the Voice’s advocacy contradicted the claim ‘we must maintain our impartial position’.

‘Engineers Australia supported a First Nations voice in Parliament to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have a fair say in decisions that affect them, consistent with our values… we do not have individual voices led, but sought to provide balanced information and promote respectful discussions.’

The association’s support for The Voice is still current and continues to be prominently displayed on its website.