[3] Phelps contested the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Drummoyne in the 1999 election.
[6][7] He was a Member of the State Executive of the Liberal Party and the Chairman of the Constitution Standing Committee.
The ABC reported that "Peter Phelps has written to Mike Kelly, unreservedly withdrawing his inappropriate comments and regretting any offence.
"[8] In 2011, Phelps made a speech in which he compared scientists who believe in global warming to those who worked for totalitarian regimes.
He said it should not be forgotten that "some of the strongest supporters of totalitarian regimes in the last century have been scientists... We should not be so surprised that the contemporary science debate has become so debased," he said.
"[9] In 2013, on the 40th anniversary of the military coup in Chile, Phelps, in a speech in the NSW Parliament, said that he supported the overthrow of Salvador Allende.