Pages tagged "Climate Change"
Ask HESTA to divest from Santos and Woodside
Climate change is a public health emergency. The extraction and burning of fossil fuels – like gas – drives this crisis, worsening respiratory diseases, heat-related deaths, and extreme weather disasters that overwhelm health systems.
As healthcare workers and community advocates, we demand HESTA divest from Santos and Woodside to safeguard health.
Where does HESTA come in?
HESTA is one of Australia’s largest superannuation funds and one of four key superannuation funds in the healthcare industry.
In many healthcare settings, HESTA is the default super fund when starting a new role as a healthcare worker.
As Dr. Arjuna Dibley puts it, our superannuation funds are one of the most important ways that people can make a difference to the climate crisis.
Many people are with their employers default super fund automatically when starting their first, or a new, role.
However, our retirement savings – through the stocks our funds hold – can either help build a sustainable future, or when invested in fossil fuels, harm people and planetary health.
HESTA's investments in Santos and Woodside directly conflict with healthcare workers’ professional values of beneficence and equity.
HESTA has said they put these two big polluters 'on notice' by establishing an engagement 'watchlist', but nearly three years later, it seems this watchlist has served to defer rather than deliver on the urgent changes needed.
Healthy Futures believes HESTA should no longer continue to invest and engage in these major gas-polluting fossil fuel companies.
Join us at the HESTA Awards Action on August 7!
Click here to RSVPThe Health Cost of Gas:
- Air pollution from the extraction and burning of gas worsens asthma, COPD and heart disease.
- Climate-driven disasters – fires, floods, and heatwaves – cause preventable deaths, increase trauma and displacement, and strain put on hospitals.
- Gas extraction is unequalising in its health impacts with vulnerable communities hit hardest. Notably, First Nations peoples near fossil fuel projects are most likely to feel the effects of this environmental degradation.
What is the link between HESTA and gas?
HESTA currently holds controversial shares in both Santos and Woodside. These two companies are Australia’s biggest oil and gas producers.
At 3%, HESTA’s shares in fossil fuels may seem a small proportion of their overall investment profile, yet this percentage of HESTA's wealth is worth over 2 billion dollars.
HESTA is seen as a leader in the field of Environmental and Social Governance or social corporate responsibility in the superannuation industry, and the decisions it makes confidently will encourage other funds to follow suit.
Why should HESTA be concerned about gas?
HESTA is a fund serving healthcare workers. It brands itself as a fund committed to taking action to address climate change and driving meaningful change for generations to come. However, investments in gas are questionable and at odds with HESTA's stated aims.
Methane pollution—an inevitable greenhouse gas by-product of gas extraction and processing—is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere over the short term. Methane is also the main component of so-called 'natural gas', which, when used indoors, harms health.
Methane emissions are not just bad for the environment and human health; they are also a financial risk. As countries transition to clean energy, fossil fuel companies face being left with stranded assets and declining profits.
Moreover, the under accounting of methane pollution also risks emissions reduction budgets, both nationally (in terms of the safeguard mechanism), for the polluting companies themselves, and for HESTA's own accounting for pollution volume.
What is HESTA already doing and where do they fall short?
Alongside the fund's net-zero targets and growing investments in sustainable renewable stock ownership, in 2022, HESTA placed Santos and Woodside on an engagement watchlist. HESTA explained the watchlist as a mechanism for requesting companies to demonstrate how their business plans align with a 1.5°C scenario.
Santos and Woodside have now been on HESTA's watchlist for more than 2 and a half years.
However, since being placed on the list, both companies have decided to invest in new oil and gas supplies, meaning their committed emissions have increased significantly - and neither company has presented credible climate transition plans.
The bottom line is that HESTA’s incremental steps are eclipsed by continued financial support for Australia's biggest gas polluters. True leadership requires a balance between divestment and engagement - in the end, there are companies determined to expand gas production at the expense of a sustainable business model that shifts away from fossil fuels.
Continuing to invest in fossil fuel companies with ongoing expansion plans is no longer acceptable.
We are calling time’s up for engagement with Santos and Woodside.
What are we proposing HESTA do?
We are calling on HESTA to:
- Divest fully from Santos and Woodside – Aligning our investments with climate science by removing fossil fuel companies from their portfolio.
- Increase transparency – Clearly disclose the parameters of the watchlist they currently have Santos and Woodisde listed on.
- Strengthen climate commitments – Shift investments toward renewable energy and healthcare-aligned sustainable industries.
What you can do?
- Sign this open letter – Alongside your fellow HESTA members, and tell them it’s time to divest from Santos and Woodside.
- Spread the word – Share this campaign with colleagues and on social media using #HealthyFutures #DivestHESTA.
- Join Healthy Futures – Get involved in advocacy efforts to push for climate action in healthcare.
Sources:
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2024). Health Workforce. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/workforce/health-workforce
Australian Medical Association (AMA). (2023). One Health position statement. Australian Medical Association. https://www.ama.com.au/articles/one-health-position-statement
Beauchamp, T. L. (2007). The ‘four principles’ approach to health care ethics. In R. E. Ashcroft, A. Dawson, H. Draper, & J McMillan (Eds.), Principles of health care ethics (2nd ed., pp. 3-10). John Wiley & Sons.
Romanello, M., Walawender, M., Hsu, S. C., Moskeland, A., Palmeiro-Silva, Y., Scamman, D., ... & Costello, A. (2024). The 2024 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: facing record-breaking threats from delayed action. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joclim.2024.100337
Royal Australian College of Practitioners (RACP). (2021). Climate Change and Australia’s Healthcare Systems A Review of Literature, Policy and Practice. https://www.racp.edu.au/docs/default-source/advocacy-library/climate-change-and-australias-healthcare-systems-a-review-of-literature-policy-and-practice.pdf?sfvrsn=efe8c61a_6
Tsakonas, K., Badyal, S., Takaro, T., & Buse, C. (2024). Rapid Review of the Impacts of Climate Change on the Health System Workforce and Implications for Action. The Journal of Climate Change and Health, 100337–100337. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joclim.2024.100337
United Nations. (n.d.). Causes and Effects of Climate Change. United Nations; United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/causes-effects-climate-change
Verney, P. (2022). HESTA puts big Aussie emitters on notice over climate misalignment concerns. Responsible Investor. https://www.responsible-investor.com/hesta-puts-big-aussie-emitters-on-notice-over-climate-misalignment-concerns
World Health Organization. (2019). Climate change. World Health Organization; World Health Organization: WHO. https://www.who.int/health-topics/climate-change#tab=tab_1
To: HESTA CEO Ms Debby Blakely,
Re: Please divest from fossil gas.
We, the undersigned HESTA members, call on you to divest from Santos and Woodside Petroleum, Australia’s most polluting gas companies. There is no room for gas expansion if we are to avoid catastrophic climate change – it is incompatible with a liveable future.
The extraction and burning of fossil fuels is the leading cause of dangerous climate change. Climate change is a public health emergency with devastating consequences for human health and well-being. It is increasing the strain on healthcare systems, and in the absence of bold action, this will worsen in coming years. Given the effects this has on individual health and community service workers, and that our professions are bound by the principles of beneficence and equity, we deserve for our superannuation to be actively mitigating the climate and health crisis.
HESTA say they are committed to us beyond simply financial returns, evident in commendable aims to take action to address climate change. HESTA has articulated a vision to not only ensure we retire with liveable funds, but retire to a liveable planet.
However, the business plans and operations of Santos and Woodside are completely discordant with this vision. The continued investment in Santos and Woodside directly fuels the climate crisis. These companies are not merely lagging in the transition; they are actively and aggressively expanding fossil fuel operations. Woodside's controversial Scarborough and Browse basin gas projects, and Santos’ Barossa, Narrabri, and Beetaloo Basin developments directly threaten global efforts to limit warming to as close to 1.5 degrees Celsius as possible. Combined, these expansion plans would release billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide and methane over their operational life cycle. These projects also render Australia’s emissions reduction targets utterly unachievable.
In 2022, HESTA placed Santos and Woodside on a “watchlist” given their enormous climate risks, but this action has not resulted in any positive steps whatsoever by Santos and Woodside, who plan to continue expanding their gas operations no matter the cost to our climate and our health. The time has come for HESTA to divest from these companies so that HESTA and its members are no longer complicit in their moral bankruptcy.
Gas must stay in the ground for a safer, healthier future. As your members, we request that you divest from Santos and Woodside Petroleum, whose operations and plans are incompatible with a safe climate future.
Yours sincerely,
Healthy Futures and the undersigned
Can you help us get Victoria off gas?
Our open letter to the Victorian Government (displayed on the right side of this page) was delivered on the 28th Nov 2024 during an action on Parliament Steps. It's been a terrific campaign so far and we received some great coverage of the issue in this Croaky article.
But this is just the beginning! We're going to keep pushing to address the health and equity issues that continue to burden vulnerable Victorians with an unfair load, as we the State continues to electrify. Here's some great ways you can help us keep pushing for gas-free homes?
- Make a tax-deductible donation to support our advocacy at www.healthyfutures.net.au/donate
- Join our email list at www.healthyfutures.net.au/sign-up
- Sign up to volunteer at www.healthyfutures.net.au/volunteer
- If you'd like to support our work on household gas specifically, please email our Gas Campaigner Ari Pickering at [email protected]
Burning gas creates airborne toxins such as nitrogen dioxide and benzene. Children living with gas stoves have a 30% increased risk of developing asthma, similar to children living with secondhand cigarette smoke [1-3]. Benzene increases lifetime risk of leukaemia [4]. In addition, gas burning in homes contributes to climate change which is the greatest global health threat of our time.
Organisational Signatories:
References:
- Lin, W, Brunekreef, B & Gehring, U 2013, ‘Meta-analysis of the effects of indoor nitrogen dioxide and gas cooking on asthma and wheeze in children’, International Journal of Epidemiology, vol. 42, no. 6, pp1724–1737, https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyt150
- Jayes et al 2016, ‘SmokeHaz: systematic reviews and meta-analyses of the effects of smoking on respiratory health’, CHEST, vol. 150, no. 1, pp 164–179, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chest.2016.03.060
- Vork, KL, Broadwin, RL & Blaisdell, RJ 2007, ‘Developing asthma in childhood from exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke: insights from a meta-regression’, Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 115, no. 10, pp 1394–1400, https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.10155
- https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/study-links-gas-stoves-with-leukaemia-carcinogen
To: the Hon. Jacinta Allan MP, Premier of Victoria
cc: the Hon. Lily D’Ambrosio MP, Victorian Minister for Climate Action, Energy and Resources, the Hon. Harriet Shing MP, Minister for Housing and Equality, and Mary-Anne Thomas MP, Victorian Minister for Health
Re: Urgent Action Needed to Address Health and Inequity Risks from Gas Cooktops in Victorian Homes
Dear Premier Allan,
We are an alliance of health and equity organisations, healthcare workers and community members writing to urge your government to protect Victorians from the health impacts of gas combustion and rising gas supply costs by supporting a swift transition to efficient electric alternatives, particularly for vulnerable households.
We commend the leadership shown through the Victorian Gas Substitution Roadmap, which lays a strong foundation for reducing harmful pollution. However, we are deeply concerned about the proposed exclusion of gas cooktops from electrification efforts.
Gas appliances pose significant health risks, including:
- Cooking with gas in homes increases children’s risk of developing asthma by approximately 30%, comparable to the risk from secondhand cigarette smoke [1-3].
- Gas cooktops release benzene, an airborne toxin that increases the risk of leukaemia [4-5].
- All gas combustion contributes to climate change, which is a public health emergency. Between 2006 and 2017 an estimated 36,000 people in Australia died as a result of exposure to high temperatures [6]. We can expect even more severe health impacts as extreme weather events become more frequent [7].
Excluding gas cooktops from electrification continues exposing Victorians to these health hazards. Moreover, it risks exacerbating inequity, as households with greater financial means transition early to the economic benefits of electrification, leaving vulnerable groups—such as those in social housing, renters and low-income residents—bearing the rising costs of maintaining the gas network.
To protect public health and ensure an equitable energy future for all Victorians, we recommend a two-step approach.
Step 1: A Just Transition for Low-Income Households
Launch an ‘Equitable Electrification Program’ to provide meaningful, targeted financial incentives, helping social housing residents, low-income households and renters to transition to electric alternatives.
Step 2: Retrofit All Victorian Homes and End Gas Connections
Phase out gas cooktops and other gas appliances in all Victorian homes by requiring them to be replaced with electric alternatives at their end of life, with the aim of fully electrifying all households by 2035, in line with current Victorian Renewables and Emissions targets.
This two-step approach will reduce health risks, alleviate unjust cost-of-living pressures and contribute to achieving the government’s climate goals. Prioritising vulnerable populations will help ensure a fair and healthy future for all Victorians.
We urge you to act now to protect public health and build a more sustainable, equitable energy future for Victoria. Thank you for your consideration, and we look forward to your leadership on this issue.
Sincerely,
[signatories]
References:
- Lin, W, Brunekreef, B & Gehring, U 2013, ‘Meta-analysis of the effects of indoor nitrogen dioxide and gas cooking on asthma and wheeze in children’, International Journal of Epidemiology, vol. 42, no. 6, pp1724–1737, https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyt150
- Jayes, L, Haslam, PL, Gratziou, CG, Powell, P, Britton, J, Vardavas, C, Jimenez-Ruiz, C, Leonardi-Bee, J, Dautzenberg, B, Lundbäck, B, Fletcher, M, Turnbull, A, Katsaounou, P, Heederik, D, Smyth, D, Ravara, S, Sculier, J-P, Martin, F & Orive, JIDG 2016, ‘SmokeHaz: systematic reviews and meta-analyses of the effects of smoking on respiratory health’, CHEST, vol. 150, no. 1, pp 164–179, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chest.2016.03.060
- Vork, KL, Broadwin, RL & Blaisdell, RJ 2007, ‘Developing asthma in childhood from exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke: insights from a meta-regression’, Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 115, no. 10, pp 1394–1400, https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.10155
- Woodley, M 2023, ‘Study links gas stoves with leukaemia carcinogen’, newsGP, available at https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/study-links-gas-stoves-with-leukaemia-carcinogen, accessed 17 October 2024
- Kashtan, YS, Nicholson, M, Finnegan, C, Ouyang, Z, Lebel, ED, Michanowicz, DR, Shonkoff, SBC & Jackson RB 2023, ‘Gas and propane combustion from stoves emits benzene and increases indoor air pollution’, Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 57, no. 26, 9653-9663, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c09289
- Longden T, Quilty S, Haywood P, Hunter A & Gruen R 2020, 'Heat-related mortality: an urgent need to recognise and record', The Lancet Planetary Health, vol. 4, no. 5, e171, available at https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(20)30100-5/fulltext, accessed 28 October 2024
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2024, ‘Natural environment and health’, available at https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-health/natural-environment-and-health, accessed 17 October 2024
"Activating change through collective action for a healthier, sustainable future."
Rae Knopik brings a dynamic blend of passion and expertise to her role at Healthy Futures, where she serves as both Digital Campaigner and Fundraiser. With a career that spans continents and industries, Rae's commitment to environmental sustainability and gender equity is deeply rooted in her experiences—from growing up in Florida amidst environmental challenges to pioneering initiatives in Silicon Valley and beyond.
Read moreGas-Free Healthy Homes in NSW
Gas is polluting our homes, harming our health, and driving climate change. In NSW, we are calling on the government to end new gas connections and support households in transitioning to healthier renewable energy solutions.
The problem with gas:
Gas is a significant source of energy for 70% of Australian homes. In NSW, gas is widely used in homes for cooking, hot water and heating, and it is often misleadingly called ‘natural’ gas. While often marketed as ‘clean’, gas is a fossil fuel that releases dangerous pollutants into our homes and harmful emissions into the atmosphere.
Gas appliances, especially cooktops and heaters, produce nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and fine particulate matter. These pollutants can trigger and worsen asthma as well as other respiratory illnesses. In fact, gas stove use is linked to 12% of childhood asthma cases in Australia, similar to the risk posed by secondhand smoke.
Switching from gas to clean electricity is better for our health, better for the climate and, thanks to renewables, better for our wallets in the long run.
The solution:
The good news? We already have solutions. Modern electric appliances, like induction cooktops, electric heat pumps and solar hot water, are safe, efficient and increasingly affordable. Paired with rooftop solar and battery storage, they can help power homes cleanly and cheaply.
However, the transition must be fair. While some homeowners can implement these changes, the NSW Government must support all households to easily and affordably safeguard their health.
What needs to happen:
The NSW Government has committed to net zero, but gas is still being installed in new homes, schools and public buildings. It’s not just bad for the planet; it locks people into expensive, polluting infrastructure for decades to come. We are calling on the NSW Government to:
- Stop new gas connections in new homes and residential developments
- Support a fair and funded transition to all-electric homes, especially for households and renters.
- Educate the public on the health and climate risks of gas
- Phase out gas in public buildings like schools and hospitals
What we’re doing:
We’re working alongside health professionals across NSW to:
- Collect signatures on our open letter to the Premier
- Engage decision-makers and present health evidence about gas
- Support health workers to speak out through op-eds, videos and events
- Push for policy change to protect community health
What you can do:
If you live NSW, sign our open letter to the Premier urging action on gas in homes
Support the Campaign:
Your donation helps us run powerful advocacy campaigns, mobilise the healthcare community and push the NSW Government to protect public health and the climate.
Together, we can build a future of gas-free, healthy homes across NSW.
| Donate To Support Our Work |
Key organisational signatories:
.
To: The Hon. Chris Minns, MP, Premier of NSW
Cc: Hon. Penny Sharpe MP, NSW Minister for Climate Change, Energy and Environment
the Hon. Ryan Park, MP, NSW Minister for Health
the Hon. Paul Scully, MP, NSW Minister for Planning and Public Spaces
the Hon. Rose Jackson, MP, NSW Minister for Housing, Homelessness, Minister for Mental Health
Dear Premier,
The burning of gas in homes is harming people in NSW and is contributing to catastrophic climate change. As health and community service workers, students and organisations, we urgently request that your government replace household gas with renewable-powered electricity.
Domestic gas use poses a range of direct and indirect risks to health, which many of us are witnessing in the communities we serve:
- Indoor pollution from gas appliances causes and exacerbates asthma and other illnesses and can even cause death (1).
- Pollution from gas stoves has been estimated to account for 12% of the childhood asthma burden in Australia (2).
- A child living in a house with a gas stove faces roughly a 30% increased risk of asthma (3). This is comparable to a child living with household cigarette smoke (4,5).
- Carbon monoxide poisoning from gas appliances is a well-recognised and preventable cause of hospital attendance and deaths (6,7), including a near-fatal incident involving three residents of Western Sydney in September 2022 (8).
- Gas flames release benzene, which can cause cancers and therefore should be kept at the lowest level possible indoors (9).
- The burning of gas is driving dangerous climate change. Climate change is a health emergency that has become all too apparent to NSW residents in recent years due to devastating bushfires, floods and heatwaves, all of which can have significant and potentially life-threatening health impacts (10).
There is no feasible pathway to a carbon-neutral gas network (11), so to reach NSW’s net zero targets, the gas network will have to be shut down by 2050 at the latest. Healthier and more economical electric alternatives for all current domestic uses of gas exist, with a plausible pathway to net zero carbon emissions for the electricity grid. The NSW Government should prioritise the health, climate and economic benefits of an accelerated decommissioning of the reticulated gas distribution network. By way of precedent, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, and multiple international jurisdictions are already phasing out gas connections to new homes (12).
At the household level, the energy bill savings from upgrading to heat pump-based heating and induction stoves surpass the initial upgrade costs within a few years (13). This initial cost, however, can be a barrier to low-income households, so to assure energy equity, targeted assistance is important (14). People residing in either public or private rental housing are generally unable to choose whether or not to use indoor gas and therefore need assistance to avoid being left behind with high bills and health impacts as others transition away from gas. Furthermore, households who continue using gas during the transition can decrease exposure to toxins by optimising ventilation, which should be a focus of community education campaigns.
We, therefore, request that the NSW Government publicly commit to the following:
- No new gas connections to NSW homes.
- Means-tested financial assistance for NSW residents to replace gas appliances with electric alternatives (e.g. direct subsidies, rebates and/or no-interest loans).
- Abolition of gas disconnection fees.
- A requirement for landlords to undertake safety checks on all gas appliances every 2 years and replace gas appliances that fail after 2025 with energy-efficient electric alternatives.
- Ending the sale of gas appliances in NSW.
- Undertaking public health education on minimising exposure to toxic air pollution in homes still using gas.
- A commitment to replacing gas with electricity in all public and government buildings, including all public housing and public hospitals.
- In the interim until all public housing is electrified, establishing a pathway for people living with asthma or other lung conditions in public housing to have gas appliances replaced with electrical alternatives as a priority at the recommendation of their GP, paediatrician or respiratory specialist.
We would welcome an opportunity to meet with you to discuss this further.
Sincerely,
Organisational signatories:
|
Climate And Health Alliance (CAHA) |
|
Asthma Australia |
|
Australasian Epidemiological Association |
|
Australian Health Promotion Association (AHPA) |
|
Australian Federation of Medical Women (AFMW) |
|
Australian Lesbian Medical Association (ALMA) |
|
Australian Medical Association (NSW) |
|
Australian Medical Students' Association (AMSA) |
|
Climate Action Nurses |
|
Enriching Lives Psychology |
|
Nurses and Midwives for Climate Action |
|
Pacific Emergency Education |
|
Public Health Association of Australia |
|
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) |
|
Rural Doctors Network |
|
Sweltering Cities |
|
Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ) |
References:
- Ewald, B, Crisp, G & Carey, M 2022, ‘Health risks from indoor gas appliances’, Australian Journal of General Practice, vol. 51, no. 12 https://www1.racgp.org.au/ajgp/2022/december/health-risks-from-indoor-gas-appliances
- Knibbs, LD, Woldeyohannes, S, Marks, GB & Cowie, CT 2018, ‘Damp housing, gas stoves, and the burden of childhood asthma in Australia’, Medical Journal of Australia, vol. 208, no. 7, pp299-302, https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2018/208/7/damp-housing-gas-stoves-and-burden-childhood-asthma-australia
- Lin, W, Brunekreef, B & Gehring, U 2013, ‘Meta-analysis of the effects of indoor nitrogen dioxide and gas cooking on asthma and wheeze in children’, International Journal of Epidemiology, vol. 42, no. 6, pp1724–1737, https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/42/6/1724/737113?login=false
- Jayes, L, Haslam, PL, Gratziou, CG, Powell, P, Britton, J, Vardavas, C, Jimenez-Ruiz, C, Leonardi-Bee, J, Dautzenberg, B, Lundbäck, B, Fletcher, M, Turnbull, A, Katsaounou, P, Heederik, D, Smyth, D, Ravara, S, Sculier, J-P, Martin, F & Orive, JIDG 2016, ‘SmokeHaz: systematic reviews and meta-analyses of the effects of smoking on respiratory health’, CHEST, vol. 150, no. 1, pp164–179, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chest.2016.03.060
- Vork, KL, Broadwin, RL & Blaisdell, RJ 2007, ‘Developing asthma in childhood from exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke: insights from a meta-regression’, Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 115, no. 10, pp1394–1400, https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.10155
- Zorbalar, N, Yesilaras, M & Aksay, E 2014, ‘Carbon monoxide poisoning in patients presenting to the emergency department with a headache in winter months’, Emergency Medicine Journal, vol. 31(e1) pp66–70 https://emj.bmj.com/content/31/e1/e66.short
- Coroners Court of Victoria 2013, Inquest into the death of Tyler Robinson, www.coronerscourt.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2018-12/tylerrobinson_203810.pdf
- Vidler, A & Meacham, S, 2022 Sydney family lucky to be alive after faulty heater leaks carbon monoxide https://www.9news.com.au/national/carbon-monoxide-poisoning-three-in-hospital-sydney-faulty-heater/4eb00533-684b-46b7-a150-dbe534709ee2
- Kashtan, Y. S., Nicholson, M., Finnegan, C., Ouyang, Z., Lebel, E. D., Michanowicz, D. R., ... & Jackson, R. B. (2023). Gas and Propane Combustion from Stoves Emits Benzene and Increases Indoor Air Pollution. Environmental Science & Technology.
- Steffen, W, Hughes, L & Perkins, S 2014, Heatwaves: Hotter, longer, more often, Climate Council of Australia, viewed 16 October 2019, https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/heatwaves-report/.
- Wood, T., Reeve, A., & Suckling, E. (2023). Getting off gas: why, how, and who should pay? The Grattan Institute Report No. 2023-08 https://grattan.edu.au/report/getting-off-gas/
- ACT (Australian Capital Territory) Government 2022, Powering Canberra: our Pathway to Electrification, ACT Government https://www.cmtedd.act.gov.au/open_government/inform/act_government_media_releases/barr/2022/powering-canberra-our-pathway-to-electrification
- Tidemann, C., Bradshaw, S., Rayner, J., & Arndt, D. (2023). Smarter Energy Use: How to cut energy bills and climate harm. The Climate Council https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/CC_MVSA0353-CC-Report-Two-for-One-Home-Energy-Efficiency_V5.1-FA-Screen-Single.pdf
- Bryant, D, Porter, E, Rama, I & Sullivan, D 2022, Power pain: an investigation of energy stress in Australia https://www.bsl.org.au/research/publications/power-pain/
"We need justice, equity and sustainability"
Bronwyn McDonald is Healthy Futures' new Energy Transition Campaigner, charged with driving the change from using polluting fossil fuels to renewable energy to help protect public health and our climate. Based on Awabakal & Worimi Land (Newcastle, NSW) she shares with us her motivations for joining our network of active health professionals.
Read moreAction: Health Workers at Parliament House
Media Release: Health Workers Take Action at State Parliament
Wednesday 21 September, Melbourne
At 12.30pm today, doctors, nurses and health workers will assemble at Victoria’s Parliament House, on the last sitting day before the election, to demand a strong renewable energy commitment from the government and opposition.
Read more" I am very concerned about children’s mental and physical health"
Dr Suzanne Deed is a General Medical Practitioner, Psychotherapist and Family therapist based in South Gippsland, VIC. As a GP working in the Latrobe Valley for many years it was her observation that there was an increase in severity and incidence of asthma and respiratory illnesses in children and adults compared to when I was practicing in Melbourne. Suzanne shares her climate change journey with us.
Read more"The health effects are being played out now"
Dr Malcolm Mckelvie is GP based in Yarragon in West Gippsland, VIC. He has seen first-hand the impacts that burning fossil fuels have had on his local community, both in terms of illnesses like asthma incidences and the mental and physical health impacts of natural disasters. He is fighting to protect the health, wellbeing and environment of his local Gippsland community. Malcolm shares his deep concerns for the climate crisis with us.
Read more"As doctors we are taught to treat the disease and not just the symptoms."
Dr Scott Abbinga is a committed volunteer with Healthy Futures, heading up our Physicians group. He also is an infectious disease registrar currently working at Monash Health in Melbourne and has recently treated a patient with Japanese Encephalitis, highlighting his previously-held concerns with climate change and the impact on health.
Read more