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:

1. 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
2. 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
3. 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
4. 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
5. 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
6. 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
7. 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

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:

References:

1. 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
2. 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
3. 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 
4. 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
5. 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
6. 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 
7. 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
8. 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
9. 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.
10. 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/.
11. 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/
12. 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 
13. 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 
14. 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/