To: the Hon Chris Bowen, Federal Minister for Climate Change & Energy

Cc: the Hon Jenny McAllister, Federal Assistant Minister for Climate Change & Energy

& the Hon Mark Butler, Federal Minister for Health & Aged Care

& the Hon Jim Chalmers, Federal Treasurer

& the Hon Julie Collins, Federal Minister for Housing

& the Hon Amanda Rishworth, Federal Minister for Families and Social Services

Dear Minister Bowen, 

As healthcare workers and community members, we request that the Australian government protect  people in social housing from the increasing health impacts of climate change by ensuring that their homes are kept at safe temperatures through building retrofits and affordable, renewable-powered air conditioning.

Heat-related illnesses kill thousands of Australians every year (1) and roughly one-third of these deaths can be attributed to climate change (2,3). Heatwaves increase the risk of dehydration, kidney failure, heart attacks and strokes. Older people, children, people with pre-existing health conditions and people unable to afford air conditioning are most vulnerable.

Currently, many social housing dwellings are poor quality and prone to temperature extremes (4-6). A 2023 survey of people on low incomes by the Australian Council of Social Services found that 94.5% avoided using air conditioning because it is too expensive (7). Solar panels can significantly reduce air conditioning costs, and while 30% of Australian homes now have rooftop solar, rooftop solar coverage on social housing in New South Wales, for example, is only 7% (8).

Energy efficiency retrofits and renewable-powered air conditioning will not only protect people from extreme temperatures and drive down costs of living; they will also mitigate climate change and its health impacts in the long term by reducing dependence on polluting fossil fuel-based electricity.

We therefore request that as part of the next federal budget you commit funding to:

• Roll out rooftop solar on at least 30% of Australian social housing, to be completed by the end of 2026
  
  
• Ensure access to affordable renewable electricity for social housing where rooftop solar is impractical, e.g. via power purchasing agreements and/or battery storage
  
  
• Install reverse cycle air conditioning and implement other energy efficient retrofits to achieve safe temperatures in all social housing

Sincerely,

________

References:

1. Zhao, Q, Guo, Y, Ye, T, Gasparrini, A, Tong, S, Overcenco, A, Urban, A, Schneider, A, Entezari, A, Vicedo-Cabrera, AM, Zanobetti, A, Analitis, A, Zeka, A, Tobias, A, Nunes, B, Alahmad, B, Armstrong, B, Forsberg, B, Pan, S, Íñiguez, C, Ameling, C, De La Cruz Valencia, C, Åström, C, Houthuijs, D, Van Dung, D, Royé, D, Indermitte, E, Lavigne, E, Mayvaneh, F, Acquaotta, F, de’Donato, F, Di Ruscio, F, Sera, F, Carrasco-Escobar, G, Kan, H, Orru, H, Kim, H, Holobaca, I, Kyselý, J, Madureira, J, Schwartz, J, Jaakkola, JJK, Katsouyanni, K, Hurtado Diaz, M, Ragettli, MS, Hashizume, M, Pascal, M, de Sousa Zanotti Stagliorio Coélho, M, Valdés Ortega, N, Ryti, N, Scovronick, N, Michelozzi, P, Matus Correa, P, Goodman, P, Hilario Nascimento Saldiva, P, Abrutzky, R, Osorio, S, Rao, S, Fratianni, S, Ngoc Dang, T, Colistro, V, Huber, V, Lee, W, Seposo, X, Honda, Y, Leon Guo, Y, Bell, ML & Li, S 2021, ‘Global, regional, and national burden of mortality associated with non-optimal ambient temperatures from 2000 to 2019: a three-stage modelling study’, The Lancet, vol. 386, no. 9991, pp369-375, accessed 9 January 2024 at https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(21)00081-4/fulltext
   
   
2. Hannam, P 2021, June 1, ‘Climate change blamed for more than a third of heat-related deaths’, The Sydney Morning Herald, accessed 9 January 2024 at https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/climate-change-blamed-for-more-than-a-third-of-heat-related-deaths-20210531-p57wpy.html
   
   
3. Vicedo-Cabrera, AM, Scovronick, N, Sera, F, Royé, D, Schneider, R, Tobias, A, Astrom, C, Guo, Y, Honda, Y, Hondula, DM, Abrutzky, R, Tong, S, de Sousa Zanotti Stagliorio Coelho, M, Nascimento Saldiva, PH, Lavigne, E, Matus Correa, P, Valdes Ortega, N, Kan, H, Osorio, S, Kyselý, J, Urban, A, Orru, H, Indermitte, E, Jaakkola, JJK, Ryti, N, Pascal, M, Schneider, A, Katsouyanni, K, Samoli, E, Mayvaneh, F, Entezari, A, Goodman, P, Zeka, A, Michelozzi, P, de’Donato, F, Hashizume, M, Alahmad, B, Hurtado Diaz, M, De La Cruz Valencia, C, Overcenco, A, Houthuijs, D, Ameling, C, Rao, S, Di Ruscio, F, Carrasco-Escobar, G, Seposo, X, Silva, S, Madureira, J, Holobaca, IH, Fratianni, S, Acquaotta, F, Kim, H, Lee, W, Iniguez, C, Forsberg, B, Ragettli, MS, Guo, YLL, Chen, BY, Li, S, Armstrong, B, Aleman, A, Zanobetti, A, Schwartz, J, Dang, TN, Dung, DV, Gillett, N, Haines, A, Mengel, M, Huber V & Gasparrini, A 2021, ‘The burden of heat-related mortality attributable to recent human-induced climate change’, Nature Climate Change, vol 11, pp492-500, accessed 9 January 2024 at  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-021-01058-x
   
   
4. Haddad, S, Paolini, R, Synnefa A, De Torres, L, Prasad, D & Santamouris M 2022, ‘Integrated assessment of the extreme climatic conditions, thermal performance, vulnerability, and well-being in low-income housing in the subtropical climate of Australia’, Energy and Buildings, vol. 272, 112349, accessed 9 January 2024 at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378778822005205?via%3Dihub
   
   
5. Lander, J, Breth-Petersen, M, Moait, R, Forbes, C, Stephens, L & Dickson, M 2019. Extreme heat driven by the climate emergency: impacts on the health and wellbeing of public housing tenants in Mildura, Victoria, accessed 9 January 2024 at https://www.malleefamilycare.org.au/MFCSite/media/PDFDocuments/PublicHousing/2019/MalleeFamilyCare_PublicHousing_Report_2019.pdf
   
   
6. Kimberly community legal services 2022, ‘Stuck in the heat: lived experiences of public housing tenants in the Kimberley’, accessed 9 January 2024 via https://www.shelterwa.org.au/stuck-in-the-heat/
   
   
7. Australian Council of Social Services 2023, ‘ACOSS 2023 Heat Survey: how hotter days affect people on lowest incomes first, worst and and hardest’, accessed 9 January 2024 at https://www.acoss.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Heat-Survey-Report_20230228.pdf
   
   
8. NSW Department of Planning and Environment 2023, ‘NSW Land and Housing Corporation Environmental Sustainability Strategy 2024–2026’, accessed 9 January 2024 at  https://www.dpie.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/576436/environmental-sustainability-strategy-2024-2026.pdf

To: the Hon. Lily D’Ambrosio MP, Victorian Minister for Climate Action, Energy and Resources

cc: the Hon. Mary-Anne Thomas MP, Victorian Minister for Health & the Hon. Daniel Andrews MP, Premier of Victoria

Dear Minister D’Ambrosio,

The burning of gas in homes is threatening the health and wellbeing of Victorians and is contributing to catastrophic climate change. As health and community service workers, students and organisations we request that your government replace household gas with renewable-powered electricity urgently.

The Victorian Government’s Gas Substitution Roadmap [1] is a welcome step in the right direction, but currently lacks detail on the necessary timeframe for transition and assistance for Victorians on low incomes. We call on you to address these issues in the 2023 Roadmap update to reduce cost of living pressures and protect Victorians’ health and wellbeing.

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 [2].
  
  • Pollution from gas stoves has been estimated to account for 12% of the childhood asthma burden in Australia [3].
    
  • A child living in a house with a gas stove faces roughly a 30% increased risk of asthma [4]. This is comparable to a child living with household cigarette smoke [5,6].
    
  • Carbon monoxide poisoning from gas appliances is a well recognised and preventable cause of emergency department attendances [7] and has caused tragic fatalities [8].

• Rising gas prices are putting people’s physical and mental health at risk:
  
  • Many Australians are struggling to pay their energy bills, and this is more common among renters, people with low incomes and people with disabilities or chronic health conditions [9]. Last year Victorian wholesale gas prices more than doubled [10], increasing the risk of energy poverty for Victorians using gas.
    
  • When people cannot afford to maintain their homes at optimal temperatures they are more prone to both heat and cold-related illnesses, which already kill roughly 10,000 Australians every year [11-13].
    
  • People who struggle to pay their energy bills can limit their expenditure on food and medicines and can suffer significant mental health impacts from extreme temperatures and financial stress [14,15].
    
  • Overall, energy poverty is associated with poorer self-reported health in Australia [16].
    
  • Because electric reverse-cycle heating is cheaper than gas heating [17] and this price difference is projected to increase [18] it is urgent to assist Victorians, and particularly those most vulnerable, to switch from gas to electricity as soon as possible.

• The burning of gas is driving dangerous climate change. Victoria uses more gas than any other Australian state or territory and gas use accounts for approximately 17% of Victoria's greenhouse gas emissions [1]. Climate change is a health emergency that has become all too apparent to Australians in recent years due to devastating floods, bushfires and other extreme weather events. 

Households must be supported to switch from gas to electricity as soon as possible. Indigenous and culturally and linguistically diverse communities should be actively engaged in this process, and specific requirements must be set for rental properties. As a precedent, the Australian Capital Territory has already phased out gas connections to new homes [19]. We therefore request that you update the Victorian Gas Substitution Roadmap to include:

1. A commitment to no new gas connections to Victorian homes by 2025,
   
2. Means-tested financial assistance (e.g. direct subsidies, rebates and/or no-interest loans) for Victorians to replace their gas heaters, stoves and hot water systems with electric alternatives,
   
3. No further gas appliances to be offered through the Victorian Energy Upgrade Program after 2023,
   
4. A requirement for landlords to replace any gas appliances that fail after 2023 with energy-efficient electric alternatives,
   
5. Abolition of gas disconnection fees by the end of 2023, and
   
6. A commitment to replacing gas with electricity in all public housing and all public and government buildings, including proposed public housing such as the Commonwealth Games Village in Morwell.

We would welcome an opportunity to meet with you to discuss this further.

Sincerely,

[signatories]

References:

1. DELWP (Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning) 2022, Gas Substitution Roadmap, DELWP, Victorian Government, accessed 11 January 2023 via https://www.energy.vic.gov.au/renewable-energy/victorias-gas-substitution-roadmap
2. Ewald, B, Crisp, G & Carey, M 2022, ‘Health risks from indoor gas appliances’, Australian Journal of General Practice, vol. 51, no. 12, viewed 11 January 2023, https://www1.racgp.org.au/ajgp/2022/december/health-risks-from-indoor-gas-appliances
3. 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, viewed 11 January 2023, https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2018/208/7/damp-housing-gas-stoves-and-burden-childhood-asthma-australia
4. 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 
5. 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
6. 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
7. 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):e66–70. doi: 10.1136/emermed-2012-201712
8. Coroners Court of Victoria 2013, Inquest into the death of Tyler Robinson, viewed 11 January 2023 at www.coronerscourt.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2018-12/tylerrobinson_203810.pdf
9. Bryant, D, Porter, E, Rama, I & Sullivan, D 2022, Power pain: an investigation of energy stress in Australia, accessed 11 January 2023 via https://www.bsl.org.au/research/publications/power-pain/
10. Australian Energy Regulator 2023, Victorian gas market average daily weighted prices by quarter, viewed 30 January 2023 at https://www.aer.gov.au/wholesale-markets/wholesale-statistics/victorian-gas-market-average-daily-weighted-prices-by-quarter
11. Cheng, J, Xu, Z, Bambrick, H, Su, H, Tong, S & Wenbiao, H 2019, ‘Impacts of health, cold and temperature variability on mortality in Australia, 2000-2009’, Science of the Total Environment, vol. 651, part 2, pp2558-2565, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.10.186
12. Gasparrini, A, Guo, Y, Hashizume, M, Lavigne, E, Zanobetti, A, Schwartz, J, Tobias, A, Tong, S, Rocklöv, J, Forsberg, B, Leone, M, De Sario, M, Bell, ML, Guo, YL, Wu, C, Kan, H, Yi, S, de Sousa Zanotti Stagliorio Coelho, M, Saldiva, PHN, Honda, Y, Kim, H & Armstrong, B 2015, ‘Mortality risk attributable to high and low ambient temperature: a multicountry observational study’, The Lancet, vol. 386, no. 9991, pp369-375, viewed 11 January 2023 at https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(14)62114-0/fulltext
13. ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) (2022) Deaths, Australia 2021, viewed 11 January 2023 at https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/deaths-australia/latest-release
14. Dignam, J & Barrett, B 2022, Cold and costly: Renter Researchers' Experiences of Winter 22, accessed 11 January 2023 via https://www.betterrenting.org.au/renter_researchers_winter_22
15. Porto Valente, C, Morris, A & Wilkinson, S 2021, ‘Energy poverty, housing and health: the lived experience of lower income Australians’, Building Research & Information, vol. 50, no. 1-2, pp16-18, https://doi.org/10.1080/09613218.2021.1968293 
16. Churchill, SA & Smyth, R 2021, ‘Energy poverty and health: panel data evidence from Australia’, Energy Economics vol. 97 [105219], https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2021.105219
17. Sustainability Victoria 2022, Calculate heating running costs, viewed 11 January 2023 at https://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/energy-efficiency-and-reducing-emissions/save-energy-in-the-home/reduce-heating-costs-at-home/calculate-heating-costs
18. McLeod R 2022, Limiting energy bills by getting off gas: all-electric homes after the 2022 energy crisis, Renew Australia, accessed 11 January 2023 via https://renew.org.au/research/limiting-energy-bills-by-getting-off-gas/
19. ACT (Australian Capital Territory) Government 2022, Powering Canberra: our Pathway to Electrification, ACT Government, viewed 11 January 2023 at https://www.cmtedd.act.gov.au/open_government/inform/act_government_media_releases/barr/2022/powering-canberra-our-pathway-to-electrification