Page 3359 - Week 11 - Thursday, 11 November 2021
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In February 2021 my colleague Minister Stephen-Smith informed the Assembly of the government’s intention to release a strategy prior to the 2021-22 bushfire season and, by doing so, responded substantively to the resolution. Subsequently, Minister Stephen-Smith and I have worked together to develop and finalise a whole-of-government response that recognises the importance of leveraging our shared experience and knowledge of the impacts that smoke has on our health and wellbeing.
The strategy will complement broader work to address the impact of climate change in the territory and will build on existing strategic documents such as the ACT Climate Change Strategy 2019-2025, the ACT’s Transition to Zero Emission Vehicles Action Plan 2018-21, the Air Environment Protection Policy, the ACT Emergency Plan and the Strategic Bushfire Management Plan.
To develop the strategy, the government has drawn on our responses to the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements and ACT inquiries and reviews into the 2019-20 bushfire season that have been completed since the Assembly resolution was passed. The government will engage with the community over the life of the strategy, including in implementing the strategy’s first action plan and developing the second action plan.
Since the update my colleague Minister Stephen-Smith provided to the Assembly in February this year, the government has responded to the final report of the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements. The royal commission’s report included a chapter and recommendations that are specifically dedicated to air quality from bushfire smoke.
The royal commission called on governments to develop close to real-time, nationally consistent air quality information, including consistent categorisation and public health advice; deliver community education and guidance; provide targeted health advice to vulnerable groups; and develop national air quality forecasting capabilities, including broad coverage of population centres, which apply to smoke and other airborne pollutants, such as dust and pollen, to predict plume behaviour.
The Bushfire Smoke and Air Quality Strategy 2021-2025 reflects the government’s response to these recommendations and progresses work towards the recommendations where this is yet to be completed.
In our submission to the royal commission, the government recommended that nationally consistent air quality indices and associated public messaging should be adopted. Consistent with this, the government has already acted on the royal commission’s recommendation about nationally consistent air quality information.
ACT Health has implemented air quality categories that correspond to nationally agreed health and activity advice and changed online public information about air quality to reflect the national categories and public health messaging for a one-hour and 24-hour PM2.5 exposure. The government has also conducted a preliminary investigation into market options for an expanded ACT air quality monitoring network, and our forecasting capability is being explored in consultation with the New South Wales government.
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