Page 3360 - Week 11 - Thursday, 11 November 2021
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While there is not sufficient time to talk about all 20 actions listed in the first action plan that fall under the eight objectives, I would like to focus on just a few of the immediate steps that the government will be taking on this journey to clean air for all. The government will be improving air quality monitoring and forecasting and will investigate the feasibility and ongoing costs of a low-cost air quality sensor network. Enhancing our air quality monitoring and forecasting capability will allow us to harness more data to support better health outcomes for our community.
This action plan will see the development of buildings that are resilient to air pollution, covering both our future homes and heat and smoke refuges for our local communities. In practice, this means ensuring that the ACT construction code is updated to include appropriate climate change adaptation, as well as how we seal and provide ventilation in our homes.
We have also established a five-year, $5 million building energy efficiency upgrade fund to be accessed by community clubs. This includes supporting clubs to become heat and smoke refuges for local communities, and it will ensure appropriate air filtration systems and financial payments for venues that are designated as official extreme weather refuge sites.
This strategy will provide targeted support to vulnerable populations and workers during severe air pollution events. While we all breathe the same air, we know that certain populations are more susceptible to the impacts of exposure to particulate matter—groups such as the elderly, infants, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and people with underlying cardiovascular and respiratory disorders.
We know that people with socio-economic difficulties are also at risk, as they are less likely to have access to air conditioning, good insulation and air purifiers, and are more likely to have the leaky homes that provide little protection from smoke. We have also learned that outdoor workers and people attending outdoor events were vulnerable during this smoke event where there was no or limited access to respite.
As a community we are collectively responsible for protecting the more vulnerable in our community, and this strategy commits to some of the ways that we will be doing this. This includes providing strong and effective engagement strategies targeting vulnerable populations and workers; delivering specific guidance materials to help employers and the industry manage the risks of bushfire smoke in the workplace; continuing design work on new schools and continued energy efficiency upgrades to older schools to improve resilience to extreme smoke events; and ensuring that information regarding vulnerable people can be appropriately accessed, provided and used during an emergency event.
Finally, but very importantly, this action plan will be strengthening measures to address the air quality impacts of wood heaters. This includes setting more stringent wood heater emissions standards via building regulations, and taking steps to phase out older, polluting wood heaters that do not meet standards, including those sold second-hand. We will also be improving existing education and engagement programs, strengthening the regulation of environmental pollution, and taking steps to ensure that firewood sold in the ACT is sustainably sourced and meets compliance with government-recommended wood-burning practices.
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