Page 3487 - Week 09 - Thursday, 24 August 2017
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
In 2014, the ACT Government conducted a Territory Wide Risk Assessment that looked at how natural, technological, environmental and other disasters could impact on the ACT. The purpose was to create a better-prepared and safer community in the event of major disasters. The Territory Wide Risk Assessment identifies extreme heat as a key risk for the ACT.
The ACT Government also has a hazard-specific emergency plan for heatwaves, ‘The ACT Extreme Heat Management Plan’, which was last updated in 2015. The purpose of the ACT Extreme Heat Management Plan is to protect the community by:
• promoting individual and community resilience; and
• adapting to extreme heat conditions through delivery of a planned, managed, and effective whole-of-government response.
The ACT Ambulance Service is the lead response agency for extreme heat events in the ACT. ACT Health also has a significant role in the development and implementation of strategies to promote and protect public health under the Public Health Act 1997.
(2) New ACT apartments must be built to comply with the National Construction Code (NCC). The NCC has provisions for occupant amenity, including thermal comfort. Compliance with the NCC does not rely on the use of an air conditioner for thermal comfort, rather it relies on the energy efficiency of the building envelope.
The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) is reviewing the energy efficiency provisions of the NCC, including their adequacy in heatwave conditions. The ABCB will consider how projected climate changes may influence heatwaves.
(3) The ACT Government provides public messaging to the community prior to, and during, a heatwave event. This includes encouraging community members to go to publically accessible buildings with air conditioning, such as shopping centres, libraries, and cinemas.
Apartment building owners are responsible for emergency evacuation plans.
(4) The Emergencies Act 2004 and the ACT Emergency Plan are both publically available on the ACT Legislation Register. The Territory Wide Risk Assessment is publicly available on the ESA website at http://esa.act.gov.au/community-information/publications/.
The ACT Extreme Heat Management Plan is not available to the public. The ACT Extreme Heat Management Plan focuses on internal ACT Government procedures and is not applicable to how the public should respond during an emergency.
ACT Health has developed heatwave-related fact sheets for the community. The fact sheets are available on the ACT Health public website at http://www.health.act.gov.au/healthy-living/summer-safety.
The fact sheets provide public health advice, including how to prevent heat-related stress and what to do during planned and unplanned power outages. This information is applicable to residents in apartments, free-standing dwellings, commercial premises, and other buildings.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video