Page 222 - Week 01 - Thursday, 13 February 2020
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I am not saying these cancellations are the end of the world and, in some ways, some people might even say they are a bit of a First World problem, but they can and do have an impact on people, especially when the disruptions are extended. We should not overlook the effect this can have on people and the feelings that it brings about, particularly some of the mental health issues.
On this issue, I want to conclude by acknowledging the very real impact that the smoke has had on people’s mental wellbeing. People can suffer a psychological response, both to the immediate and local disruption of the smoke but also due to a broader realisation that the entire planet is, in fact, suffering. People can feel anxiety, stress, depression and grief. This concern over the climate breakdown, sometimes called eco-anxiety, is increasingly common and is even a recognised area in the field of psychology.
Our response needs to include ways to help people with their mental wellbeing and consider how we offer care, support and information. It is a complex and difficult issue, of course, but as a starting point I try to remind people of the many good and inspiring climate change actions that are being pursued around the world every day. There is still reason to maintain hope that we can meet the climate challenge and foster a healthy and livable world for ourselves and future generations.
To conclude today, I want to acknowledge the significant and multi-layered impacts that smoke has had on the ACT and the many ways it has negatively affected ACT residents and visitors. I think it is essential that the government prepares for future air quality events in a coordinated fashion and has an action plan. I want to acknowledge the significant efforts that were put in place to respond to something that was both unprecedented and unexpected. Many of our agencies worked very hard to provide support immediately to the community and to generate the necessary information. As I said earlier, this provides an excellent foundation to think about, if this does happen to us again, what our action plan will be.
Just as the smoke permeated all parts of Canberra and our lives, the issues it raises permeate all parts of government: health, buildings, education, community services and more. We do not know if and when something like this will happen again, but having had it happen to us, we now need to make sure that, should it happen again, we have the understanding of what we need to do in response. I commend the motion to the Assembly.
MRS DUNNE (Ginninderra) (10.58): The Canberra Liberals thank Mr Rattenbury for bringing this motion forward today and will be supporting it. Like our annual flu seasons, the annual bushfire season can create pressures on government agencies, and that is especially the case in relation to our health system.
Consideration of a range of measures to manage the impact of future smoke events in the community is indeed warranted. It has been reported that this season, between the period of 20 December and 12 January, 176 people presented to the emergency departments of hospitals with smoke-related respiratory-type conditions. This, of course, does not cover the whole period during which Canberrans suffered through the
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