Page 229 - Week 01 - Thursday, 13 February 2020
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Our ability to predict the coming and going of smoke and our ability to provide people with better information about what they can expect from one day to the next are something we also need to look at, but they are something we cannot necessarily control.
We do not know what the long-term health implications of this summer’s smoke events will be. Current available research to estimate the health risks associated with short-term exposure to bushfire smoke over a period of days to weeks is not really available, because what has been measured is in relation to exposure based on 24-hour average levels of PM2.5 and generally prolonged exposure to high levels of pollution. While exposure to high levels of PM2.5 for less than 24 hours may have some long-term health effects for some people, there is currently limited available research to estimate these health risks.
This research will require collaboration across our many great research institutions. I would like to acknowledge that the commonwealth has announced funding for research into the medium term. I know that researchers in health facilities across the territory will have valuable contributions to make.
However, we cannot wait for all this research to review what we experienced. We know there are tangible lessons to learn now. The ACT health protection service and our public hospitals, pharmacies, general practices, walk-in centres and community organisations all contributed to supporting our community during this period.
Across our community, lessons have been learnt and innovative solutions found. It is time that we bring that together. As Minister Rattenbury stated in the chamber yesterday, prolonged smoke across the ACT was never something that was raised by experts planning for bushfire seasons, but we have got things we can learn. I commend the motion.
MR MILLIGAN (Yerrabi) (11.22): I rise today to speak to this motion, in my capacity as the shadow minister for sport and recreation. While I am grateful to Mr Rattenbury for bringing this issue forward, I want to highlight issues that I fear may be overlooked as part of the whole-of-government strategy on smoke and air quality.
The motion asks the Assembly to note how the summer events have exposed a range of issues that the government should consider regarding air quality, like standards for events, including sporting events. As highlighted by Mr Rattenbury, the impact of air quality on the Canberra community over the last few months has been something we have never really faced before. The situation was intense in terms of the readings and impact, and also very distressing in terms of the duration. The summer was confronting on so many fronts, as Canberrans did not really have a baseline or an experience like this to use as a point of reference. People just had to do their best. As we have heard again and again this week, the Canberra community spirit shone through during these challenging times.
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