Page 235 - Week 01 - Thursday, 13 February 2020
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There is no doubt that the bushfire crisis and the associated smoke pollution in our city have been exacerbated by our changing climate. Many of us have acknowledged the need for serious action to be taken on climate change, in response to worsening bushfire seasons and the hotter, drier summers, and it is what Canberrans expect of us.
Over this summer, working people, particularly those who work outdoors, have experienced extremely difficult workplace conditions. WorkSafe ACT has played an important role in informing workers, employers and the wider community of what can be done to mitigate the risks of smoke and heat. Under the ACT’s work health and safety laws, all employers have an obligation to take all reasonable action to protect their employees and people affected by their business from the risks to health and safety.
In response to the severe smoke pollution and poor air quality, WorkSafe ACT has consistently been advising employers to conduct risk assessments and implement measures such as avoiding or rescheduling outdoor work if possible, rotating workers to limit exposure and providing P2 masks for workers who need to complete prolonged outdoor activity or who are sensitive to smoke. WorkSafe has also published updated guidance material for employers and workers, based on advice from the Chief Health Officer, to ensure that everyone has the correct information to be kept safe from the serious health risks associated with poor air quality. Although WorkSafe, as well as other ACT government agencies, have taken a strong approach to reducing the harm from extreme heat and smoke, we need to ensure that we are prepared for future risks.
I am pleased to support Mr Rattenbury’s call for a whole-of-government strategy on smoke and air quality in the ACT. I have already begun working across my portfolios to identify what more can be done to mitigate the impacts of extreme heat, smoke and climate change more broadly. It is important that we work with experts when developing these solutions, including climate scientists, public health professionals, unions and business leaders. Our WHS legislation and regulations must ensure that working people are kept safe, and this requires us to ensure that they provide adequate protection from current-day risks and are modernised when new hazards emerge.
All states and territories, as well as the commonwealth, need to work together to deliver real outcomes on work health and safety, and this extends to how we protect working people from climate change. The ACT, along with other jurisdictions, will be advocating through Safe Work Australia and COAG to keep this issue on the national agenda and develop a national response. As we move into the recovery phase for communities that have been affected by the bushfires, the ACT government will need the support of the commonwealth to assist in restoring our natural environment and ensuring that we are prepared for the future natural disasters that are a result of our changing climate.
We need all governments to take seriously the issue of climate change and its impact on everyone’s lives. Canberrans expect their government to take strong action on climate change and respond to its impact with tangible outcomes. We will undertake to find mitigation solutions to the issues that climate change presents to the health of
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