Healthcare workers gathered outside Parliament to send the Federal Government a strong message that heat and climate change are harmful to health, and people need protection now

 

“As GPs, we know that increasing extremes of heat can have an impact on the health of the community – especially on the very young, and the very old. In primary care, we need to help our patients plan for heatwaves, which might include discussing staying cool, using air conditioning, or including this in chronic disease management plans, but we also need to advocate for broader interventions that can reduce climate change.” [Associate Professor Rowena Ivers, representing the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, Healthy Futures media release, 26 March 2024]

IMAGE: @RACGPPresident

Health professionals gathered at 11am on Tuesday, 26 March 2024 outside Parliament House in Canberra to deliver an open letter signed by 25 organisations representing over 50,000 health professionals, including the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) and the Australasian College of Sports and Exercise Physicians (ACSEP), calling for funding commitments for rooftop solar on social housing to protect vulnerable people from the health impacts of extreme heat and climate change.

Led by Healthy Futures1, the letter warns that heat-related illnesses kill thousands of Australians every year.

The letter requests that the Federal government commit to installing rooftop solar on at least 30% of Australian social housing, to be completed by the end of 2026, provide access to affordable renewable electricity where rooftop solar is impractical and install reverse cycle air conditioning and implement other energy efficient retrofits to achieve safe temperatures in all social housing.

Key facts:

Heat-related illnesses kill thousands of Australians every year (1) by increasing heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure and other health impacts.

Roughly one-third of heat-related deaths in Australia are attributable to climate change (2,3).

Many social housing dwellings are poor quality and prone to temperature extremes (3-5).

A 2023 survey of people on low incomes by the Australian Council of Social Services found that 94.5% avoided using air conditioning because it is too expensive (6). [Healthy Futures, media release, 26 March 2024]

Text of the Letter

To: the Hon Chris Bowen, Federal Minister for Climate Change & Energy

Cc: the Hon Jenny McAllister, Federal Assistant Minister for Climate Change & Energy

& the Hon Mark Butler, Federal Minister for Health & Aged Care

& the Hon Jim Chalmers, Federal Treasurer

& the Hon Julie Collins, Federal Minister for Housing

& the Hon Amanda Rishworth, Federal Minister for Families and Social Services

Dear Minister Bowen,

As healthcare workers and community members, we request that the Australian government protect people in social housing from the increasing health impacts of climate change by ensuring that their homes are kept at safe temperatures through building retrofits and affordable, renewable-powered air conditioning.

Heat-related illnesses kill thousands of Australians every year (1) and roughly one-third of these deaths can be attributed to climate change (2,3). Heatwaves increase the risk of dehydration, kidney failure, heart attacks and strokes. Older people, children, people with pre-existing health conditions and people unable to afford air conditioning are most vulnerable.

Currently, many social housing dwellings are poor quality and prone to temperature extremes (4-6). A 2023 survey of people on low incomes by the Australian Council of Social Services found that 94.5% avoided using air conditioning because it is too expensive (7). Solar panels can significantly reduce air conditioning costs, and while 30% of Australian homes now have rooftop solar, rooftop solar coverage on social housing in New South Wales, for example, is only 7% (8).

Energy efficiency retrofits and renewable-powered air conditioning will not only protect people from extreme temperatures and drive down costs of living; they will also mitigate climate change and its health impacts in the long term by reducing dependence on polluting fossil fuel-based electricity.

We therefore request that as part of the next federal budget you commit funding to:

• Roll out rooftop solar on at least 30% of Australian social housing, to be completed by the end of 2026

• Ensure access to affordable renewable electricity for social housing where rooftop solar is impractical, e.g. via power purchasing agreements and/or battery storage

• Install reverse cycle air conditioning and implement other energy efficient retrofits to achieve safe temperatures in all social housing.

Sincerely,

Signed by 25 organisations representing over 50,000 health professionals, including the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) and the Australasian College of Sports and Exercise Physicians (ACSEP)

References:

[1] https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(21)00081-4/fulltext

[2]

https://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/climate-change-blamed-for-more-than-a-third-of-heat-related-deaths-20210531-p57wpy.html

[3]

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-021-01058-x

[4] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378778822005205?via%3Dihub

[5] https://www.malleefamilycare.org.au/MFCSite/media/PDFDocuments/PublicHousing/2019/MalleeFamilyCare_PublicHousing_Report_2019.pdf

[6]

https://www.shelterwa.org.au/stuck-in-the-heat/

[7]

https://www.acoss.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Heat-Survey-Report_20230228.pdf

[8]

https://www.dpie.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/576436/environmental-sustainability-strategy-2024-2026.pdf

“Extreme heat can trigger heart attacks, kidney failure, strokes and even death,” said Ursula Alquier, Healthy Futures Campaigner. “We want to see a commitment to ensure people living in social housing are able to live in safe and healthy homes”

“As healthcare workers, we are concerned about the health of our patients and our climate. People in social housing need energy-efficient homes with cheap renewable-powered air conditioning to protect their health” said Dr Harry Jennens, general practitioner and Healthy Futures Co-ordinator. [Healthy Futures, media release, 26 March 2024]

IMAGE: @RACGPPresident

NOTES

1. Healthy Futures is an affiliate of Friends of the Earth Australia and a member of the Climate and Health Alliance.

It's the state and territory governments more than the federal government which are going to decide renters ability to attain & retain housing in the near future

 

In Australia there is evidence to suggest that by 2022 there were est. 640,000 Australian households whose housing needs were not being met. 

These households are either experiencing homelessness, in overcrowded homes or spending over 30% of their income on rent.

This unmet housing need is projected to increase to 940,000 households in 2041.

In a November 2022 the Community Housing Industry Association released a report noting the unmet need in states/territories/regions by number and percentage of all households. 

CHIA, Nov 2022, “Quantifying Australia’s unmet housing need: A national snapshot”, p.2

On 29 June 2022 The Guardian reported:

The public housing waiting list across all jurisdictions rose by more than 8,000 households last year, from 155,141 to 163,508. Most of the increase was among households considered “in greatest need”. While for the last nine years social housing stock remained static at est. 4.2% of all housing stock.

The National Cabinet meeting last Friday, 28 April 2023, ended with these joint announcements by the Prime Minister and state & territories leaders, according to ABC News:

• National cabinet has endorsed $2.2b in measures to strengthen Medicare

• The announcements include expanding the nursing workforce to improve access to primary care and incentives for doctors to stay open for longer hours

• Housing ministers will develop a proposal outlining ways to strengthen renters rights, which will be dealt with by national cabinet later in the year

• Work will be undertaken to improve the migration system through increased visa processing capacity and expanding pathways to permanent residency for skilled workers. [my yellow highlighting]

What is clear is that although there may be the intention that a guiding statement on renters rights will eventually be produced by the National Cabinet, it will be left to individual states and territories to decide how and to what degree renters rights will be strengthened.

As for the built-to-rent component of any national plan to increase housing stock, Master Builders Australia sent out a media release immediately after this National Cabinet meeting welcoming a national approach to reforms to address the housing crisis which stated in part:

Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn said the decision to tackle infrastructure investment, planning reforms to increase housing supply and affordability alongside sustainable growth across states and territories is an important signal for the industry.

“Industry will work closely with the Planning Ministers and National Cabinet to ensure all options are on the table and there are no unintended consequences of other reforms that may dampen this effort,” said Ms Wawn.

The Commonwealth Government also announced a series of other measures to boost investment for increasing housing supply including: increasing the depreciation rate [from 2% to 4%] for eligible new build-to-rent projects, and reducing the withholding tax rate for eligible fund payments for managed investment trusts to foreign residents on income from newly constructed residential build-to-rent properties.

However, Master Builders Australia went on to make an ambit claim for further reform:

“More needs to be done to speed up the delivery of new housing in the medium and high-density part of the market over the short term. Government efforts to expand the stock of build-to-rent will provide welcome support.

“The challenge will be to make sure that we put downward pressure on building and construction costs to increase output.

“Builders continue to face regulatory burdens and prolonged delays in approvals for building applications, occupation certificates and land titles. Additionally, land shortages in the wrong places, high developer charges and inflexible planning laws are restricting opportunities to meet demand, speed up project timelines, and minimise costs to both builders and their clients,” Ms Wawn said.

Master Builders’ Delivering the housing needs for all Australians recommends policies around housing supply, workforce, supply chain risk and cost pressures, simplifying regulatory settings that support investment in housing and business productivity.

The Property Council of Australia is also in favour of what it classes on its website News & Research page as the emerging build-to-rent sector.

It sees this sector as having the potential to deliver 150,000 new build-to-rent homes into the rental market in the next 10 years (by 2043) and says of a report it commissioned from Ernst Young and published on 4 April 2023:

.. estimates that the current size of the build-to-rent sector in Australia is $16.87 billion (this equates to roughly 0.2 per cent of the total value of the residential housing sector), with the expectation that this value will continue to grow in the coming years. If it reached just 3 per cent of the residential market, it could be worth $290 billion.

In comparison, the build-to-rent sector comprises of 5.4 per cent of the total value of the residential sector in the UK and 12 per cent in the US.

The Housing Industry Association also issued a media release on 28 April 2023 welcoming the National Cabinet’s agreement today to support a range of reforms to address housing supply, stating:

HIA’s Deputy Managing Director – Industry and Policy, Jocelyn Martin said the decision to tackle planning reforms to increase housing supply and affordability ultimately leads to more affordable rental accommodation and provides the capacity to deliver social housing without impacting housing supply more broadly.

On the part of federal and state governments there appears to be an aversion to their having direct ownership of any project building social housing and, on the part of finance and construction industries – along with property developers and investors – there appears to be a similar aversion to such a direct supply of social housing by the first two tiers of government.

Perhaps the smell of desperation in the air – with 243 construction businesses put into insolvency by the Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC) in March 2023 alone, joining an unspecified number of other construction, registered property investment and/or property development corporations within the January to March 1,879 businesses-strong insolvency list – has the National Cabinet seeking to resuscitate more than one bird with its housing funding commitments. 

Note: Searchable ASIC list can be found at

https://publishednotices.asic.gov.au/browsesearch-notices/

All these government and non-government actors appear to be suggesting that: after relaxing planning laws; increasing investment opportunities along with potential profits for all classes of investors; and the possibility for individuals, partnerships & corporations to access grants & other benefits in the proposed $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund; then market forces will inevitably push rental costs down once housing supply increases even though the most optimistic rendition of proposed supply is unlikely to fully meet the nation's unmet secure residential housing need.

My admittedly jaded personal response to the idea that residential rents will significantly reduce over the next 10 years……

via GIPHY

I'm hoping that time will prove me wrong.