Getting ready for the Future Sooner Citizens Inquiry this Sunday at Halekulani Bowling Club from 1pm.

21 August 2024

 

THE citizens inquiry ends five decades of silence on coal community health impacts and government's failure to adequately address the problem

 

“This inquiry comes at the end of almost five decades of silence from the industry and public authorities about the long-term and well-documented public health impacts of electricity generation from coal,” Dr Charlton said.

 

“Communities have also been gagged by Non-Disclosure Agreements and a long-standing cultural cone of silence.”

 

Dr Charlton said momentum is growing, just as it had with previous public health campaigns on the impacts of cigarette smoke and alcohol consumption, to expose the impacts of burning coal on public health.

 

“Future Sooner has spent years collecting evidence about the health impacts of coal-fired power stations and now we want to hear from the residents about whether or not, and how, they think their health may have been affected, Dr Charlton said”

NSW has four coal-fired power plants still operating at Bayswater, Eraring, Mount Piper and Vales Point, and Future Sooner is extending an invitation to residents from the regions surrounding those plants to tell their health stories.

 

“The volume of damning expert evidence about the impacts of these plants on public health seems to be growing by the day right now:

 

UN REPORT

 

“In 2023 we were privileged to host a community meeting with Marcos Orellana, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and waste.

 

“His report, to be tabled at the UN Human Rights Council General Assembly between September 9 and October 9, takes note of ‘acute toxic challenges’ facing Australia including the ‘toxic impacts of coal mines and coal-fired power plants’ posing ‘serious threats to the environment and to the health of affected communities’.

 

“The Rapporteur’s report goes on to state that ‘communities have paid the price with premature deaths, terminal illnesses, asthma and other health problems’ and that those same communities ‘continue to be exposed to unsafe levels of air pollutants and toxics from coal mining and coal-fired power stations’.”

 

DOCTORS DECLARE CODE RED

 

Dr Charlton said the most recent report highlighting the health impacts of coal-fired power station pollution was released on 14 August by Doctors for the Environment Australia who have declared a Code Red with their damning new report, Fossil Fuels are a Health Hazard.

 

“I stand with those health professionals in calling out the dangers of fossil fuel pollution which is now killing more people globally than cigarette smoking,” Dr Charlton said.

 

“Now it is time for individual residents to be able to tell their stories at a safe and protective citizens inquiry. They have been silenced for too long.

 

SO ARE COAL-FIRED POWER STATIONS MAKING YOU SICK?

 

“We extend an invitation to members of all NSW coal communities to make submissions or appear as witnesses and provide their answers to the question we are hoping to answer: are coal-fired power stations making you sick?

 

“We have assembled an eminent expert panel to hear witnesses and examine submissions. We will then prepare a comprehensive report to finally give voice to those who have been too afraid or unsure to tell their stories before now.”

 

• Special Rapporteur’s report

 

• Doctors for the Environment Australia report Fossil Fuels are a Health Hazard Report - Doctors for the Environment Australia

 

THE PANEL

 

Associate Professor Dr Ian Charlton (panel chair):

 

Chair, M.D, M.B.B.S, M.R.C.G.P. Research Fellow in General Practice. Ian has an MD and specialises in Asthma Management. He is also a committee member of the National Asthma Council and Lung Foundation

 

Dr Merlene Thrift:

 

Dr Merlene Thrift has had almost 50 years of experience in General Practice. In 2012 she completed a Fellowship in Nutritional & Environmental Medicine. This alerted her to the impact of the lifestyle and the environment on community health.

 

Bronwyn Macdonald:

 

Energy Transition Campaigner for Healthy Futures. Bronwyn’s focus is to protect public health.

 

Dr Thomas Bunn:

 

Senior Consulting Engineer, TUNRA Bulk Solids, Research and Innovation Division, Newcastle University. Thomas worked as a mechanical engineer in power stations for 60 years.

 

Associate Professor Ian A Wright:

 

Environmental Science School of Science, University of Western Sydney. Ian lectures in Water Science and Management, Environmental Planning, Policy and Regulation at Western Sydney University's School of Science.

 

Associate Professor Dr Peter Sainsbury:

 

Peter Sainsbury was until his retirement in 2016 Director of Population Health in South Western Sydney Local Health District. Peter holds qualifications in medicine, health planning and public health and has a PhD in sociology. He is a Fellow of the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine and holds adjunct professorial appointments at the Universities of Notre Dame and Sydney. Peter has a career-long interest in social policy, particularly related to health equity and the social determinants of health.

 

Associate Professor Gill Boehringer:

 

Former Dean, School of Law, Macquarie University. Recently a panellist, Citizens’ Inquiry into the Health of the Barka/Darling River. Previously member of the Occupational Health and Safety Action Group and the Committee for Mental Health Advocacy.

 

Dr Ben Ewald:

 

A practising GP, Ben holds a PHD in epidemiology, is a member of Doctors for the Environment and teaches public health and epidemiology at the University of Newcastle.

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