Thread by @BlairWilliams26

My piece covering the Clean Air Forum is finally out in The Saturday Paper!

I explore how clean indoor air has been an issue long before the pandemic, which "cost Australia more than $12 billion a year due to ill health and lost productivity."

#auspol
thesaturdaypaper.com.au/life/environme…

CMO Paul Kelly set the forum a challenge, and it was taken up by "experts in fields ranging from medicine to architecture, engineering and occupational health and safety [who] gathered with politicians at Parliament House."

#auspol #COVIDIsAirborne

As CHO Brett Sutton announced at the start of the forum, it's clear that we need a #CleanAirRevolution!

And Australia could play a leading role.

Though some critics (👀) have argued that clean air is a waste of time and too expensive, it'd actually save money in the long run.

Especially when it comes to COVID.

As @dom_ma argues:

“If every reinfection increases the risk of long Covid and other chronic diseases, this will have drastic consequences for our fiscal outlook.”

#COVIDIsAirborne

@JEChalmers is due to release the budget in just over a week and a clean air revolution should be part of the solution to our budgetary woes.

#auspol #Budget2023

In his essay on "values-based capitalism", @JEChalmers critiqued Frydenberg for failing to learn “the key lesson of the pandemic: healthy economies rely on healthy people and communities” and wrote that we must "build something better."

A clean air revolution would do just that!

In the article, I offer "three overarching and cost-effective solutions are relatively low-hanging fruit" that were discussed at the Clean Air Forum.

1) Use and adapt existing OHS frameworks/building regs
2) Measure and publicly display Co2
3) Fix and retrofit buildings

As I discuss, there are many benefits to good Indoor Air Quality (IAQ):

1) Reduces illness & allergies
2) Cuts hospitalisations
3) Saves $$
4) Improved concentration and learning
5) Increased productivity
6) Less absenteeism
7) Creates jobs
8) Can increase energy efficiency

As @DrPieterPeach declared at the forum, “there is no excuse for poorly ventilated spaces in Australia”, and there is little evidence giving us reason not to do this.

I conclude that:

"The 'gas-fired recovery' promised by the Morrison government must be replaced by a clean-air revolution that aligns far better with Australia’s broader transition to clean energy and to our self-actualisation as a 'nation of innovators'."

#auspol

Thanks for @SatPaper for publishing this!

Thanks also goes out to all participants at the Clean Air Forum, and especially to the organisers @michrajah, @helenhainesindi and Mike Freelander! And @CrabbBrendan and @DrBronKing for inviting me!

And thanks to @dom_ma, @Marks1Guy, @enenbee, @NicBurt1, @GeoffHanmer, @ColinKinner and @Dominique_Hes for the quotes!