Medical experts warn the Albanese Government's proposed nature laws — likely to be debated in the Senate next week — will allow major coal and gas projects to be approved without any assessment of their health impacts, costing Australian lives.
Medical group Doctors for the Environment Australia, says that the draft reforms, the Environment Protection Reform Bill 2025 and six other related bills, do not include human health effects when defining what is an "unacceptable impact". This effectively allows the Environment Minister, Senator Murray Watt, to approve a proposal without assessing the risk it poses to public health.
DEA's Executive Director Dr Kate Wylie says, "To prevent foreseeable harms from known hazards, we need to use the available science that can measure the toll on our communities from individual fossil fuel projects.
"Surely if a project causes death it cannot be deemed acceptable? What price a life? What price our health?
"Just like every cigarette is doing us damage, every tonne of carbon added to the atmosphere damages us too. And just as medical professionals called out the health harms of tobacco which led to comprehensive regulation, we are now calling for regulation of fossil fuels.
"Clean air, clean water, healthy soils capable of producing nutritious food, shelter and a stable climate are fundamental to the health of us all. Yet the environment on which we are totally dependent on for these things is in deep trouble, and the reforms we have been waiting for years to fix the problems show a terrible lack of concern."
"The Senate now has an opportunity to amend the legislation to include human health and protect our communities from harm," Dr Wylie says.
Fossil fuel-induced climate change is the biggest health hazard humanity faces. Climate impacts that doctors are seeing right now in their surgeries and in Emergency Departments include:
● Heat-related illness and mortality during extreme heat events.
● Bushfire smoke exposure causing respiratory and cardiovascular harm.
● Mental health impacts including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from climate disasters.
● Injuries and deaths from extreme weather events, such as extreme heat, bushfires,floods, and storms.
● Food insecurity from agricultural disruption and water insecurity
● Vector-borne diseases such as dengue fever and Japanese encephalitis which are likely to increase, as they're climate-sensitive.
● Healthcare costs for treating harms and also due to disruption during climate disasters.
