Armidale Regional Council to apply for wood heater education funding

Councillors Dorothy Robinson and Peter Bailey proposed that council apply to the state and federal governments' for funds to undertake a pilot, 'healthy winter air' project in Armidale.

The grant money will employ a specialist education officer to undertake an education project to showcase alternative home heating solutions and reduce emissions from existing wood heaters.

Introducing the motion, Cr Robinson read out a statement from a local health professional who lived in a house in the Armidale 'wood smoke zone' with a wood heater, which outlined the positive effect moving house had on the respiratory health of her children.

"This example typifies Armidale's problem," Cr Robinson said.

"We know that when Launceston reduced its woodsmoke, deaths in winter from lung disease fell by 28 percent, and death from cardiovascular diseases fell by 20 percent. I think seeking funds for a healthy winter air strategy will allow us to see similar improvements here."

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In response to social media comments suggesting wood smoke affected residents move house, Cr Robinson said we need to think about who we are asking to move.

"We are asking people with heart and lung conditions, families with young or unborn children, those with asthma, diabetes, and dementia to move house," she said.

"And remember, sometimes heart attack and strokes come on without warning, so we really can't ask those that don't know they're at risk to move."

Despite a council-run education program between 2000 and 2002, Armidale's air pollution hadn't improved since 1999 when the Australian Home Heating Association (AHHA) became involved with the debate about woodsmoke Cr Robinson said.

Read more: Armidale's air quality rated among the world's worst

"The AHHA made incorrect claims that new wood heaters were 90 percent cleaner than existing ones, and today we have equally misleading and inaccurate claims," Cr Robinson said.

"The Canterbury heater standard in Christchurch, New Zealand is the sort of standard we in Armidale should be aiming for wherever wood heaters are allowed. It's really heaps better than the average new Australian wood heater."

Last week, the AHHA hit back following national media coverage of Cr Robinson's recent report from a 2018 study on the effects of wood heating pollution.

The report was published in the Medical Journal of Australia this month, and in it, Cr Robinson likened the pollution in Armidale to second-hand smoke from cigarettes.

To avoid claims in 20 years that the health of Armidale residents is still being 'ravaged by woodsmoke' council needed to be guided by science Cr Robinson said at Wednesday's meeting, not 'vested interest who put profit before public health'.

"Clean air is just important as clean water," she said.

Read more: Wood heater use under health spotlight

The 'healthy winter air strategy' project aims to create upgraded housing through improved insulation, clean, affordable heating, and money for businesses to install insulation, making Armidale an attractive place to live.

And improvements in both solar cell and reverse cycle air conditioning technology could help change heating habits Cr Robinson stressed.

Referring to her recently published research, she said her work was not intended to make Armidale look bad but to provide the 'best possible evidence' to justify the council's need for funding to other levels of government.

"It has been our inability and unwillingness to look for funding in the past that has led to this problem," Cr Robinson said.

"We have a vocal .minority who just doesn't want to know about the reduction in deaths in Launceston."

Supporting Cr Robinson's motion, Cr Bailey said the council couldn't make people take wood heaters out of their homes, so an education project was needed.

"Regardless of what we might want to do, we don't have the legislative power to force them," he said.

"I agree it's a challenge, but for an education city to say that education doesn't work is hypocritical. We've got to keep trying and change our methods so we can show people better ways of using their wood heater, and this education process will hopefully result in a reduction of emissions."

The debate around wood heating in Armidale has been ongoing for years.

In 2016 through an open letter to Council, New England Building Recyclers' Martin Chaseling accused councillors Margaret O'Connor and Peter O'Donohue of 'promoting their respective party political dogmas [over] realistic, alternative policies'.

At the time, Cr O'Connor, as chairwoman of the Environmental Sustainability Committee, wanted wood heaters phased out from Armidale homes before being banned by 2030.

Cr O'Donohue supported her. Their push came after monitoring found wood smoke above the safe limit in 28 percent of days monitored in 2015.

In November 2017, Armidale Regional Council rescinded a motion to allow it to remove wood fire heaters from houses after they were sold.

At an ordinary council meeting in April 2018, Dr Robinson asked questions about the council's failure to meet National Air Quality Standards and having the highest child mortality rate in NSW, in response to a council report on risk management which caused outrage in parts of the community.

In this week's motion, Cr Robinson referenced the draft NSW Clean Air Strategy, which aims to partner with local governments to provide financial assistance to householders and reduce public exposure to residential wood smoke through a combination of education and regulatory measures.

"This indicates that financial assistance will be available, so it's up to us to make sure we make a good case to take advantage of this opportunity," Cr Robinson said.

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