Brisbane has amongst the worst air quality of
Australian Cities. Air pollution has serious implications for our health with
children and older people especially vulnerable. If elected the Greens will stop the Hale Street Bridge and
restore funding for Brisbane City Council staff to assess
and advise on air quality. Staff levels for air quality assessment were slashed by Newman in 2004.
Air Quality Policy
Principles
1. Bad air quality has health implications for all, but the most serious implications are for the elderly, children and pregnant women.
2. Contaminants in the air especially soluble fine particulate pollution (“the new asbestos”) can cause serious problems with asthma and cancer. Air borne contaminants increase the risk of death from respiratory or cardiovascular disease (especially in the elderly), and increase the risk of hospitalisation for respiratory problems (especially in the young). Air pollution also causes less serious nuisances such as mild respiratory problems, asthma exacerbations, and sore throats and eyes. Air pollution significantly reduces birth weight, which has potentially major consequences for later life.
3. The main sources of air pollution comprise industrial processes and fossil fuel burning vehicular traffic. Other main sources include rural operations such as quarries which cause silica dust, or intensive animal production which usually affects both water and air. Uncovered coal wagons create unnecessary dust. Burning off and bush fires also cause air pollution.
4. Population, car ownership per head and average kilometres travelled per car are all soaring to create soaring air pollution from motor vehicles. This must be reversed.
5. We need to work towards zeros emissions of contaminants from all controllable sources. This may be achieved by a combination of land use planning, encouragement of technical innovation and regulation by Commonwealth, State and local government.
Short Term Targets
1. Employ 8 staff to work on Air quality as part of the BCC Natural Environment and Sustainability Branch. Cost $700,000pa
2. Those staff need to track air quality data and trends, to supervise and interpret monitoring and modelling, to have strategic input to Brisbane and Regional air quality and land use planning and to provide advice on the impacts of particular development applications. In 2003/4 there were 5 officers working on air quality at Brisbane City Council with a budget of $480,000. This was slashed to $190,000 in fact only $50,000 was spent that year and funding of an independent unit has languished ever since.
3. Price retrofitting of diesel buses with catalytic converters by end of 2008 and plan to introduce retrofitting
4. Create planning rules to ban development or infrastructure that worsens air quality especially at hospitals, schools and residences.
5. Lobby State government to cover all coal trucks travelling through the Brisbane area.
6. Preserve and increase tree cover and vegetation in urban areas and all areas subject to air pollution as trees have a mitigating impact on air pollution but this is dependent on numbers.
7. Shift public funds away from the current bias towards car infrastructure to active transport such walking, such as the Greens $40 million pa plan to triple the bike network. Shift Transapex Tunnels and Bridges funding to major transport initiatives such as such as the Greens Light Rail.
8. Cancel the Hale Street Bridge project which will deliver unacceptable increases in air pollution to be breathed in by tens of thousands of vulnerable school children.
9. Set up a network of Brisbane air quality monitoring stations at consulting on best locations
10. Promote Research into air quality and its impacts.
