The Victorian Council of Social Service (VCOSS) is the peak body for the community services sector in Victoria. We advocate for a fair and equitable society by supporting the social service industry and representing the interests of Victorians facing disadvantage.

VCOSS welcomes the opportunity to provide input to the Environment and Planning Committee’s Inquiry into Health Impacts of Air Pollution in Victoria.

Air pollution is harming Victorians’ health and wellbeing and urgent action is required to protect the people most exposed and most susceptible. Communities must be alerted about hazardous air quality and be equipped to reduce their exposure.

Air pollution does not affect us equally

Air pollution kills around 4,880 people in Australia every year.[i] It impairs lung function, damages the cardiovascular system, and exacerbates asthma. Areas with poor air quality also have higher rates of diabetes, dementia, and mental illness.

The people most susceptible to health problems from air pollution are young children, older people, pregnant women, and people with heart or lung disease.[ii] The people most exposed include people working outdoors and people sleeping rough, without a home to shelter in.[iii]

People experiencing financial disadvantage are more vulnerable to air pollution because they are more likely to live in poor quality housing and have less ability to modify their environments, for example by draught proofing their homes or installing expensive high-efficiency particulate absorbing (HEPA) filter systems.[iv] Low-income households are also priced out of leafy suburbs where there is less traffic pollution and higher air quality.[v]

The location of industrial pollution is also inequitable. Low- to middle-income suburbs host 90 per cent of the facilities listed in the National Pollutant Inventory.[vi] In Victoria, industrial emissions are highest in the Latrobe Valley with AGL’s Loy Yang power station the primary contributor.[vii] An ExxonMobil oil refinery produces most of the industrial emissions in Altona, which has the highest industrial pollution in Melbourne.[viii]

Smoke is an emergency in itself

Bushfires and industrial fires pollute the air with hazardous particles that harm local communities with little warning. Air quality plummets at short notice and communities are often advised to stay indoors and limit outdoor exercise.

In Victoria, smoke from the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires was responsible for 120 deaths and around 1,300 hospital admissions for cardiovascular illness, respiratory disease, and asthma.[ix] Smoke irritation can also result in burning eyes, shortness of breath, and headaches.[x]

The West Footscray industrial fire sent a plume of toxic smoke over neighbouring suburbs in August 2018 after dangerous chemicals caught alight in a warehouse in Tottenham.[xi] Community members reported symptoms including nausea, repeated blood noses, and sore chests.[xii]

The Hazelwood Mine Fire burnt for 45 days in 2014 and exposed community members to smoke, ash, and carbon monoxide.[xiii] Local residents reported breathlessness, stinging eyes, and lethargy and felt anxious about the future health implications.[xiv]

“Community members would say ‘I’ve never had asthma but now I do’ or ‘I’m having trouble breathing’ or ‘I feel dizzy and my head is fuzzy’.”

Morwell community organisation[xv]

Provide targeted and appropriate communication

Recommendation

• Ensure communication with communities is clear, timely and accessible.
• Broaden the use of the Emergency Alert system.

The Inspector-General for Emergency Management (IGEM) reviewed the response to the West Footscray industrial fire and found that official communications did not address the community’s concern about their health and safety.[xvi] For example, residents were told not to worry about the smoke yet schools were closed and emergency personnel wore HAZMAT gear.[xvii]

This mirrors the experience of communities impacted by the Hazelwood Mine Fire. Residents were frightened by the thick smoke but a lack of information exacerbated their anxiety.[xviii] People wanted to understand the long-term implications for their health but were told the impact would only be minor and fleeting, leading to significant distrust within the community.[xix]

Communication during bushfires and industrial fires must address community concern by clearly outlining the potential health impacts of smoke and explaining how residents can minimise their exposure. Messages should be tailored to different at-risk cohorts to ensure that health advice is practical and meets specific needs.

Information must be easy to understand, translated into all necessary languages, and communicated through multiple channels. Apps and opt-in services are useful but need to be complemented by targeted communications for broad coverage, particularly so people with low digital literacy do not miss out.

The Emergency Alert System can also be utilised to improve communication about smoke.[xx] Although it is currently restricted to situations with a clear threat to life, alerts could provide an initial warning for all significant incidents and direct recipients to accurate sources of information. This was Recommendation 4 of the IGEM’s review of the West Footscray industrial fire.

“The Inspector-General for Emergency Management recommends that Emergency Management Victoria coordinate a review of the use of the Emergency Alert system in circumstances beyond the immediate threat to life. The review should consider how the system could be used to inform the impacted community of the emerging event and how to source information without compromising its effectiveness in life-threatening situations.”

Inspector-General for Emergency Management[xxi]

Provide safe shelter for people to escape smoke

Recommendation

• Build on the Big Housing Build.
• Create a network of climate-adapted community facilities.

Common health advice for communities affected by smoke is to shelter indoors with windows and doors closed.[xxii] People sleeping rough do not have this option, however, further highlighting the importance of addressing homelessness in Victoria. The Big Housing Build is a historic investment in social housing but needs to be extended so enough housing is built to ensure a safe home for all.

People also resort to sheltering from smoke in libraries and shopping centres but opening hours can be limited and they might be asked to leave by security. Infrastructure Victoria’s Draft 30-year Infrastructure Strategy addresses this issue by recommending the construction of public shelters built for a broader purpose.[xxiii]

“Create climate-adapted facilities for rural communities: In the next five years, fund local governments to plan and help deliver a network of designated, accessible climate-adapted community facilities, to manage the health impacts of extreme heat and bushfire smoke.”

Infrastructure Victoria[xxiv]

The network could begin in regional Victoria and expand to Melbourne. These safe facilities also need to be accessible and responsive to community need. For example, during the Black Summer bushfires, some evacuation centres were not accessible for people with disability or were chaotic, crowded, and challenging environments for people with mental illness. Some people sought shelter from the smoke but were turned away because they had not been made homeless by the bushfire itself.

Distribute facemasks

Recommendation

• Resource the community sector to provide protective facemasks to vulnerable households.

P2 and N95 facemasks protect people from smoke by filtering out fine air pollutants.[xxv] During the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires, however, many community organisations were unable to source protective gear for vulnerable clients.[xxvi]

Community organisations should be provided with facemasks during emergencies to distribute to community members at risk. For example, Morwell Neighbourhood House was a designated collection point for P2 facemasks during the Hazelwood Mine Fire.[xxvii]

It should be noted that facemasks are only effective if they are fitted correctly and can make it harder to breathe due to the tight seal.[xxviii] Communication campaigns should include information about choosing a suitable facemask and wearing it correctly. Other types of protection should also be investigated so suitable alternatives can be provided if a facemask cannot be fitted properly, particularly for children, culturally diverse people, and people with facial hair. 

Air pollution is a daily hazard

Poor air quality is the norm for several communities in Victoria. There are 12 air pollution hot spots in Australia and four are located in Victoria: the Latrobe Valley in Gippsland, and Yarraville and Brooklyn in western Melbourne.[xxix]

Coal-fired power stations are the primary source of air pollution in the Latrobe Valley.[xxx] Yallourn and Loy Yang A are the second and third highest emitters of fine particulates in Australia. These energy generators also produce high levels of sulphur dioxide and mercury.

Concern about air quality has grown in the Latrobe Valley since the Hazelwood Mine Fire, however, with community members seeking more information about the impact of pollution on their health. Consultation by the Latrobe Health Advocate uncovered strong opposition to industrial developments that worsen local pollution.[xxxi]

“Community members say ‘we don’t want to be a sacrifice community anymore’. The narrative has changed. New industries have to be health-neutral because it’s no longer about jobs at all costs.”

Morwell community organisation[xxxii]

Meanwhile transport and industrial emissions are responsible for the poor air quality in western Melbourne.[xxxiii] The area is a hub of factories and warehouses and serves as a thoroughfare for commuters and diesel trucks between the CBD, the Port of Melbourne, and surrounding suburbs.

Communities in the inner western suburbs of Melbourne experience higher rates of pollution-related health problems including heart disease, asthma, and lung cancer.[xxxiv] For example, 20 per cent of students at Wembley Primary School are asthmatic, which is twice the national average.

“The burden of air pollution isn’t shared equally. Breathable air isn’t a privilege, it’s a right.”

Western Melbourne council[xxxv]

Reduce exposure to air pollution

Recommendation

• Upgrade childcare centres, schools, aged care facilities, and medical centres and keep them away from air pollution hot spots.
• Increase green space and tree cover in communities with lower average incomes and higher rates of air pollution.

Young children are susceptible to the health impacts of air pollution. But an analysis of 278 childcare centres in Melbourne found that nearly a quarter were within 150 metres of a major road.[xxxvi] This includes a centre located on an intersection used by 4,650 trucks a day and a centre situated 15 metres from an eight-lane highway.

Air pollution is not considered when building new childcare centres but stringent planning guidelines are needed to keep them away from major roads and industrial sites. Schools, aged care facilities, and medical centres should also be included.

Existing facilities near air pollution hots spots are not lost causes, however, and should be upgraded to limit exposure to the poor air quality outside. This includes adequate sealing, efficient air-conditioning, and air purifiers with a HEPA filter.[xxxvii]

Green space is another way to reduce communities’ exposure to air pollution. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and other pollutants and can act as a barrier when planted near major roads and industrial sites.[xxxviii]

For example, ‘Yarraville On the Nose’ is a community group reducing air pollution in West Yarraville by planting trees.[xxxix] The initiative began with $50,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) ‘Inspiring Environmental Solutions’ program and receives ongoing funding through penalties paid by companies found guilty of pollution.

Monitor the problem

Recommendation

• Increase the number of air quality monitoring sites across Victoria.
• Monitor air pollution at childcare centres, schools, aged care facilities, and medical centres.

The EPA’s public AirWatch website displays the hourly air quality at 26 standard monitoring sites across Victoria.[xl] This includes seven sites in the Latrobe Valley and three sites in western Melbourne. The Victoria Auditor-General Office deemed this insufficient, however, as did the Victorian Government’s Inner West Air Quality Community Reference Group.[xli]

“We recommend that the Environment Protection Authority expand its air monitoring network by …  designing and implementing an air monitoring program that better aligns coverage with air pollution risks that Victorian communities are exposed to.”

Victoria Auditor-General Office[xlii]

The number of monitoring sites must be increased across Victoria, particularly in communities near major roads, industrial sites, and freight corridors. Air quality should also be monitored at childcare centres, schools, aged care facilities, and medical centres near pollution hot spots.

Raise awareness of air pollution

Recommendation

• Alert communities about poor air quality and how to reduce their expose.
• Fund community health organisations and Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations to improve awareness of air pollution and provide targeted advice.

Communities need to be notified about periods of high air pollution so they can limit their exposure and plan accordingly. Alert systems can be utilised to warn people about hazardous air quality and to provide advice about keeping safe. Residents can also be encouraged to check tools that display accessible and easy-to-understand information about local air pollution.

For example, the Latrobe Valley Information Network (LVIN) monitors air pollution and local weather conditions via 45 sensors.[xliii] The data is displayed on a website that allows users to easily check local air quality but a phone app also issues alerts when pollution is high.

Community health organisations and Aboriginal health services need to be funded to raise awareness about air pollution so residents know how to protect their health when air quality is poor. This includes advice such as checking air quality every morning, rescheduling outdoor exercise, and choosing a suitable facemask.

[i] Inner West Air Quality Community Reference Group, Air Pollution in Melbourne’s Inner West: Taking direct action to reduce our community’s exposure, March 2020.

[ii] Senate Community Affairs References Committee, Impacts on health of air quality in Australia, August 2013.

[iii] S Vardoulakis et al, Bushfire smoke: urgent need for a national health protection strategy, Medical Journal of Australia, February 2020.

[iv] ibid.

[v] United Nations Environment Programme, Air pollution hurts the poorest most, 9 May 2019: www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/air-pollution-hurts-poorest-most

[vi] Australian Conservation Foundation, The dirty truth: Australia’s most polluted postcodes, November 2018.

[vii] ibid.

[viii] ibid.

[ix] N Borchers Arriagada et al, Unprecedented smoke-related health burden associated with the 2019-20 bushfires in eastern Australia, Medical Journal of Australia, September 2020.

[x] cohealth, Staying safe from bushfire smoke, accessed 7 April 2021: www.cohealth.org.au/news/staying-safe-from-bushfire-smoke

[xi] Inspector-General for Emergency Management, Report into the West Footscray Industrial Fire, August 2020.

[xii] J Kerr, Weeks on from Footscray inferno, illness continues to haunt Melbourne’s west, ABC News, 21 September 2018: www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-19/west-footscray-inferno-epa-response/10263864

[xiii] Victorian Council of Social Service, Hazelwood Mine Fire Inquiry, May 2014.

[xiv] S Whyte, ‘They go into bat for me’: Morwell Neighbourhood House, the Hazelwood Mine Fire and Recovery, Centre of Research for Resilient Communities, Federation University, February 2017.

[xv] Consultation with a community organisation based in Morwell.

[xvi] IGEM, West Footscray Industrial Fire.

[xvii] ibid.

[xviii] VCOSS, Hazelwood Mine Fire.

[xix] ibid.

[xx] IGEM, West Footscray Industrial Fire.

[xxi] ibid, p14.

[xxii] S Vardoulakis et al, Bushfire smoke.

[xxiii] Infrastructure Victoria, Victoria’s Draft 30-Year Infrastructure Strategy, December 2020.

[xxiv] IV, Draft Infrastructure Strategy, p24.

[xxv] cohealth, Staying safe from bushfire smoke.

[xxvi] Victorian Council of Social Service, VCOSS submission to the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements, May 2020.

[xxvii] S Whyte, Morwell Neighbourhood House.

[xxviii] cohealth, Staying safe from bushfire smoke.

[xxix] Environmental Justice Australia, How to learn more about air pollution where you live, accessed 7 April 2021: www.envirojustice.org.au/our-work/community/air-pollution/hows-your-air

[xxx] M Slater, Latest data shows Latrobe Valley coal-fired power stations are some of Australia’s worst polluters, Latrobe Valley Express, 9 April 2020: www.latrobevalleyexpress.com.au/story/6718343/valleys-stations-high-on-pollution-rankings

[xxxi] Latrobe Health Advocate, Sharing the voice of Latrobe Communities: October to December 2019, January 2020.

[xxxii] Consultation with a community organisation based in Morwell.

[xxxiii] IWAQCRG, Air Pollution in Melbourne’s Inner West.

[xxxiv] ibid.

[xxxv] Consultation with a local council in western Melbourne.

[xxxvi] C Walter, Traffic pollution near childcare centres in Melbourne, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, July 2019.

[xxxvii] S Vardoulakis et al, Bushfire smoke.

[xxxviii] E Stewart, New city parks are a breath of fresh air, The Age, 3 February 2019: www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/new-city-parks-are-a-breath-of-fresh-air-20190201-p50v3i.html

[xxxix] IWAQCRG, Air Pollution in Melbourne’s Inner West.

[xl] Environmental Protection Authority Victoria, About EPA AirWatch, accessed 7 April 2021: www.epa.vic.gov.au/for-community/monitoring-your-environment/about-epa-airwatch

[xli] Victorian Auditor-General’s Office, Improving Victoria’s Air Quality, March 2018.

IWAQCRG, Air Pollution in Melbourne’s Inner West.

[xlii] VAGO, Improving Victoria’s Air Quality, p15.

[xliii] Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications, The Latrobe Valley Information Network (LVIN), accessed 7 April 2021: www.infrastructure.gov.au/cities/smart-cities/collaboration-platform/Latrobe-Valley-Sensor-Network.aspx

by Andrew Carman.

This story is part of the My Corona series. We’re publishing personal stories about the pandemic, life in isolation and Victorians’ hopes and fears for the future. We have changed Andrew’s surname at his request.  

The first I knew about it was 4:30pm on Saturday. I got a phone call from a friend wanting to know where I was.

“At home,” I said.

“Do you know you’re in hard lockdown?” he replied.

So I went downstairs and there were coppers everywhere, looked like Critical Incident Response police. I realised, hang on, this doesn’t look good.

I wanted to get my laptop out of my car and a copper threatened me with a fine. In the end he relented, but he followed me to the car and followed me back.

There was no degree of compassion. I mean, there’s no way I could have got into the car and driven away. It was blatantly obvious I had no personal belongings with me, just my keys. I just wanted to get my laptop.

I found out more on the news that night: hard lockdown, you’re not going anywhere. It was very confronting.

I had enough food to get me through for five days. I was probably going to be a bit dicey on vegetables, but I could have lived without them. But I was actually quite worried that it would be extended beyond the five days.

There was a total lack of communication, nobody seemed to know what was going on.

Not even the Salvation Army, who have an office downstairs, were allowed into the building. You couldn’t even go down into the foyer and speak to the them while maintaining a social distance.

I’d been tested for COVID-19 the week before and had the negative result on my phone, which I showed the police. It had come through on the Thursday and I’d been home all day Friday. All I’d done is go to the supermarket on Saturday morning, wearing a face mask the whole time.

But there was this massive overreaction with coppers.  It was contemptuous treatment, a total mistrust.

There was no food delivered until the Monday. I would say a lot of people use shopping as their daily exercise, so they would shop on a daily basis. I wonder how many people had nothing until Monday.

On the Monday we got a box from Foodbank. Most of the stuff was out of date so I just threw it down the rubbish chute.

And then we got a load from Woolworths, a load from Coles and a load from The Smith Family. It was actually overkill because the majority of people in this block are single occupants.

At one stage I ended up with nine litres of milk. Bloody ridiculous.

It was contemptuous treatment, a total mistrust.

There was no knock on the door to tell you when food was delivered. You’d see people walking past through the window and you’d open the door and the stuff would just be there.

There was no communication about testing, they’d just come to your unit. I had them stick it up my snout and out the back of my brain, down my throat, and that was it. It was done on the Tuesday and I got the result on the Thursday. Negative.

The bit that hurt me the most was I couldn’t see my grandchildren.  But I became resigned to it. I thought; Five days, I’ve got to cop this.

About 4pm Friday, word spread that the lockdown was finally over. I went down at 4:30pm, but the cops said, “No, you can’t go out until the morning.”

At about 5pm the Premier finally came on TV: ‘It’s now going to end at 11:59pm.’

That was a kick in the guts.

I had a birthday present for my granddaughter, Elena.

It hurt because I felt like an absolute ratbag for not being able to give her the present and a hug on the day. I don’t think any grandparent would feel any differently.

Andrew was interviewed remotely by Seven News on the second day of lockdown.

When I got up the next morning, Saturday, the first thing I did was look down. No coppers. I was allowed out.

It felt bloody beautiful, I can tell you. The weather didn’t matter—you were free!

To a certain extent, it felt like incarceration. You’re locked up though you’ve done nothing wrong.

I’m lucky, I’ve got family who would have delivered stuff (if they could), but there are a lot of people who’ve got no one. I was also lucky that I had enough medication to get me through.

The other thing is there’s people with mental health issues, how did they cope? At least I’ve got a phone. The bloke in the unit next door to me hasn’t got a phone, he’s got no contact with the outside world.

We were treated as second class citizens because we’re in public housing. If I’d been in a private high-rise block, there is no way known they could have got away with it. They would have had lawyers jumping all over them.

If I’d been in a private high-rise block, there’s no way known they could have got away with it. They would have had lawyers jumping all over them.

The week was like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I was angry but I understood, to a certain extent.

But I still think that it could have been handled a lot better.

I think it was done in a very arbitrary way and without any form of compassion. It was humiliating.

If the government have to do a hard lockdown again they should knock on every door, actually tell people what’s happening, give them half an hour’s notice.

I’m not blaming the police (except for that first one). They acted with great respect.

But I must admit, every morning when I get up I still look out to see if there’s coppers downstairs again.

I’ve got no trust. Simple as that. And we’re still now allowed to move around freely, without any restrictions.

When we had SARS, you knew it would come to an end.

We had the global financial crisis; but you could see there was going to be an end to it.

But this? You can’t see an end.  

by Veronica Heritage-Gorrie

This story is part of our My Corona series: personal stories about the pandemic, life in isolation and Victorians’ hopes and fears for the future.  

UNLIKE in the rest of world and indeed the rest of so-called Australia, when Covid-19 first entered our Sovereignty-unceded shores life as we once knew it changed, but not really for First Nation people.

But that is not the story I want to tell.

I want to tell you that while most people, excluding essential workers, were self-isolating and staying home as per restrictions handed down by the government, I was not able to. I had to leave the safety of my tiny rural township and my home to go stay in Melbourne for six weeks for my father’s cancer treatment. I was essentially risking my life to save my father’s.

My father who is a respected Elder and has dementia had been diagnosed with cancer, nasal cavity cancer to be more precise. He had surgery to remove most but not all the cancer and required radiation. Due to the location of the cancer, the regional hospital close to home was not able to treat it. This meant that we had to travel to Melbourne every Monday and return home every Friday after treatment for six weeks.

We stayed in accommodation provided by the hospital that is subsidised by the Government. This sounds good but it wasn’t. We were staying in a place that was culturally unsafe, at a time when my pre-existing anxiety was heightened due to Coronavirus. We slept in a small room on single beds. This took me back to when I was a child and Dad and I lived in a one bedroom flat.

This place was only a short walk from the hospital, but my father was unable to walk that far so we drove, and when I couldn’t find disability parking I double parked for an hour every day.

As much as I needed to assist my father to walk and find the location of his radiation, and as much as I wanted to go with him, I couldn’t due to the restrictions – only patients were allowed. So I had to stay in the car and hope that he remembered where to go. More anxiety.

He would ring me when he got inside and ring again when he had finished. This was our routine.

But I had another routine that kept me somewhat sane.

Every day after treatment, I would drop my father off and drive to my daughter’s house for a special window-visit. I knew it risked me getting fined by police but I didn’t care.

My daughter, months earlier, had bravely given birth to premature twins. The twins were in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit for a little over four months. Just as COVID-19 kicked off the twins were home with Mum and Dad.

These babies were my reason. The reason I needed to keep my shit together.

But my mental health was suffering. I wanted so badly to be with them, on the inside with them, but I couldn’t.

So I would return to my father. I assisted him in every aspect of his day, but not before I had to literally run the gauntlet of supermarkets in infected hotspots to buy groceries for us, wearing facemask and gloves. This was when I panicked the most. In every aisle my heartbeat would race; I could feel it pulsating in my neck and throbbing in my ears.

Like many Australians, Ms Heritage-Gorrie was terrified about visiting supermarkets.

By the third week, my father started feeling the effects of radiation. Each day he was becoming frailer and losing weight at a rapid rate. It affected his physical, mental and emotional wellbeing.

There were mornings my father and I would get up at 4am to have a cuppa and a yarn. We would talk until daylight and on some occasions he cried. To watch my father cry was the hardest. My father is my rock, the one person who has always been there for me.

You see, my father raised me on his own from when I was eight years old. I never wanted him to see me upset, so I would wait until I had a shower or when I was in my car alone to cry.

To watch my father cry was the hardest. My father is my rock, the one person who has always been there for me.

It’s been a few weeks since the end of the cancer treatment and we are now awaiting an appointment date for him to be tested to verify if all the cancer has gone.

My father and I are in limbo and it’s frightening. He is still feeling the effects of radiation: mobility loss, hair loss, nausea and mouth ulcers that require him to be on a soft food diet.

As the restrictions were slowly being lifted and people were leaving their homes I had only just started to self-isolate so I could go be with my daughter and the twins.

Hooray, I hear you say; but not so fast. I self-isolated and went to stay with my daughter as planned, for four days and three nights, but while I was there it meant I was not with my father and this caused me more stress and anxiety. I found myself calling him at every opportunity to check on him, but it became too much, it became over-bearing. I had to go home.

As I left the house I felt emotionally and mentally torn between staying with my only grandchildren or going home to my sick father. I cried all the way home, but when I got there he was so happy to see me and I felt like I had made the right decision. I won’t have my father for long but what time I do have, I want to make it count.

My mental health is not the best right now. I have made an appointment to see my GP to do a mental health plan, so that I can get the professional help I need. I implore others who are having bad days or crappy moments to talk to someone too, because there is no shame or embarrassment in asking for help.