May 13, 2020 - DEA believes that the flaws in the EPBC Act are too significant to be addressed by amendments alone. A new generation of environmental law is needed to restore past damage ...
Submissions
Every day we are lobbying government and industry to protect health through care of the environment.
Below is some of our current advocacy work.
Royal Commission into National Disaster Arrangements (Bushfires Royal Commission) April 2020.
April 29, 2020 - The health impacts of last summer’s devastating bushfire season are serious, complex and wide-ranging and health is integral to making decisions about emergency and disaster responses. More research is needed to ...
Submission on the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Amendment Bill 2020 (March 2020)
March 30, 2020 - DEA strongly supports the inclusion of downstream or Scope 3 emissions (Appendix 1) in greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting. The health impacts of GHG emissions are not limited by international borders ...
Independent Review into SA’s 2019-20 Bushfire Season
March 20, 2020 - DEA highlighted the serious omissions of consideration of neither health nor climate change in the review. DEA recommendations include the acknowledgment of the ongoing impact of climate change on bushfires, ...
Submission to the NSW Planning Department on the expansion of the Glendell mine in the Hunter Valley.
February 20, 2020 - The Hunter Valley already has the worst PM10* air pollution in New South Wales. DEA considers that the Glendell expansion proposal is not in the national or local community interest ...
Submission to NSW Legislative Council Inquiry into the costs for remediation of sites containing coal ash repositories
February 20, 2020 - The process of coal combustion leads to a concentration of trace elements in the resulting waste ash. While exposure to the traces of these elements in nature does not usually ...
Victoria’s new environmental laws submission (February 2020)
February 7, 2020 - This submission focuses primarily upon aspects of the new EP laws as they relate to air pollution and climate change, as these are closely related to DEA policy and expertise. ...
Open flued gas space heaters discussion paper submission (February 2020)
February 7, 2020 - Gas is often regarded as a ‘clean’ fuel, but air pollutants released from the combustion of methane indoors can cause or exacerbate illness involving the heart, lungs brain or nervous ...
Submission on Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Territorial Limits) Bill 2019 (February 2020)
February 5, 2020 - DEA objects to the proposed Environmental Planning and Assessment Amendment (Territorial Limits) Bill 2019. Eliminating assessment of downstream or Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions from major projects in New South ...
Submission to Application for a RIDA for Acland Coal Stage 3 Project
January 23, 2020 - While Australia burns as part of the climate crisis, the State of Queensland continues its fervent quest to develop more coal. This is the sixth submission written on New Hope Coal ...
Draft State Public Health Plan (SA) 2019-2024 (October 2018)
October 9, 2019 - DEA in South Australia has contributed to the South Australian Public Health Plan 2019-2024, building on our previous Submissions on the 2013 Plan and during Consultation on the new Plan. ...
Sustainability of energy supply and resources in NSW (September 2019)
September 23, 2019 - The Environment and Planning Committee of NSW Parliament conducted an inquiry into the sustainability of energy supply and resources in NSW. DEA provided a submission the inquiry. The submission can ...
Dendrobium Mine Expansion Proposal Submission (September 2019)
September 10, 2019 - DEA is concerned about the ongoing mining activities occurring within the Greater Sydney Water Catchment, and the effects of this mining on the water security of over 5 million people. ...
WA EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions Assessment Guidance (August 2019)
August 29, 2019 - WA EPA is working in an environment of federal policy failures in acknowledging, committing to and effectively reining in emissions, and no appetite for effective taxation or emissions trading policies. ...
Climate Health WA Inquiry (August 2019)
August 28, 2019 - The impacts of climate change on the health of our community are an urgent issue that needs addressing by government with both attention and resources. The public health community has ...
Australia’s faunal extinction crisis (August 2019)
August 28, 2019 - This Senate Committee on faunal extinction has a very important role because presently it is the only parliamentary voice in a position to make a statement on the interlocking and ...
Isaac Downs Project (August 2019)
August 19, 2019 - The prime consideration of the project must be whether it complies with the need for Queensland and Australian sustainability in view of the climate change and biodiversity emergencies. Isaac Downs ...
Expert Position Statement on health-based standards for Australian regulated thresholds of nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and ozone in ambient air (August 2019)
August 5, 2019 - Ambient air pollution contributes to over 3000 premature deaths each year in Australia. Even at low concentrations, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and ozone (O3) are impacting public health. ...
Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System (July 2019)
July 30, 2019 - An expanding body of research literature describes the links between climate change and mental health. Extreme weather events have serious, long-term and complex impacts on mental health, and extreme weather ...
Project changes to the New Acland Coal Mine Stage 3 Project submission (July 2019)
July 25, 2019 - This is yet another application from the infamous Acland New Hope mine for expansion even before its previous application for a new water license has been decided. Over many years the ...