Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

SBS are currently running an ad showing an elderly couple in bed. The wife turns to the husband and says, 'Can you turn the heater back on; it's pretty cold in here.' The husband then says, 'I don't know if that's a good idea.' Then the climate fairy appears and proclaims: 'To meet the target set out under the Paris agreement, heating is one area we can all cut back on. If every Australian household did the same, we could easily hit our target.' This dangerously stupid ad is likely to put people's health at risk. The science is settled. In Australia, mortality is substantially higher during the winter months and cold homes are known to contribute to excess winter deaths. The World Health Organization recommends a minimum indoor temperature of 18 degrees and, ideally, 21 degrees if babies or elderly people live at home. To promote a message that if one is feeling physically cold in their own home they should not turn the heater on, as this SBS ad does, will put people's health at risk. I call on SBS to immediately withdraw this ad.

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