Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Carol Brown for her question. The Rudd government recognises that climate change poses serious consequences for the nation’s health system and that urgent action must be taken to tackle this issue. This week the Director-General of WHO, Dr Margaret Chan, informed the health minister that the health impacts of climate change globally are key priorities for the agency. Recent reports prepared for the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Australian Department of Health and Ageing outline a frightening list of potential health risks.

More frequent and intense weather events, including drought, heatwaves, floods and bushfires, are likely to lead to an increase in deaths and morbidity, particularly for dependent, older Australians. In addition to that, you have the increased incidence of extreme natural disasters such as drought, which could also lead to an increase in mental health problems in regional and remote areas. Rates of infectious and vector-borne diseases, such as Ross River virus and dengue fever, and food- and water-borne diseases will also increase as changing weather conditions provide new environments for vectors and hosts. New populations may be put at risk for these diseases due to geographic changes. Ultimately stresses will be placed on our health system caused by internal migration and social disruption. Water scarcity is likely to go up, and availability of fresh fruit and vegetables may decrease. If we want to alleviate the impacts of climate change on the health of all Australians, the time to take action is now. The government is working actively and constructively with the opposition’s spokesperson on this. (Time expired)