Christine Milne (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Ludwig, the Minister representing the Minister for Health. Is the minister aware of the report Health and social harms of coal mining in local communities: spotlight on the Hunter released yesterday which found that adults in coalmining communities had higher rates of mortality from lung cancer and chronic heart, respiratory and kidney diseases and that children and infants had high levels of heavy metal in their blood and increased respiratory symptoms? If so, does the government acknowledge that coalmining, and the particulate matter generated from it in particular, is harmful to the health of local communities, particularly those communities in the Hunter Valley, which has 30, mostly open-cut, coalmines and six coal fired power stations?