A much-anticipated Aboriginal heritage report into controversial four-wheel drive tracks in Tasmania’s west has found there’s not enough evidence that proposed protection strategies would adequately conserve ancient middens and cultural sites. Key points: A scathing, long-awaited report into the cultural heritage review into three four-wheel drive tracks in Tasmania’s west has been released by the government The report’s authors found the proposed mitigation measures were … Continue reading Plan to reopen Arthur-Pieman four-wheel drive tracks wouldn’t protect Aboriginal heritage sites, report finds

GPs are under increasing pressure to ensure vulnerable patients are prepared for climate-related events, amid growing evidence of excess hospital presentations and deaths related to heatwaves, periods of heavy bushfire smoke and thunderstorm asthma incidents. Three articles in the MJA highlighted the impact of climate-related events on the health of Australians and called for nationwide preventive health planning. In the first article, Professor Fiona Stanley, founding director … Continue reading GPs on front line of climate change health

It was about 4pm when the weather changed. Thunderclouds rolled into Melbourne and strong northerly winds shook the rye grass pastures ringing the city, sweeping pollen into the air. On the evening of 21 November 2016, people who had never previously experienced asthma symptoms developed severe respiratory distress. Ambulance calls increased by 20-fold. There were 8,500 asthma presentations over the next 13 hours. In terms of … Continue reading What can doctors actually do about climate change, really?

Ruby was 90 when she was admitted into the busy Melbourne emergency department in that horrendous summer of 2009 that smashed heat and disaster toll records. She told hospital staff her walker had got caught on the edge of the carpet and she had fallen “like a sack of spuds” in the red-brick home where she lived alone. Her husband had died 10 years before. … Continue reading Health and climate change