Media Release – 10 June 2010
Major parties vote against Hunter & Lithgow coal health study
Greens MP and health spokesperson Lee Rhiannon said the major parties’
vote yesterday against her motion in NSW Parliament calling for a
comprehensive population health study to investigate the links between
the Hunter and Lithgow region’s coal and power industries and poor
health outcomes exhibited a lack of real commitment to the issue
(extract from motion below).
“In the face of compelling evidence that the health of residents in the
Hunter and Lithgow regions is suffering, the opposition and government
joined forces to vote down the Greens motion calling for an independent
population health study and better monitoring and enforcement measures,”
Ms Rhiannon said.
“The failure of the Keneally government to allocate funding in this
week’s budget to the study suggests it is not committed to finding
answers.
“If a study finds evidence of a link between the coal and power
industries and ill-health the government could be liable and would be
forced to reassess its existing firm relationship with these polluting
industries, ” Ms Rhiannon said.
Motion voted down by the major parties in the NSW Upper House
3. That this House calls on the Government to:
(a) restore its faith with the Upper Hunter community by agreeing to
design and undertake a comprehensive independent population health study
to assess the impact of coalmining and coal-fired power stations on the
health of residents in the Hunter region, and any impact on the local
water supply and food chain,
(b) extend NSW Health’s investigation of the link between the coal
and power industries in the Upper Hunter and poor health outcomes to the
Greater Lithgow Area,
(c) ensure adequate air quality monitoring networks in the Upper Hunter
and Greater Lithgow areas, that can measure particles to 2.5 microns,
and can test and analyse the composition and toxic properties of dust
pollution in these regions,
(d) make the findings of the health study and all pollution monitoring
and any pollution testing data readily available to the public in an
accessible format via the internet, and
(e) establish permanent and well resourced EPA offices in the Upper
Hunter and Lithgow regions to investigate and monitor coal mining and
coal-fired power related pollution.