Healthy Cities Australia is actively campaigning for Wollongong City Council to include regulations in its development control plan that will force new developments into electrification. Photo: Melanie Barnes.
More than 350 residents have signed a petition calling on Wollongong City Council to use its planning powers to ensure new developments in Wollongong are all-electric, with the petition presented at a council meeting by Councillor Ann Martin.
The petition follows a public meeting and numerous community submissions to council on the issue as part of a scheduled review of the city’s development control plan (DCP), and is a key piece in a partnership between Healthy Cities Australia and Asthma Australia to deliver on improved outcomes for children with asthma in the Wollongong area.
“Evidence points to a strong association with exposure to indoor gas appliances and asthma and other respiratory symptoms in children,” Healthy Cities Australia Health Promotion Officer and Asthma Program Coordinator Alexander Brown said.
“A 2018 study published in the Medical Journal of Australia, for example, attributed 12.3 per cent of the childhood asthma burden to exposure to gas stoves.
“Aside from the environmental and health implications, there’s a third pillar to the argument for electrification — economics. The cost of energy is going up and up and gas is more expensive than electricity.”
Mr Brown pointed out there was nothing radical about the petition, pointing to Chapter A2 of the council’s DCP, which already incorporated certain ecological and sustainable principles including a preference for all-electric developments.
“It’s one thing to have those principles, but we need developers to be held to those principles. So we are calling for controls to be part of the DCP,” he said.
The approach is not without precedent, either. City of Sydney and Canada Bay recently joined six other NSW councils that have incorporated controls in their DCPs that require new developments to be all-electric, without gas connections.
Victoria and the ACT have already rolled out controls at a state level.
“Long term, that’s what we want to see, but for now we want local councils to use their powers to address the issue,” Mr Brown said.
“The scientific evidence is clear. Burning fossil gas in our homes is harmful to our children’s health. We are eager for Wollongong City Council to join the movement of councils in NSW that are working to ensure new developments are all-electric.”
The petition is the latest step in an ongoing campaign. Photo: Melanie Barnes.
Mr Brown stressed the call focused on new, large-scale developments rather than stand-alone homes, or retrofitting existing properties.
“This is about ensuring housing stock coming online is up to new standards, and developers are moving away from this dangerous and polluting form of energy,” he said.
“Think of someone renting a property down the track — we need to ensure they have access to the healthier, cheaper, renewable choice to power their home appliances.”
Mr Brown said the council was “very much aware” of the issues raised, and was looking to incorporate principles into their regulations.
“Our understanding is council has written to the State Government, and we expect in the coming months to see controls implemented. We’re asking for the DCP to be part of that,” he said.
“Today’s petition is a reminder that the community is watching and we want to make sure we’re doing things right.
“In the meantime, people who are looking to improve their living environment due to respiratory issues or even just generally, we advise replacing gas appliances with electric when they reach their end of life, and using your rangehoods to help create well-ventilated spaces, and reduce your exposure to gas pollution.”
