Putting health at the heart of climate policy
The Review of the Tasmanian Climate Change Act has now been released. This year’s World Health Day followed shortly after, with the message: “Together for health. Stand with science.” That message matters here: the Review found that “the Act provides a strong foundation for climate action but there are clear issues to be addressed.”
Climate change is already affecting the health of Tasmanians, but our laws haven’t fully caught up with that reality, particularly when it comes to recognising and responding to health risks.
New research published this week in Nature Communications reinforces the World Health Day message to “Stand with science”. It found that several recent heatwaves including in Australia created periods that were effectively non-survivable for older people, even where conditions fell short of previously assumed human limits.
The lesson for Tasmania is clear, health impacts such as extreme heat must be explicitly recognised and planned for in climate policy and in the laws that underpin it.
Those gaps matter. We already have many reports identifying risks and their likelihood and repeatedly health is identified as a high-risk area that needs to be addressed with urgency.
AMA Tasmania’s message is simple: health and intergenerational wellbeing must be treated as core considerations in climate decision making.
As doctors, our first job is patient care and that includes speaking up about major risks that affect the health of Tasmanians. Health is the foundation of a resilient community. It depends on the conditions we live in, and on a healthcare system that can respond when demand spikes.
Climate change increases the likelihood and severity of events that strain both. Heatwaves, bushfires, floods, supply chain disruption, infectious disease risks, and broader instability may occur with little or no warning.
Tasmania must be prepared.
For example, when bushfire smoke drifts over populated areas, air quality can deteriorate quickly, and doctors see the impact in asthma flare-ups, breathing problems, and added pressure on emergency departments.
The AMA has recognised climate change as a major and growing health risk. We support evidence based, science led policy that protects people now and reduces harm for future generations.
Our low intensity heat waves are as dangerous for Tasmanians as far more severe heat waves are for those adjusted to hot weather further north.
AMA Tasmania welcomes the Review and supports moving quickly to implement its recommendations in full.
We support the establishment of an independent body to provide oversight, coordination, and continuity beyond political cycles. This kind of leadership is essential in delivering a coordinated approach, particularly as we face financial constraints as a state. Investing in preparedness reduces avoidable costs and leads to better health outcomes.
Well-prepared communities cope with disasters and other pressures with better outcomes in health and well-being. The same applies to the medical workforce, where good planning done early reduces strain when it matters most.
We also want to see a stronger focus on measurable outcomes, not just plans and processes.
The Review is right to highlight that Tasmania must do more to prepare for the impacts of climate change.
Five of the Review’s seven key recommendations require legislative change. Government should keep amendments on the table so the Act can be strengthened over time as evidence and risks evolve.
Our view is straightforward: when a risk is material to health, prevention and preparedness are part of good medicine.
Doctors do not need to be experts in every part of climate policy. But we do have a responsibility to describe health risks clearly, advocate for practical prevention, and support measures that reduce avoidable harm.
That approach aligns with the AMA’s One Health position: human health is tied to the health of animals and the environment, and policy should reflect that link.
Placing health and intergenerational wellbeing at the centre of climate policy is not a slogan or a political statement; it is clear‑eyed, evidence‑based risk management to protect health.
AMA Tasmania stands ready to work with the Minister and stakeholders to strengthen climate resilience, protect the community, and support a healthcare system that can cope with what lies ahead.
AMA Tasmania urges the Government to act on the Review’s recommendations, prioritise health and prevention now, set measurable health and resilience outcomes, and report progress transparently because what gets measured and planned for is what gets delivered.>>ENDS
