Campaigners in Australia’s capital have expressed shock following the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government’s apparent backflip on its 2023 commitment to phase out wood heaters in suburban areas.
During a recent sitting of the ACT Legislative Assembly, Minister for Climate Change and the Environment, Suzanne Orr, suggested that the Government had not formally agreed to a phase-out of wood heaters, stating instead that it had only committed “in principle” to setting a phase-out date.
The comments have sparked fury among environmental and health advocates, who accuse the Government of stalling and abandoning a critical public health and climate policy.
‘This complete reversal explains why there’s been so little progress,’ said Dr Murray May of Clean Air Canberra. ‘It’s a retrograde step in an era of climate urgency and puts the health of vulnerable residents, children, the elderly, and those with respiratory conditions, at further risk.’
The original policy, announced on 24 August 2023 by then Environment Minister and Greens member of the Legislative Assembly, Rebecca Vassarotti, was hailed as a landmark move. The ACT Government stated that all wood heaters would be phased out by 2045 as part of its “pathway to electrification” strategy, aligned with the Territory’s transition away from fossil fuels.
The decision followed a damning report by the then Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment, Dr Sophie Lewis, who found that wood burners accounted for up to 78% of fine particle air pollution in Canberra’s southern suburbs.
‘There is no safe level of air pollution for human health,’ Dr Lewis wrote. ‘Wood heaters have no place in Canberra’s all-electric, 100% renewable energy future.’
Research from the Australian National University (ANU) backed up those findings, estimating that smoke from wood heaters causes up to 63 premature deaths per year in the ACT, costing the healthcare system from $100 million to $300 million annually depending on the severity of winters.
Former ACT Environment Minister Rebecca Vassarotti has condemned the ACT Government’s reversal on its commitment to phase out wood heaters, calling it a “complete backflip” and a betrayal of community trust.
In comments to The Canberra Times, Ms. Vassarotti expressed deep disappointment, describing the decision as part of a broader pattern of political retreat since the October 2024 election.
‘We secured funding, we had a plan,’ she said. ‘But since the last election, the government has delivered nothing.’
Ms. Vassarotti, who has since exited politics, said the phase-out policy was the result of one of the ACT’s largest-ever public consultations in 2022, and that a firm agreement had been reached in 2023. She alleges that implementation has been plagued by internal political resistance and bureaucratic obstruction.
‘I worked hard to build consensus,’ she said. ‘People have told me they feel angry and let down and that political expediency is again being put ahead of public health and environmental sustainability.’
The reversal has also drawn criticism from ACT Greens MLA Laura Nuttall, whose southern Canberra electorate is among the most heavily impacted by winter wood smoke pollution.
‘The Government basked in the glow of leading the nation on this issue,’ Nuttall said. ‘But now it’s unwilling to follow through with action.’
She warned the decision will have real consequences for vulnerable residents.
‘Every winter, families in my electorate are choking on smoke,’ she said. ‘People with asthma are forced to shut themselves inside, hoping they won’t end up in hospital.’
The Conservation Council of the ACT has also condemned the Government’s retreat. Executive Director Simon Copland said the reversal betrays public trust and undermines the ACT’s environmental credentials.
‘Time and time again, we hear the Government claim it’s committed to the environment, yet we see the opposite in action,’ Mr. Copland said. ‘But it’s not too late. The Government can still reverse course and deliver the plan it promised.
‘They showed leadership in 2023. They can show it again, if they’re willing to act.’
The ACT’s 2023 phase-out announcement was seen as a model for other Australian and overseas jurisdictions grappling with similar wood smoke pollution issues. Many hoped Canberra’s leadership would pave the way for reform in their own cities.
But with the Government now appearing to walk away from its commitment, campaigners say its environmental credibility is on the line.
‘Canberra brands itself as clean, green and progressive city,’ said Dr May. ‘That image is hard to maintain when the Government backs away from protecting its own residents from air pollution.’
There is no safe level of fine particulate matter which spews from these wood heaters.
All the health science says people should not be breathing it.
Now then, if this is the case, a much shorter time frame can be set to phase them out.