“Shameful” was the one-word response from the Climate and Health Alliance to news that fracking has been green-lighted for the Beetaloo Basin.
Meanwhile, it’s conference season and we bring tweet-snippets from #RACS23, #Prevention2023 and #WCPH2023, as well as news of some other conferences and events that have been COVID super-spreaders.
The quotable?
…which part of ‘we can’t afford any new fossil fuel projects if we want a safe planet for our kids’ do Australian politicians fail to understand?”
Betaloo, the “carbon bomb”
First Nations, health, medical and environmental groups have sounded loud alarm bells about the Northern Territory Government’s decision to allow fracking in the Beetaloo Basin. The decision flies in the face of repeated scientific warnings that there should be no new fossil fuel developments.
GetUp’s CEO and Widjabul Wia-bal woman Larissa Baldwin-Roberts said the decision flies in the face of deep concerns from Traditional Owners and inquiries from the NT and federal parliaments.
“It now falls to the Albanese Government to urgently ensure key protections are in place for water, cultural heritage, consent, and our climate,” she said in a statement.
Other climate news
#RACS23
The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons is meeting in Adelaide this week, and Professor Kelvin Kong delivered a powerful presentation on the toll of racism upon health and wellbeing.
COVID
In the United States, disease detectives at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are probing a new outbreak: dozens of coronavirus cases linked to their own annual conference last week.
Attendees said many people at the gathering did not mask, socially distance or take other precautions that the CDC had recommended earlier in the pandemic, The Washington Post reported.
Read The Nature article, COVID’s future: mini-waves rather than seasonal surges
Read more here.
#Prevention2023
The Preventive Health Conference is taking place in Adelaide this week.
The Voice
The Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences has published a statement on supporting the Voice to Parliament. It was developed and approved by the Academy Council in consultation with the Academy’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Fellows.
First Nations’ peoples health and wellbeing
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service in Queensland, ATSILS (QLD) has had to make the difficult decision to temporarily suspend some services in Cairns, Townsville, Brisbane and Strathpine.
“Chronic under-funding has left us with little choice as it is having a major impact on our ability to meet the rising demand for our services, creating a range of Work Health and Safety concerns and undermining our recruitment and retention initiatives,” they said in a statement.
#AusPol
This graphic is a must-read, and an excellent example of effective public health communications too.
Awards, appointments, events
The World Congress on Public Health is taking place in Rome – follow @WePublicHealth for more news. 
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