NSW election: Bushfire smoke ‘is a serious threat to a quarter of voters’

Ryan Harris is among a quarter of NSW voters who say they cannot protect themselves in another air quality crisis.

Ryan Harris, with his daughters Matilda and Violet, says he has not been the same since the Black Summer bushfires. Picture: Gary Ramage

It took an emergency retreat to Newcastle for Queanbeyan father and severe asthmatic Ryan Harris to stay safe from the air quality ­crisis brought on by the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires.

Those bushfires are still very fresh in Mr Harris’s memory: he was twice admitted to intensive care because of asthma attacks. At one point, he was even advised to return home after the hospital was infiltrated by bushfire smoke.

Three years later, Mr Harris says he is not confident of his prospects in a repeat incident.

And he is not alone. Nearly a quarter of NSW voters (24 per cent) say they cannot protect themselves if a similar disaster were to strike again, YouGov polling conducted for Asthma Australia has found.

When the smoke became too much for him, Mr Harris and his family sought respite in a trip to Newcastle: “It was the only place within driving distance where we could escape for a few days.”

Mr Harris said he has not been the same since then and his hospital visits have become more ­frequent.

He also said he needed more information to take steps to protect himself and his family next time: “Air quality, PM2 (fine particulate matter), etc, across different areas and if it was monitored and made available more often.”

This comes as Asthma Australia pushes for the state government to fund an AirSmart campaign, its initiative urging the public to recognise poor air quality as a health hazard, much like exposure to harmful sunlight.

The organisation has launched a mobile app of the same name to collect pollution information.

“Nobody understood what UV rays were, let alone that they could cause skin cancer,” Asthma Australia president Michele Goldman said. “After many years, the community now understands the impact of something really harmful on health and is motivated to do something to protect themselves.”

She said action was required before another bushfire hit: “Over 400 people lost their lives due to exposure to smoke during the Black Summer bushfires.”

Poor air quality is dangerous, and not only to people suffering from asthma. The World Health Organisation’s website says one-third of deaths from stroke, lung cancer and heart disease are because of air pollution.

Ms Goldman said government help was needed to install HEPA (high-efficiency particulate absorbing) filters at home for low-­income asthmatics.

She is also urging government assistance for this group to install cleaner and more efficient forms of home heating, cooling, and cooking.

The YouGov poll also found a majority (52 per cent) of NSW voters wanted more priority given to climate change by the government.