Alarming lead blood levels need a real solution

The muted conclusion of the Rann Government’s Tenby10 program and almost silent launch of the TenforThem program is disturbingly non-commital.

As we move towards 2011, more than one in four children under five living in Port Pirie has a blood lead level that sits above the World Health Organisation’s level of concern (10 micrograms per decilitre (µg/dl)).

In 2005, a shocking 51.7 per cent of Port Pirie children recorded a lead blood level of more than WHO’s level of concern and this has since improved significantly to 27.9 per cent of children in 2010.

This high blood lead level prompted the Government to partner with industry, namely Nyrstar (who run Port Pirie’s lead and zinc smelter), to launch the Tenby10 program. The Tenby10 campaign’s aim was to reduce the number of children with lead blood levels above WHO’s level of concern to less than one in ten.

The deadline expires this year.

While I acknowledge both a reduction in children’s lead blood levels and Nyrstar’s efforts to reduce emissions, more still needs to be done, and with urgency.

The people of Port Pirie should never have to choose between healthy children and jobs and prosperity for their city.

 The reality is that however you want to term it, the Government has failed to reach its goal and more than one in four children in Port Pirie continue to have alarmingly high blood lead levels that sit above WHO’s level of concern.

If the Government is serious about improving the health of Port Pirie children, it must commit not only to a target, but to a renewed deadline for achieving change. Only then will both Government and industry be held accountable.

A failure to plan is a plan to fail.

At the moment the new TenforThem website offers few details, no timeframe or deadline from this Government to speedily achieve the goals set by the former Tenby10 campaign.

No set deadline signals no real commitment from State Government to reducing lead blood levels in Port Pirie’s children.

Considering the Government’s love affair with its own State Strategic Plan, it is shocking that no new deadline for the reduction of lead blood levels has been announced in this document that public servants across the state refer to almost biblically.

I propose that the Government sets a deadline and proves it is serious about this project by getting the TenforThem website – currently under construction – up and running and linked to the old Tenby10 site. I am also calling on the Government to make an annual report on the campaign’s progress and maybe even implement its commitment to lower blood lead levels into the SA Strategic Plan.

When Parliament sits again in February, I am hopeful these changes will already have taken effect. If not, I’ll do all I can to ensure the Government is accountable on this issue.

Healthy children is and always will be a Greens priority.

Ending Sow Stalls a Win for Animal Welfare

The Greens have long opposed the use of sow stalls for pregnant pigs and it’s comforting to learn that consumers and industry have also seen the writing on the wall.

Sow stalls are small concrete and metal cages that are deliberately designed to hold the animals almost motionless. These tiny cages are jammed next to each other to optimise space, with no thought spared for the animal’s welfare.

These cells are truly horrific and I’ll be glad to see the cruel enclosures removed once and for all.

People power really does work and my recent meeting with the CEO and a South Australian delegate from Australian Pork Limited is proof of this.

The industry has committed to phasing out the use of sow stalls by 2017 and will instead commit to animal-friendly alternatives such as family pens and eco-shelters, which are increasingly being used.

The industry definitely deserves a pat on the back for committing to this deadline, especially when the Government favoured a lesser one, but it’s you the consumer who also deserves praise.

As ethical and eco-friendly products continue to gain market share, consumers are voting with their wallets in support of cruelty free options.

Even the major supermarket chains have come to the party and announced they are concerned about animal welfare in response to this consumer pressure.

It’s commendable that the industry and supermarkets are at last taking these steps to ensure Australian pigs are treated with dignity.

This decision is a win for animal welfare groups, farmers and consumers, but there is more to be done to ensure an end to animal cruelty in South Australia.

Battery hens, jumps racing, duck shooting and puppy factories are just some of the inhumane practices that come to mind.

In 2011 I’ll be putting forward bills and motions on these and other issues to protect our voiceless animals.

I hope that you will join me in making noise on these issues by contacting Parliamentarians and letting them know what you think.

Here’s to a cruelty-free 2011 and many more wins for animals, thanks to public pressure from people like you.