A “health emergency” has been declared by a Melbourne council, which claims residents are suffering above-average rates of hospitalisations for certain conditions partly due to a surge in road trains on its suburban streets.
Maribyrnong city council, which takes in Footscray in the city’s inner western suburbs, announced the declaration on Wednesday, claiming rates of illness in the municipality due to pollution “considerably exceed the Australian average”.
“Council believes this is in part due to the exhaust from heavy trucks, which contains particulate matter, being blown directly into resident’s homes day in and day out from morning to night,” it said in a statement.
The health emergency declaration follows long-term frustration about heavy trucks driving through suburban streets around Footscray, even after a curfew was introduced in 2015.
Adolescent asthma rates in the City of Maribyrnong are 50% higher than the state average, and the hospital admission rate is 70% higher than the Australian average for those aged between three and 19.
Melbourne’s inner west also has a higher rate of lung cancer than the national average, according to long-term health data cited in a 2020 report published by the Inner West Air Quality Reference Group, made up of experts and residents and set up by the Victorian government in 2018 in response to local concerns.
Complaints from residents near Moore Street in Footscray have surged in recent times due to the construction of the West Gate Tunnel, with allegations that road trains are ignoring the 8pm to 6am curfew or receiving exemptions.
Maribyrnong councillors are writing to the Victorian roads and road safety minister, Melissa Horne, claiming a lack of monitoring and enforcement of the curfew has undermined its ability to protect residents. The council wants the government to begin monitoring air pollution and the health of residents.
The motion was moved by Greens councillor Bernadette Thomas. The council’s mayor, Labor-aligned Sarah Carter, also spoke about the need for action.
“Our residents tell us at least as many heavy trucks are using residential streets now as they did before the curfew was introduced,” Carter said.
She singled out road trains – which are larger and longer than standard trucks and that have been allowed to carry concrete castings to the tunnel site – as posing particular health risks.
The Maribyrnong Truck Action Group, which has campaigned on the issue, said the council area experiences more than eight million truck movements each year on residential streets, due to container trucks servicing the Port of Melbourne.
“The City of Maribyrnong is ground zero for truck pollution in Australia and our health needs protection now,” said Martin Wurt, the group’s president.
“This was a bold move by our councillors, we now need follow-up action to alleviate this health crisis,” Wurt said.
He said “hospitalisation rates for children in the City of Maribyrnong with respiratory illness is shocking”.
“We need a plan to get these rates down as fast as possible,” he said.
Guardian Australia contacted Horne for comment. A Victorian government spokesperson responded saying: “The transport challenges in this growing and rapidly changing area are complex – which is why we’re continuing to work with stakeholders in the short, medium and long term to improve air quality and deliver better outcomes for the inner west.”
