Category: Take Action
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VIDEO: Over 40 Victorian orgs and leaders come together to lay out priorities for heatwave adaptation and transformation
The Greater Melbourne Heat Alliance was founded in 2023 to bring together organisations and leaders from across the city who are working to reduce the impacts of rising temperatures, support communities to build resilience, and tackle the root causes of heat vulnerability. At the first meeting in February, the Alliance agreed to run a heatwave…
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ACTION: Stop penalising people on Jobseeker payments during heatwaves
Heatwaves are the deadliest environmental disaster in Australia. We need to make sure everyone can prioritise their safety, and the safety of their family and communities when it gets hot. Unfortunately, the hundreds of thousands of people on Jobseeker payments who need to go to appointments, comply with their Employment Services Provider, or meet the…
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“My health began to suffer:” Sue’s experience living in a hot suburb
Sue is a Moonee Ponds local, a suburb in Melbourne’s inner city. Before moving to Moonee Ponds, she lived in a dangerously hot rental home with no insulation, and the heat ended up making her sick. Now, she lives in a cool home that protects her from the heat, but she is still worried about…
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Heatwave Safe Homes for Renters event
Last Thursday, over forty people came together for our ‘Heatwave Safe Homes for Renters’ event at Trades Hall in Carlton, with more people joining online. To prepare us for the hot summer ahead, we heard from an incredible panel of renters, health and housing experts about the risks of living in dangerously hot homes and…
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“I have spent 18 out of 20 years of my life in rentals”: a young renter’s dispair
IL* is a talented artist and renter from Victoria. In this blog post, she shares her incredible paintings that tell the story of growing up in poorly built rental homes, without adequate cooling, heating or insulation. IL has changed her name because she is worried about backlash from landlords or real estate agents. “It’s rather…
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Sweltering Cities partners with Sydney University on Heat Stress Scale App
Sweltering Cities working with The University of Sydney’s Heat and Health Research Incubator on their Heat Stress Scale project. Did you know that more people die from heat related issues than all other natural disasters combined? Wouldn’t it be amazing if there was a way to reduce loss of life and heat related illness and…
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“You dread it”: Sally’s experience of summer in high-rise public housing
Sally has lived in high-rise public housing in Melbourne’s inner city for 16 years. Her apartment is located on one of the top floors, and during summer the sun blankets her building from morning to night. The view from Sally’s unit in Carlton’s high-rise public housing. On sweltering summer days, it’s not safe for Sally…
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Our submission to the NSW inquiry into Western Sydney’s transport needs.
In 2023 the NSW Legislative Council is holding an inquiry into the current and future transport needs of Western Sydney. You can read more about the inquiry here. Sweltering Cities made a submission to the inquiry that focusses on our Busted Bus Stops campaign and includes dozens of community comments from our bus stop mapping…
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The worst bus stop in Sydney winner announced!
Congratulations to bus stop 275912 in Erskine Park for being voted the worst bus stop in Sydney! This stop has it all, or should we say ‘has nothing at all’?
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“Why should people have to suffer?”: Peter’s story of living in Melbourne’s baking hot public housing
For the last five years Peter has been living in high-rise public housing in Flemington, a suburb north of the city. In the three decades since Peter moved to Australia, he has seen Melbourne’s summers grow hotter, more intense and harder to cope with. A lack of insulation and cooling measures means that Peter has…