To the Hon. Catherine King MP

Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government

Dear Minister King,

We write to you as concerned parents, because the evidence is clear: truck pollution is harming our children, and the federal government has the power to act.

New research, authored by leading Australian academics has quantified what communities living on freight corridors have known for years. 

Heavy vehicle exhaust emissions are causing preventable deaths and unnecessary illness. The annual health cost exceeds $6.8 billion - borne by patients, taxpayers, and workers.

Our children are the most vulnerable. They breathe faster. Their bodies are still developing. 

• One in six schools and childcare centres across Australia’s capital cities are close enough to busy roads to raise serious health risks. 
• Nearly 9% of new childhood asthma cases in our region are linked to traffic pollution, and heavy vehicles are responsible for a quarter of that pollution. 
• Pollution at one approved childcare centre was equivalent to children inhaling the smoke from 8.4 cigarettes a day.

This is a national problem. Freight corridors run through suburban streets in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. Parents in every capital city raise their kids in neighbourhoods, and send their children to schools where the air they breathe is making them sick and affecting their development.

Minister, this year your government will revise the Heavy Vehicle National Law. We urge you to use this opportunity to protect Australian children. Specifically, we call on you to:

1. Strengthen emissions standards for heavy vehicles. Make CO2 emissions part of our Heavy Vehicle Emissions Standards to accelerate the shift towards zero emissions trucks. 
2. Support truck drivers and small businesses to accelerate the transition. 92% of trucking businesses are small operators. They need help with the upfront costs of switching to zero-emission trucks, and they need regulatory barriers like weight and access limits reformed so that cleaner, heavier electric trucks can operate on our roads. 
3. Protect children from truck pollution now. Establish buffer zones between freight corridors and schools, childcare centres and playgrounds. Fund mitigation in high-risk areas, including green barriers and air filtration systems for schools on freight routes.

We ask you to make children’s health part of the equation when you reform the Heavy Vehicle National Law this year. Our kids cannot wait.

Yours sincerely,

Parents for Climate

On behalf of parents, carers and grandparents across Australia

Our kids deserve clean air, safe homes, and a better tomorrow. But new coal and gas projects threaten their future.

Right now, fossil fuel expansion is putting Australian families at risk - polluting the air our children breathe, driving up energy costs, and making extreme weather events worse.

We can choose a different future. One where families have healthy, affordable energy and a safe climate to grow up in.

It starts with raising our voices and showing up for what matters. Every voice strengthens the call for real action.

✅ Sign the petition to demand NO NEW COAL AND GAS and protect what we love.

👉 Stand up for clean air and a healthy future. Order a free yard sign here – every sign on a lawn is a signal of hope and a reminder that parents and carers everywhere are ready to protect what we love.

Update: We raised our voices and they backed down!

After Parents for Climate spoke out in the media and collected hundreds of petition signatures, the committee has reversed its decision to delay the report until July, and instead released it on March 31.

See our media release here. 

Australian families are being left in the dark.

The Senate inquiry into household electrification promised answers on how switching to clean energy can cut power bills and keep families safe. But despite clear evidence that electrifying homes can save households up to $1,000 a year, the final report is being delayed until after the federal election.

A cost of living crisis is no time to delay solutions. Later is too late.

We call on the Senate Economics References Committee and chair Senator Andrew Bragg to release the Household Electrification Report immediately. Families have the right to know how clean energy can reduce living costs, improve home safety during extreme weather, and create healthier spaces for our kids.

Every day this report is stalled is another day families are left paying more.

🔆 Sign now to demand transparency and solutions that put Australian families first.

As parents, we’d do anything for our kids. We promise to protect them, guide them, and give them every chance at a safe, happy future. That’s why we’re coming together to take action on climate change.

Australia is home to 12.5 million parents — that’s 2 in 3 voters. When we raise our voices together, we can be a powerful force for change.

Make a pinky promise for our kids' climate

The Parent Pledge is a personal commitment to speak up, take action, and push for climate ambition — not just at election time, but every day. It’s a way to show candidates, communities, and each other: parents are paying attention, and we’re not backing down.