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

The government’s own National Climate Risk Assessment confirms what parents across Australia already know: climate change is putting our kids and communities in danger.

As parents, we don’t take chances with our kids safety - whether it’s buckling a seatbelt, fitting a car seat, or being sun smart, we act on the best advice. We expect our government to do the same. That means shaping climate policy with science, not politics, and committing to net zero by 2035 with strong pollution cuts this decade. Anything less puts our kids' future at risk.

On February 10th, 2025, Independent MP Dr. Sophie Scamps introduced the Wellbeing of Future Generations Bill to the Australian Parliament - an historic step toward making sure our leaders consider the long-term impact of their decisions on the generations to come.

This Bill gives us a powerful opportunity to shift politics from short-term thinking to long-term solutions - on climate, health, cost of living, education, and more. It’s common-sense, cross-party, and urgently needed.

As parents and carers, we know what it means to plan for the future. It’s time our governments did the same.

What the Bill will do:

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.

Enough is enough: we’re calling out polluters for greenwashing

As parents committed to a safe climate for our children, we strive to make responsible choices. However, companies like EnergyAustralia have made this challenging by falsely marketing polluting products as ‘carbon neutral’.

In a landmark development, our legal action led to a settlement where EnergyAustralia publicly admitted that carbon offsets do not prevent or undo the harms caused by burning fossil fuels. They have ceased offering their 'Go Neutral' product to new customers and removed related marketing from their website.

This is a significant victory against greenwashing, demonstrating the power of parent-led action.

 This win has put the industry on notice—but we need your help to keep up the pressure. Join us as we fight for honest climate claims, consumer protection, and a future free from fossil fuel spin.

👉 Donate now or get involved to power our next wave of action.

DONATE TO STOP GREENWASHING SHARE THIS TO BUILD MORE SUPPORT

We held EnergyAustralia to account for greenwashing—and won

Energy giant EnergyAustralia had been marketing electricity and gas from fossil fuels as ‘carbon neutral’, claiming they can ‘offset’ that pollution. But so-called ‘offsets’ are a type of marketing spin that enables companies to continue polluting, without making genuine cuts to their pollution.

It’s our job as parents to stand up for our kids, and to teach them there are consequences for misleading behaviour.

So we took EnergyAustralia to court, arguing that they have engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct. In a successful resolution, we forced EnergyAustralia to admit to the key facts of our case through a powerful public statement and an email to its customers. The company admitted that offsets should not be used to delay or diminish the important work needed to actively decarbonise. This outcome sets a precedent, signaling that misleading climate claims will not go unchallenged

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.

Energy costs are an increasing burden and too many schools and early childhood centres are missing out on the benefits of bill-busting clean energy installations.

Solar and batteries for all schools and childcare centres can save schools money, reduce childcare costs, and employ thousands of people - it’s a win-win-win.

This is Australia’s largest clean energy proposal that will benefit every community in the country.

But it won’t happen without our support. We need to build an unstoppable wave of positive support for schools and early learning powered by clean energy. Add you name to the letter to state and federal leaders to show your support.

Let’s Solar Our Learning, together!

Solar Our Learning will:

• Slash school and early childhood centre energy bills, freeing up more funds for learning resources and childcare places
• Save large schools $114,000 in energy bills per year, small schools $12,700 per year and $12,400 - $14,600 per year for early childhood centres
• Protect schools and early childhood centres from future energy price rises, reducing financial pressures on services and parents alike
• Create at least 6,870 renewable energy jobs in all regions of Australia.
• Save millions of tonnes of carbon emissions per year.

Want to find out more? Check out the main Solar Our Learning campaign page for more information