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

Every day, cars sit with engines running while parked - this is called idling. It might seem harmless, but idling creates concentrated pollution where children and families gather, especially at schools and childcare drop-off zones.

This pollution can affect developing lungs, hearts, and brains, increasing the risk of asthma and other health problems.

By turning engines off whenever it’s safe, we can reduce unnecessary exposure and keep our air cleaner and healthier.

Every child deserves to breathe clean air — to play, learn and grow without pollution harming their lungs or their future.

But right now, air pollution from traffic, gas, and coal is putting our children’s health at risk. From asthma flare-ups to long-term impacts on brain development and heart health, poor air quality is silently damaging the next generation.

Children are more vulnerable. They breathe faster, spend more time outdoors, and their small lungs are still growing. Parents, carers, grandparents and educators across Australia are standing together to say: enough is enough.

We’re calling on all levels of government, federal, state and local, to take urgent action to protect children from air pollution by cleaning up transport, phasing out gas and coal pollution, and taking strong, coordinated steps to make the air around every child cleaner and safer.

Add your name to show your support for clean air for every child, everywhere.

Together, we can create cleaner, healthier communities for our kids - today and for the future.

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.

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.

You're invited to join a growing community of more than 25,000 parents, carers, and grandparents who are standing up for something bigger than ourselves—a safe, liveable climate for our kids.

We may come from different places and backgrounds, but we're united by something powerful: our love for the young people in our lives—and our determination to protect their future.

Together, we’re not just taking action in our communities—we’re changing the national conversation. Parents for Climate helps amplify real parent, carer and grandparents voices in the media, influence powerful decision-makers, and shift policies that shape our kids’ future.

By signing up, you'll become part of a parent-led movement working for real climate solutions. You'll also receive regular updates with news, events, and simple, meaningful actions you can take to make a difference.

🌱 Sign up today and we’ll send you a bonus gift: two delicious, kid-friendly recipes from Food Wise – A Kids’ Guide to Fighting Food Waste and Saving the Planet.

Together, we’re building a future where all children can thrive.

We’d love to have you with us.