17 minute read
Christmas competition
Wishing our members a holiday season full of peace, joy, and happiness. We invite you to be part of this year's giveaway.
Dive in and discover Sydney at PARKROYAL Darling Harbour
Situated on the city side of Darling Harbour, PARKROYAL Darling Harbour features 340 stylish rooms and suites with superior king-sized beds, widescreen TV, and in-room amenities. Dine in the award-winning ABODE Bistro. Bar or explore iconic attractions on the doorstep. PARKROYAL Darling Harbour, Sydney – your harbour side sanctuary. The Lamp is offering members the chance to win two nights’ accommodation in a Superior Room with breakfast daily and parking included*
*Conditions apply. Rooms subject to availability. Prize must be redeemed by 31 July 2022. Voucher is non-transferable, not redeemable for cash and must be presented on arrival.
How to enter
To be in the draw to win one of these fabulous prizes email your entry with subject: Christmas giveaway (prize title) to lamp@nswnma.asn.au including your name and membership number. A separate email is required for each prize.
Set sail for high tea at sea with Captain Cook Cruises
Sydney loves an indulgent high tea, and with good reason. Captain Cook Cruises have given it a modern setting and created the High Tea at Sea. Pink bubbly, tiered platters of sweet and savoury treats and a harbour vista that even British aristocrats would find hard to believe.
We have partnered with Captain Cook Cruises and are offering you the chance to win one of four double passes to HIGH TEA at sea (each double pass is valued at $150). Your high tea experience includes a sweet and savoury High Tea shared platter, glass of sparkling wine each, selection of fine teas and 1 to 2 circuits of the harbour – each circuit approx. 90 minutes. For more information or to book your high tea experience, please visit www.captaincook.com.au
*Conditions apply. Prize valid for NSWNMA members for travel to 30 September 2022 excluding public holidays and special events. Subject to availability.
Important: Only one entry per member for each competition will be accepted. Entries must indicate which prize you would like to win in the email subject.
Competition entries from NSWNMA members only and limited to one entry per member per prize. All entries must be received by Thursday, 16 December 2021 with prizes drawn Friday, 17 December 2021. If a redraw is required for an unclaimed prize it must be held up to 3 months from the original draw date.
Seven Islands Skincare – a holiday for your skin!
Seven Islands Skincare and The Lamp are offering you the chance to win a limited edition ‘Let It Glow’ Christmas gift pack (valued at over $75). This stunning pack contains a gorgeous face oil, a delicious lip balm, a refreshing hydrating mist and a beautifully scented allnatural soy wax candle. Seven Islands Skincare is a holiday for your skin. Allow your skin to glow this Christmas and beyond by giving it a break from chemicals, synthetics, pollution and stress. Beauty therapist formulated, allnatural and hand made. Let it Glow! Let it Glow! Let it Glow!
Exclusive to NSWNMA members! 20% off until midnight 24 December 2021. Simply use the code NSWNMA20 online at www. sevenislandsskincare.com.au
Holiday reading
Kick back and relax with a threebook gift pack. We have three packs (of three books each) to give away: The Tea Ladies of St Jude’s Hospital by Joanna Nell (Hachette Australia): a heartwarming and hilarious novel by the author of The Single Ladies of Jacaranda Retirement Village and The Great Escape from Woodlands Nursing Home. ER Nurses – True stories from the frontline by James Patterson & Matt Eversmann (Penguin Random House): unforgettable stories of everyday heroes who look after us in our most challenging circumstances. The Eighth Wonder by Tania Farrelly (Penguin Radom House): a journey through New York in 1897 – The Eighth Wonder follows a young feminist and aspiring architect who must fight against the rules of society in order to find her place in the world.
Shine a light of hope this Christmas with artinspired gifts by Koh Living
Koh Living have created art-inspired gifts that are both meaningful and great value. When you give a loved-one a unique gift from Koh Living you can be sure it will be loved and used for years to come. The Lamp is offering members a chance to win one of three beautiful care packs: two Christmas Minikin lantern packs (valued at $74.85 each) and one Christmas tealight gift pack by artist Rebecca Gibbon (valued at $109.80) to give away. Go to www.kohliving.com.au to discover gifts by established Australian and International artists.
eNurse – Australia’s leading online nurse shop
The Lamp and eNurse are offering you the chance to win a $250 voucher – imagine yourself in new scrubs, new shoes and accessories!
Special offer! Enjoy 10% off* all your online purchases exclusive to NSWNMA members. Simply use promo code NSWNMA10OFF at www.enurse.com.au
Season’s Greetings from Posh Active
Posh Active would like to thank you for all your hard work this year by offering members a chance to win a Posh Active 3-piece Cult Classic track suit in a colour or pattern of your choice (valued at approx. $350). Posh Active is a world of luxury lounge wear. Specially made from Posh Active’s own viscose blend, it is soft and beautiful to wear. The relaxed silhouette is stylish and will take you anywhere from lounging around, to the supermarket, or out to dinner. View the range at www.posh-active.com.au
Health needs to be part of Australia’s climate solution
Healthcare contributes seven per cent of Australia’s carbon emissions – but health is missing from our COP26 plan, says the Climate and Health Alliance.
While other countries turned up to the COP26 conference with health factored into their climate plans, Australia was “missing in action”, says the Alliance’s Executive Director, Fiona Armstrong.
She says this is a lost opportunity: health systems are well placed to be a significant part of the solution, as climate change drives poorer health outcomes and increases deaths and health inequities.
According to a recent analysis of Australian policy, there is little recognition at the Commonwealth level of the health impacts of climate change.
The federal government’s pamphlet, The Plan to Deliver Net Zero: The Australian Way, doesn’t address the risks and opportunities for the health sector, despite its significant contribution to national emissions.
This emission contribution is largely from public and private hospitals, which have huge energy demands, largely met by coalpowered electricity. Also, the production of pharmaceuticals is extremely energy intensive.
Ahead of COP26, Australia’s failure to address the health impacts
health’.’ — Fiona Armstrong
of climate change in its climate plan recently led the Global Climate and Health Alliance to score it 0/15 compared to other countries .
Health groups recently sent Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Health Minister Greg Hunt an open letter calling on the government to recognise the magnitude of the health emergency caused by climate change and to embrace more ambitious targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
The letter included a health strategy, the Healthy, Regenerative and Just: Framework for a national strategy on climate, health and well-being for Australia, informed by academics, researchers, health service managers, policymakers, professional associations, unions, and health and medical professionals from many disciplines.
KEY RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDE:
• legislate a 75 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 2005 levels by 2030 and net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 • rapidly phase out fossil fuel-based energy and transport and invest in renewable energy resources and infrastructure • improve the preparedness of health and emergency services to respond to the impacts of climate change, such as increased extreme weather events • integrate climate risk assessments into all disaster preparedness and health sector planning • educate and train health professionals to respond to the health impacts of climate change
CCPI • Results 2022 Germanwatch, NewClimate Institute & Climate Action Network
Climate Change Performance Index 2022 – Rating table
Rank Rank change Country Score** Categories
1.* – –2. – –3. – – –
4. 2 ▲ Denmark 76.92
5. -1 ▼ Sweden
74.46 6. 2 ▲ Norway 73.62 7. -2 ▼ United Kingdom 73.29 8. -1 ▼ Morocco 71.64 9. 0 – Chile 69.66 10. 0 – India 69.22 11. 4 ▲ Lithuania 65.06 12. 0 – Malta 64.39 13. 6 ▲ Germany 63.82 14. -3 ▼ Finland 62.74 15. -1 ▼ Switzerland 61.98 16. 1 ▲ Portugal 61.45 17. 6 ▲ France 61.33 18. 3 ▲ Luxembourg 61.03 19. 10 ▲ Netherlands 60.81 20. 0 – Ukraine 60.52 21. 1 ▲ Egypt 59.83 22. -6 ▼ European Union (27) 59.53 23. new Philippines 58.98 24. 10 ▲ Greece 58.55 25. new Colombia 58.11 26. -13 ▼ Latvia 58.06 27. -3 ▼ Indonesia 57.39 28. -10 ▼ Croatia 56.26 29. 3 ▲ Mexico 56.19 30. -3 ▼ Italy 55.70 31. -5 ▼ Thailand 55.28 32. 6 ▲ Estonia 55.25 33. -8 ▼ Brazil 55.17 34. 7 ▲ Spain 54.71 35. -7 ▼ New Zealand 54.49 36. -1 ▼ Austria 52.80 37. -4 ▼ China 52.66 38. -8 ▼ Romania 52.59 39. -2 ▼ South Africa 51.56 40. -9 ▼ Slovak Republic 50.90 41. 8 ▲ Cyprus 50.89 42. 0 – Turkey 50.75 43. new Viet Nam 49.35 44. 0 – Bulgaria 49.02 45. 0 – Japan 48.94 46. -7 ▼ Ireland 48.29 47. -1 ▼ Argentina 47.50 48. -12 ▼ Belarus 46.91 49. -9 ▼ Belgium 46.27 50. 1 ▲ Slovenia 43.73 51. -4 ▼ Czech Republic 42.53 52. -4 ▼ Poland 41.01 53. -3 ▼ Hungary 40.71 54. -11 ▼ Algeria 40.24 55. 6 ▲ United States 37.90 56. -4 ▼ Russian Federation 35.00 57. -1 ▼ Malaysia 34.37 58. -4 ▼ Australia 30.41 59. -6 ▼ Korea 27.28 60. -3 ▼ Chinese Taipei 27.11 61. -3 ▼ Canada 26.73 62. -3 ▼ Islamic Republic of Iran 26.35 63. -3 ▼ Saudi Arabia 24.45 64. -9 ▼ Kazakhstan 19.81
* None of the countries achieved positions one to three. No country is doing enough to prevent dangerous climate change. ** rounded Rating
Very High High Medium Low Very Low
IndexCategories
GHG Emissions (40% weighting) Renewable Energy (20% weighting) Energy Use (20% weighting) Climate Policy (20% weighting)
© Germanwatch 2021
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• establish a roadmap by 2023 to decarbonise healthcare by 2035.
The call from health groups for more ambitious targets came after an MJA–Lancet Countdown report, which issued a “serious health warning” for Australians from heat, bushfires and air pollution, and emphasises the disproportionate health burden borne by Indigenous Australians.
“Australia’s action to address the health impacts of climate change has been described as ‘catastrophic for human health’,” Ms Armstrong said. “It is wrong and unnecessary to endanger Australian lives in this way.” n
Find out more
This is the Australian Way? Australia ranked last for climate crisis policy
The federal government’s climate policy, titled The Plan to Deliver Net Zero: The Australian Way, was given short shrift at the global climate summit in Glasgow.
The summit saw the release of the Climate Change Performance Index, which assesses countries across four categories: policy, emissions, renewables, and energy use. Countries are given one of five ratings from “very high” to “very poor”. No country was given an overall “very high” rating because “no country is doing enough to prevent dangerous climate change”. The top five performing countries overall were Denmark, then Sweden, Norway, the UK and Morocco. The bottom five are Kazakhstan, followed by Saudi Arabia, Iran, Canada and Taiwan. Overall, Australia slipped four places on the index from the previous year, when it was 50th, and it was the only country allocated a score of zero in the climate policy category, faring only slightly better in three other areas. “The country’s lack of ambition and action has made its way to the international stage,” the report says. Suzanne Harter, from the Australian Conservation Foundation, was one of seven experts who provided an evaluation for the climate policy category of the index, which looked at national and international policy performance. “There’s no genuine strategy, no reasonable interim targets or any appropriate investment,” she told The Guardian. “There’s no phase-out plan for fossil fuels, no carbon pricing, and the technology roadmap relies on technologies that don’t even exist yet. “There’s no national renewable energy policy and we’re one of the last OECD countries without efficiency standards for vehicles. “Not only do we not have a policy, but the government is promoting the opposite direction. If anything, the government is giving more money to fossil fuels, such as with the gas-fired recovery.” The index is produced by a coalition of climate change think tanks, including Germanwatch, NewClimate Institute and Climate Action Network International.
More information
— Climate Change Performance Index report
200 health journals call for urgent action on climate change
Editors called on governments to take emergency action to tackle the “catastrophic harm to health” from climate change.
A joint editorial said that while recent targets to reduce emissions and conserve biodiversity are welcome, they are not enough and need to be matched with credible short and longer term plans. The editorial was published simultaneously on 6 September in 233 international titles including The British Medical Journal, The Lancet, the New England Journal of Medicine, the East African Medical Journal, the Chinese Science Bulletin, The National Medical Journal of India, and the Medical Journal of Australia. It was published just prior to the United Nations General Assembly and the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow.
Here is an abridged version of the editorial: We – the editors of health journals worldwide – call for urgent action to keep average global temperature increases below 1.5°C, halt the destruction of nature, and protect health. Health is already being harmed by global temperature increases and the destruction of the natural world, a state of affairs that health professionals have been bringing attention to for decades. The science is unequivocal: a global increase of 1.5°C above the pre-industrial average and the continued loss of biodiversity, risk catastrophic harm to health that will be impossible to reverse. Despite the world’s necessary preoccupation with COVID-19, we cannot wait for the pandemic to pass to rapidly reduce emissions. Reflecting the severity of the moment, this editorial appears in health journals across the world. We are united in recognising that only fundamental and equitable changes to societies will reverse our current trajectory. The risks to health of increases above 1.5°C are now well established. Indeed, no temperature rise is “safe”. In the past 20 years, heat-related mortality among people aged over 65 has increased by more than 50 per cent. Higher temperatures have brought increased dehydration and renal function loss, dermatological malignancies, tropical infections, adverse mental health outcomes, pregnancy complications, allergies, and cardiovascular and pulmonary morbidity and mortality. Harms disproportionately affect the most vulnerable, including children, older populations, ethnic minorities, poorer communities, and those with underlying health problems. Thriving ecosystems are essential to human health, and the widespread destruction of nature, including habitats and species, is eroding water and food security and increasing the chance of pandemics. No country, no matter how wealthy, can shield itself from these impacts. Allowing the consequences to fall disproportionately on the most vulnerable will breed more conflict, food insecurity, forced displacement, and zoonotic disease – with severe implications for all countries and communities. As with the COVID-19 pandemic, we are globally as strong as our weakest member.
GLOBAL TARGETS ARE NOT ENOUGH
Targets to reach net-zero emissions are easy to set and hard to achieve. They are yet to be matched with credible short and longer term plans to accelerate cleaner technologies and transform societies.
Emissions reduction plans do not adequately incorporate health considerations. Concern is growing that temperature rises above 1.5°C are beginning to be seen as inevitable, or even acceptable, to powerful members of the global community. Relatedly, current strategies for reducing emissions to net zero by the middle of the century implausibly assume that the world will acquire great capabilities to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. This insufficient action means that temperature increases are likely to be well in excess of 2°C, a catastrophic outcome for health and environmental stability. This is an overall environmental crisis. Health professionals are united with environmental scientists, businesses, and many others in rejecting that this outcome is inevitable. We join health professionals worldwide who have already supported calls for rapid action. Equity must be at the centre of the global response. Contributing a fair share to the global effort means that reduction commitments must account for the cumulative, historical contribution each country has made to emissions, as well as its current emissions and capacity to respond. Wealthier countries will have to cut emissions more quickly, making reductions by 2030 beyond those currently proposed and reaching net-zero emissions before 2050. Similar targets and emergency action are needed for biodiversity loss and the wider destruction of the natural world. To achieve these targets, governments must make fundamental changes to how our societies and economies are organised and how we live. Many governments met the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic with unprecedented funding. The environmental crisis demands a similar emergency response. Huge investment will be needed, beyond what is being considered or delivered anywhere in the world. But such investments will produce huge positive health and economic outcomes. These include high-quality jobs, reduced air pollution, increased physical activity, and improved housing and diet. Better air quality alone would realise health benefits that easily offset the global costs of emissions reductions.
COOPERATION HINGES ON WEALTHY NATIONS DOING MORE
In particular, countries that have disproportionately created the environmental crisis must do more to support low- and middleincome countries to build cleaner, healthier and more resilient societies. Funding must be equally split between mitigation and adaptation, including improving the resilience of health systems. As health professionals, we must do all we can to aid the transition to a more sustainable, fairer, more resilient and healthier world. We must hold global leaders to account and continue to educate others about the health risks of the crisis. We must join in the work to achieve environmentally sustainable health systems before 2040, recognising that this will mean changing clinical practice. The greatest threat to global public health is the continued failure of world leaders to keep the global temperature rise below 1.5°C and to restore nature. Urgent, society-wide changes must be made and will lead to a fairer and healthier world. We, as editors of health journals, call for governments and other leaders to act, marking 2021 as the year that the world finally changes course.
Read the full editorial
Call for emergency action to limit global temperature increases, restore biodiversity, and protect health, BMJ 2021;374:n1734 https://www.bmj.com/content/374/ bmj.n1734
Sydney’s first hop-on hop-off floating bar
Remodelled and inspired by the city’s rooftop bars, modern gastro-pubs and craft breweries, the Harbour Bar offers a relaxed bar and dining experience with 360-degree harbour views. • 360-degree waterfront views • Spacious indoor and outdoor areas • One 90-minute circuit of the harbour, or stay longer if you wish • Live music in the afternoons • Harbour Bar operates Thursday through Sunday from
Circular Quay Wharf 6 and King St Wharf 1 • Note: children not recommended on this cruise as they must be supervised and remain seated at all times Captain Cook Cruises wishes to THANK YOU for your hard word and commitment and is offering all NSWNMA members FREE HARBOUR BAR access for you* and 1 friend (valued at $29 each) Advance bookings essential, please visit www.captaincook.com.au/promo/nurses
*Conditions apply. Offer valid for NSWNMA members only and 1 guest. Bookings will be verified by the NSWNMA to ensure members are financial at time of booking. Advance bookings essential and valid for booking and travel from 3 November to 30 December 2021.