Keeping cool on hot days and nights is essential for people with MS. The Qld Advocacy Team is working on improving State Government assistance for people with MS on low incomes to pay the costs of running their air conditioners on hot days and nights.
With rapidly rising electricity costs it is increasingly difficult for people living with MS on low incomes to afford the costs of keeping cool.
The MS Society of Qld is in the process of working to obtain a Medical Cooling Rebate for Queenslanders on low incomes with MS who need to keep cool as a result of their medical condition. Currently, there are dedicated medical cooling concessions available in WA, Vic and underway in NSW.
It is proposed that the minimum appropriate level of funding for Medical Cooling Rebate should be between $250 and $300 annually. This amount is approximately one-third the annual costs that people on low incomes with MS in Queensland incur to keep cool as a result of their medical condition.
Administratively, the simplest approach would be to structure this rebate similarly to the existing Electricity Rebate – a flat annual rate. A percentage-based scheme would be more equitable however, and also support incentives for increased energy efficiency of air conditioners and homes.
Heat intolerance is a major issue for most people with MS (90%), and also for some people with a wide range of other conditions including: lymphoedema, Parkinson’s disease, fibromyalgia, post-polio syndrome, muscular dystrophy, poliomyelitis, chronic fatigue syndrome, lupus, scleroderma, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury and some people with acquired brain injuries.
If you would like to write a letter to a state politician or participate in the campaign in other ways, please contact Natalie Walsh, Qld Co-ordinator MS Advocates Program (07) 3840 0823
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or Dr Michael Summers, Senior Policy Advisor, 03 9845 2730,
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Campaigns are also underway in South Australia, and similar campaigns will be run in the ACT and Tasmania next year.
Additional details can also be found in the Discussion Paper for a Medical Cooling Electricity Rebate by the MS Society of Queensland and in the Campaign Platform September 2009.
Keeping Cool Survey Policy Implications Report
A new report has been released incorporating public policy related results and recommendations from the Keeping Cool Survey: Air Conditioner Use by Australians with MS. This research is vital to resourcing work being done throughout Australia to help ensure that people who have heat intolerant conditions such as MS, and especially those on low incomes, are able to access assistance to help them cover the costs of keeping cool on hot days and hot nights. As can be seen in this report, people with MS spend approximately 10 times more to run their air conditioners to keep cool than the average Australian household does.
Also, making sure that people who have to run their air conditioners more than most are also able to minimise their costs and environmental impacts by using new and efficient air conditioners, and have minor home modifications done to make their homes energy efficient will also require people with MS, MS Societies, communities, air conditioner manufacturers and retailers, and government at all levels to work together.
