During 2011 the policies on coal mining and combustion developed in 2010 were aggressively pursued by Doctors for the Environment Australia. Two important initiatives were commenced in Victoria and in SA which yielded positive outcomes in subsequent years. Doctors for the Environment Australia had opposed the proposed Dual Gas Demonstration Project, Morwell, Victoria that planned to use brown coal, due to the potential adverse health effects locally and from greenhouse gas emissions.
We obtained pro bono legal counsel to oppose the development, along with other groups, through the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Doctors for the Environment Australia advocated for the closing of the Playford brown coal burning power station in Port Augusta SA and its replacement with solar thermal energy. Our advocacy was based on the health of inhabitants of Port Augusta who suffered increased incidence of lung cancer and childhood asthma.