Heating and Cooling Services concerned over wood fire heater phase-out

When he woke up on Thursday he was left wondering about his future after the ACT government confirmed it would phase out wood fire heaters.

Wood fire heaters won't be completely phased out until 2045 but the government will begin a process which will result in the installation of new heaters being banned across Canberra suburbs.

Mr Schmitzer, who is the director of Heating and Cooling Services Canberra, wondered how the phase out would be implemented and questioned how businesses like his would be supported.

"What are they going to do for someone like me who's built up a business selling heating in Canberra?," Mr Schmitzer said.

"They're pretty much taking away my livelihood."

Mr Schmitzer presumed the ACT government would have contacted local businesses who would be affected by the phase-out but said he had not heard "a thing" from them.

He said there was still a long way to go but the move was similar to the government's lack of consultation on making the territory free of natural gas.

"The ACT government's just made the decisions, that's what they want to do and that's what they've done," Mr Schmitzer said.

He said the government had directly spoken to the peak industry body, the Australian Home Heating Association, which he was a member of.

Australian Home Heating Association general manager Tim Cannon said the phasing out would directly affect heating retailers in Canberra which were seasonal businesses and mostly family-owned.

"We consulted with [the ACT government]. They didn't approach us by any stretch," he said.

"The businesses are not going to be able to stand up if they only sell air conditioners in the summer with gas appliances and wood heaters being phased out," Mr Cannon said.

In addition to retailers, he said suppliers, installers, plumbers, carpenters and maintenance people whose sole job was to install wood fire heaters would also have to "reskill".

"They will completely go out of business because there'll be no demand," Mr Cannon said.

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Environment Minister Rebecca Vassarotti said the government would work to support local businesses through the phase-out. She said at this stage the government was not considering financial support for businesses but she said the long lead-in time would give businesses the time to consider how they would transition.

"It is important we work with local businesses," she said. "That does mean that businesses and industries will need to adjust and we are there to work with industries and businesses to do that."

The government will start work on the specifics of a plan to phase out heaters but it is likely a ban on the installation of new wood heaters will be expanded. Ms Vassarotti said this would be worked through.

The government has agreed to the phase-out as part of its response to an investigation from the ACT commissioner for sustainability and the environment, released earlier this year.

But the report from the commissioner, Dr Sophie Lewis, also called for a register of wood heaters in the ACT to be established but this was rejected by the government as it was too costly.

Opposition environment spokeswoman Nicole Lawder said this was concerning.

"As it stands, the ACT government has no data on the number of wood heaters already in the ACT. Suburbs that already have bans in place, such as Dunlop, have no regulation and wood heaters remain present," she said.

"Inadequate emissions and efficiency standards coupled with poor regulation and enforcement, misleading public education campaigns, ineffective replacement programs and inconsistent suburbs restrictions were all significant issues outlined in the commissioner's report."

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