The Australian Atlas of Healthcare Variation has been released, a government report looking at health care rates around Australia. The report found that the City of Maribyrnong has Victoria’s highest rate of children’s asthma and related respiratory admissions to hospital at 171% of the national average! Once again it’s sadly been proven that children are paying the highest price for government inaction on this issue.The mere fact that a community group such as ours can campaign for more than a decade and see absolutely no reduction in truck traffic or air pollution, is outrageous, and represents a total failure by both sides of the political divide, and the associated bureaucratic organisations. It’s not enough to rely on road infrastructure alone. There are many short term measures that can be implemented now to protect the health of our most vulnerable. The Trucks in the Inner West Partnership, comprising of VicRoads, the EPA, Maribyrnong Council and Dept of Health was supposed to be looking at further short term measures but disappointingly completely lost momentum in 2015. We have written to the CEO’s of all of these organisations urging them to reconvene the partnership and start taking the health of residents seriously.