Baby, It's Cold Inside

'Baby, It’s Cold Inside,' a digital illustration by Jess Harwood published on Instagram on the 1st of August 2024, shows two people side by side.   

A heading at the top reads, 'Australians in Winter.'  

The woman on the left-hand side has pale brown skin, her hair is up in a bun, and she wears sunglasses and has a half-smile on her face. She has a long-sleeved orange shirt and blue jeans, and red lace-up boots. Underneath her reads, 'Dressing for the outdoors.'  

The woman on the right looks like the same person, but she has a red, green and blue beanie pulled down over her eyes, an orange striped scarf tied around her neck, a thick pink cardigan, black mittens, purple pants and big mauve boots. Underneath her reads, 'Dressing for inside the house.'  

At the base of the image is a tagline that reads, 'Drawn on Darramuragal Land by @jesshardwoodart,' with a little drawing of a leaf.  

The label text for this cartoon reads: Jess Harwood’s cartoon points to an unusual phenomenon in older Australian homes. New houses built in Australia today must have an energy efficiency rating of at least seven stars (on a scale where 10 is the most efficient). But homes built before 2003 have an average rating of about 1.8 stars. A study by the Australian Centre for Housing Research of rental properties in five Australian states found more than 80 per cent of them fall below the World Health Organization’s minimum recommended standard for winter warmth.