Page 725 - Week 03 - Thursday, 22 March 1990
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addressed in the seven months that the Government had to look at the issue.
As I said, I think this is fairly indicative: "I would have if I could have, but I didn't". "But I didn't" is the bottom line and the fact is, of course, that this Government has. We have addressed the issue completely. There was never ever a commitment from the previous Government about a time frame for the removal of asbestos from Canberra homes - never. I never heard one, never in a million years - that might have been about the time frame, actually. We have bitten the bullet and said, quite categorically, "We shall remove asbestos from Canberra. It shall not be here within four years from January 1990".
Mrs Grassby: Exactly what we said, too; it would not be here in four years' time either.
MR DUBY: Anyway, the point is those time limitations were never given. In addition, I noticed that, strangely enough, Mrs Grassby suggested in her address that our raising of the refund or the subsidy - if you want to call it that - for the removal of asbestos from private homes from $35,000 to $40,000 is something that she does not approve of. She seems to feel that this is throwing away taxpayers' money, it is not being fair, that there are people who could do it cheaper than $35,000. Well, the fact is - - -
Mrs Grassby: No, they were happy to do it without the 15 per cent increase.
MR DUBY: The fact is that that is not the case. They know that $46,000 was the lowest price that could be given for the removal of asbestos at public competitive tenders. When you take away management fees and associated risk costs with large contracts, which come out at about $6,000, it really means that no-one can do the job for less than $40,000.
Mrs Grassby: It should have been even cheaper if you take all that away. For God's sake, you would never make a business man.
MR SPEAKER: Order!
MR DUBY: We know perfectly well that the contractors are saying that they simply - - -
Mrs Grassby: They have made the burglar the undertaker.
MR SPEAKER: Order, Mrs Grassby, please!
MR DUBY: They simply cannot do the job of asbestos removal for less and many quotes that we are currently receiving for private removal jobs are coming in over $40,000 - substantially over $40,000. Those persons who want to have a private asbestos removal done, for whatever reasons -
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