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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 14 Hansard (12 December) . . Page.. 4803 ..

MR DE DOMENICO (continuing):

Mr Speaker, following question time yesterday I asked for an immediate briefing on what were the very serious allegations raised by Mr Berry and Ms Horodny. What I found out was this: Firstly, no public hospital dumped waste of any sort, medical or otherwise, at the Belconnen tip yesterday.

Mr Berry: What was the stuff at the tip?

MR DE DOMENICO: Mr Speaker, just so Mr Berry can hear it, no public hospital dumped waste of any sort, medical or otherwise, at the Belconnen tip yesterday. In fact, Canberra Hospital does not even use the Belconnen tip. This Government has in place very clear guidelines relating to the disposal of medical waste, Mr Speaker, and I would like to take this opportunity to table them for Ms Horodny's edification, in particular. Secondly, Mr Speaker, I discovered that only three trucks were logged in as using the sludge pit facilities yesterday, all three bringing waste from grease traps - precisely what the sludge pit is there for, obviously. Thirdly, what in fact was found in the pit was a small number of needles and some rubber gloves.

Mr Berry: Oh!

MR DE DOMENICO: Hold on. They found a small number of needles and some rubber gloves. Mr Berry said "a truckful of hospital waste".

Mr Humphries: It was a very little truck, obviously.

MR DE DOMENICO: A very big, mini, little truck that Mr Humphries's son plays with, obviously. Mr Speaker, these things should not have been dumped at the pit. No rubber gloves are allowed, and no needles are allowed. I have asked Waste Management to investigate the source of the problem - the rubber gloves and the needles - and to ensure that, in future, trucks disposing of waste at the pit are closely supervised so that they do not dump any rubber gloves or needles.

Mr Berry: Well done! You are doing something at last.

MR DE DOMENICO: We are doing something at last. Thank you for that interjection.

Mr Berry: You admit there is a problem out there.

MR DE DOMENICO: Just sit back there. What we are talking about here, Mr Speaker, hardly constitutes a truckload of hospital waste, as Mr Berry would have us believe. What we have here is more likely some needles washed into a drain somewhere - a regrettable situation, I grant you, but one that is unlikely to engender the mass hysterics Mr Berry was hoping for yesterday.

Mr Speaker, whilst the Government will do everything possible to ensure that needles do not turn up in the sludge pit regularly, we do not believe that this constitutes a risk to public health and safety. The pit is a secured area and is not accessible by the public at any time. Appropriate occupational health and safety procedures are in place, and have been in place, to protect the health and safety of workers.

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