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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 09 Hansard (Tuesday, 17 August 2004) . . Page.. 3727 ..

Leave granted.

MR WOOD: On 4 August, Mrs Cross introduced in the Assembly the Residential Property (Awareness of Asbestos) Amendment Bill, which will increase public awareness of the presence of asbestos in their homes by placing an obligation on home owners and lessors to have their buildings inspected for asbestos and asbestos-related products and to make that information available to prospective buyers and tenants of the properties. With the introduction of Mrs Cross’s bill and the prominence of asbestos in the media recently, this issue has begun to rekindle—and properly so—community anxiety over the topic.

People have suddenly become aware that despite great efforts to remove loose asbestos from homes and buildings in the 1990s, asbestos and asbestos-related products may still be present in their homes. Undisturbed, those products pose little threat. However, as a result of the recent massive boom in home renovations that threat has re-emerged. For some years the government has been looking at further ways to ensure that community and personal safety are not compromised and that the relative harmlessness of the undisturbed asbestos products is maintained. To attempt to deal with the asbestos with a piecemeal approach unsupported by extensive research and empirical data could result in the creation of laws and regulations that do not adequately address the issues of asbestos.

Today I will table an exposure draft of regulations that will require the government to conduct a study on asbestos and asbestos-related products, to use that study to identify high-risk areas and develop strategies for monitoring and managing risks, and to increase public awareness through education. We know that there is still asbestos in some family homes but we do not know what risk it poses and, in some situations, we do not know whether there is a risk at all. It is crucial that any legislation on the matter be supported by empirical evidence and expert opinion, as the legislation will increase the safety of Canberrans. By requiring the government to conduct an in-depth examination of the matter, we can be assured that the steps taken to deal with asbestos are well informed and effective in increasing public and personal safety.

This study is essential as, currently, there is no empirical data on the number of properties that may contain asbestos or asbestos-related products. No data is available on the number of properties that were built before asbestos was phased out in the early 1980s. The ACT chief health officer has reported that, between 1997 and 2001, 20 residents in the ACT died from mesothelioma. However, no data is available to correlate those deaths with where residents came into contact with asbestos, or whether that occurred in the ACT. That data is essential to ensure that information is targeted appropriately at dangerous activities.

The regulations will ensure that the government, when conducting the study, identifies high-risk areas based on data and its assessment. The government must then develop strategies for monitoring and managing risks. Once the study is reported to the Assembly—on 31 August 2005, or sooner if that can be managed—the government is required to disseminate information and advice to high-risk areas about the dangers of asbestos and recommend options available to the community to ensure their personal safety. When these new regulations have been notified under the Dangerous Substances

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