Page 1189 - Week 04 - Thursday, 17 March 2005
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Relations) (3.57): I seek leave of the Assembly to make a ministerial statement concerning progress of the ACT asbestos task force.
Leave granted.
MS GALLAGHER: I would like to take this opportunity to update you on the progress of the work being undertaken by the asbestos task force to provide safe management of asbestos in our community. Members would by now be well aware of the asbestos awareness campaign “Helping everyone breathe easier”, which can be seen, in advertisements featuring well-known personality Don Burke, on the television and in the print media. The campaign was successfully launched on 28 February. The launch was attended by a range of representatives from the community, industry groups and across government. I was pleased to attend the launch and support the task force in its work. It was encouraging to see the amount of work that has been achieved by the task force in such a short time.
The campaign has been well received and I would like to thank Don Burke for volunteering his time and support to the campaign. I would also like to thank Carol Willey for speaking about her family’s experience and for the support she has given to our campaign. Support has been received from experts in the field of asbestos management, medical professionals, commonwealth agencies and the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission. Information on asbestos awareness and the new laws will be going out to all residential and commercial premises this week. The new web site, www.asbestos.act.gov.au, is a central hub of information regarding the safe management of asbestos for our community, providing critical information to residents, commercial owners and tenants, as well as home renovators and tradespeople.
The campaign is about, firstly, educating the community about the safe management of materials containing asbestos and its associated issues and, secondly, informing members of the community of their new obligations through the commencement of section 47J of the Dangerous Substances (Asbestos) Amendment Act 2005, which requires owners or occupiers to tell relevant people, in writing, what they know about asbestos at their premises. The importance of conducting such a campaign is validated by current community attitudes and awareness. A community survey conducted by the task force in January this year has confirmed that people need education about asbestos-containing materials in their homes. In January the survey found that only 10 per cent of respondents were aware that their homes might have asbestos-containing materials in them. By 4 April we hope that this will have increased and will continue to increase throughout the year.
The key messages of the campaign are simple and clear. To recap those messages: asbestos, while a dangerous substance, can be safely managed; asbestos-containing materials are not a threat to health when in a stable condition and left undisturbed; and by raising awareness and educating the general community in the safe management of materials containing asbestos we can reduce the number of future exposures to asbestos fibres.
In the lead-up to 4 April, the task force has been providing targeted briefing sessions to key industry, community and government groups. Groups briefed to date include the Property Council, the Real Estate Institute of the ACT, the Housing Industry
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