Page 5589 - Week 15 - Wednesday, 9 December 2009
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Amendments agreed to.
Bill as a whole, as amended, agreed to.
Bill, as amended, agreed to.
Schools—procurement and purchasing policies
MS HUNTER (Ginninderra—Parliamentary Convenor, ACT Greens) (5.07), by leave: I move my amended motion:
That this Assembly
(1) notes:
(a) that cleaning products are crucial in maintaining healthy and sanitary conditions in the school environment;
(b) that some cleaning products can present health and environmental concerns in relation to children and young people;
(c) the concentrated forms of some commercial cleaning products are classified as hazardous, creating potential handling, storage and disposal issues for users;
(d) that children and young people have increased contact with chemicals, floorings and building finishes, therefore are at increased risk of health concerns, as they may contain chemicals associated with eye, skin or respiratory irritation; and
(e) the United States Government has introduced Environmentally Preferable Purchasing in relation to chemicals, floorings and building materials to curb the increasing rates of asthma and anaphylaxis in children and young people over the last decade; and
(2) calls on the Minister to:
(a) commit to including in the Statement of Requirements of School cleaning contracts, that procurement and purchasing practices for all new and existing ACT school buildings should include cleaning products and building finishes which minimise the environmental health impacts on children and young people, in accordance with international best practice models; and
(b) agree to develop an environmentally friendly educational guide to accompany the current Statement of Requirements of School cleaning contracts. This will enable students, parents, teachers, principals, cleaning staff and contactors to use this guide to develop a greater understanding of the impacts that cleaning chemicals have on their health.
The ACT Greens bring forward this motion today to propose a starting point for a cultural shift around the way we purchase and use chemicals, cleaning products and
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