Page 722 - Week 02 - Thursday, 10 March 2011
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definition that we discussed recently about “private legal practitioner” in the legal aid bill, the confusion is like trying to draw a single strand out of a bowl full of spaghetti.
The minister has acknowledged this confusion and has provided me with an explanation of the intent. This is the explanation that the minister gave me in relation to the act:
s47A is amended to cover only the types of asbestos we wish to control.
In relation to the regulation, the explanation is:
The Regulation is amended as follows:
s3 Note 1 will be changed to read, “For example, the signpost definition asbestos product, for chapter 3 (Asbestos and Asbestos products)—see section 301.”
s301 is being amended to omit the definition of asbestos altogether, so that all that remains is “asbestos product”
“Asbestos product means anything that contains asbestos”.
What we have is “asbestos product” meaning anything that contains types of asbestos we want to control. This is the definition, the explanation that came from the minister’s department. In the dictionary of the regulation, we will have at note No 3, page 189, “asbestos” being added, with the effect that asbestos will “have the same meaning as it has in the Dangerous Substances Act”—that is, the types of asbestos we wish to control.
There, Mr Speaker, is the end of the definition that was given to me about the interaction of asbestos and asbestos product in the ACT statute book. I am sure that none of us are any the wiser as to what this actually means.
I understand the minister will take some time in her concluding comments to clarify this matter. I hope that her clarification is more clear than the clarification that was given to me when I asked for it. Other than that, Mr Speaker, we commend what is supposed to be a simple amendment to make life easier for people in the ACT. I hope it actually has that effect.
MS BRESNAN (Brindabella) (11.32): The Greens will support the Dangerous Substances Amendment Bill. The bill proposes changes to the definition of the term “asbestos” as it is used in the ACT Dangerous Substances Act and its accompanying regulation. The change will ensure that the definition of “asbestos” will accurately capture asbestos and asbestos products, but will not inadvertently capture materials that do not contain asbestos. Certain minerals have asbestos forms and non-asbestos forms and it is important to distinguish between the two.
Common products such as talcum powder, jade or soil additives can be made from the benign form of these minerals, and they should not be captured under the definition of asbestos that is used for health and safety regulation. The amendment to the definition ensures that it does not cover minerals in their non-asbestos form.
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