Page 2066 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 6 August 2014

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(g) on 25 June the Canberra Liberals called on the Chief Minister and government to allocate $5 million for families who are facing crisis situations as a result of having to leave Mr Fluffy affected properties;

(h) with the support of the Canberra Liberals, the ACT Government has approached the Commonwealth Government to attempt to negotiate a comprehensive solution to the on-going financial and health risks posed by the Mr Fluffy houses and the ACT Government has now allocated up to $10 000 per household in emergency funding for affected households in addition to waiving certain fees, and has established a Taskforce to administer the program;

(i) the Taskforce is falling behind on their published deadlines for contact and follow-up of residents;

(j) many homeowners and residents are in very difficult and distressed circumstances; and

(k) the effective and determined efforts of Ms Brianna Heseltine and the members of the Fluffy Owners and Residents’ Action Group; and

(2) calls on the ACT Government to:

(a) adequately resource the Taskforce to enable it to contact residents and progress programs within the Taskforce’s own stated timelines;

(b) report to this Assembly on progress with updates quarterly from 25 September 2014; and

Before I start, I make the point that there have been discussions about this motion between me, the Chief Minister’s office and Ms Porter, because her motion appearing on the daily program is very similar. The intent is very much the same. In the spirit of cooperation on this issue we have had discussions, and we will just be dealing with my motion today. There will be an amendment moved by Ms Porter which will reflect essentially the intent of both motions and then we will be, as I understand it, supporting that amended motion but not moving Ms Porter’s. I think it is a good thing for the people involved in this issue and for the broader Canberra community that we have essentially one voice coming out of the Assembly on this issue. I certainly thank the Chief Minister’s office and Ms Porter’s office for their cooperation in that regard.

I will start with a bit of history about what has happened and what has caused us to be at this point today. Before 1979 over 1,000 homes had loose-fill asbestos insulation sprayed into the ceilings by an operator known as Mr Fluffy. The form of asbestos used was ground into a powder and could easily become airborne, and it then becomes a serious health risk if it is inhaled or ingested.

Between 1988 and 1993 the commonwealth inspected approximately 65,000 Canberra homes built before 1980 for the presence of loose-fill asbestos, and certificates of

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