Page 2082 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 6 August 2014
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The amendment before us from Ms Porter is, I think, a very good agreed position on the issues that we face as a community and the responses we need to continue to pursue. Our first focus must be on continuing to provide support, immediate emergency relief and long-term certainty ultimately for all of these property owners. I know that that is the task the government is very strongly focused on.
I am very pleased that the Chief Minister has taken over all carriage of this matter because it is a whole-of-government issue. It moves beyond an individual portfolio. It is a whole-of-government issue, and that gives it the attention it deserves. (Time expired.)
MR SMYTH (Brindabella) (12.20): I concur with all that has been said by members here today. It is great people are working together to make a reality for those that are affected by the Mr Fluffy problem, that we can offer them something. Hopefully, we get it right and hopefully we get it done quickly so that this lingering doubt that hangs over people’s homes and their futures is removed.
For those that have not seen it, there is a double page spread in the Canberra City News edition this week by Adam Spence. There is one curious section where he talks about when this problem first came to light. I will quote what is said:
The Department of Territories issued public warnings and offered free insulation testing to home owners from at least 1984. A manual obtained from a Commonwealth department archive details the advice for homes containing asbestosfluff—
as it was known—
warning that fibres would infiltrate the living areas of homes through paths such as vents and lighting fixtures. Their concentration would increase over time, and their presence would be stirred by every draft from a door or window. Removal, the manual warned, would usually not be feasible, with any attempts to do so increasing the contamination and being unlikely to remove all the pervasive material.
I think it is a grim warning from 1984. As we now know, it is a true and accurate warning. What we have to do is find a permanent and lasting solution to this problem so that the lingering doubt does not hang over these people. Now is the time to address the issue. People should not have to revisit this year after year or decade after decade because we do not get it right.
I think the 1984 manual from the federal government clearly shows that this was a problem known many, many years ago. So now is the time to make sure that we get it right. It is not just for the people living in those homes. We have known of the dangers of asbestos for a long time. We hear the stories of the good old days when apprentices would grind the drums and shoes of brake systems. Effectively, they were making asbestos dust and sucking it in.
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