Page 3941 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 25 November 2014
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The ACT government will not shy away from the fact that we want to have the strongest asbestos safety legislation in the country. Recent decisions taken by the government should put beyond doubt our commitment to minimising as far as possible the risks of asbestos exposure in the community.
I strongly support the passage of this bill, and commend the Chief Minister on working so hard to protect the safety of those of us who live and work in the Canberra community. I commend the bill to the Assembly.
MS GALLAGHER (Molonglo—Chief Minister, Minister for Health, Minister for Higher Education and Minister for Regional Development) (10.45), in reply: The Dangerous Substances (Asbestos Safety Reform) Legislation Amendment Bill 2014 amends the Dangerous Substances Act 2004 and the Dangerous Substances (General) Regulation 2004, the Construction Occupations (Licensing) Act 2004 and the Construction Occupations (Licensing) Regulation 2004, the Building Act 2004 and the Building (General) Regulation 2008, and the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.
In short, these amendments facilitate the ACT’s adoption of national model asbestos safety regulations and codes of practice within our work health and safety laws. Importantly, they preserve and strengthen key elements of the ACT’s framework which the government has always been determined to maintain in this national harmonisation process.
It is also important to stress that, while the reforms contained in this bill will support the major task of demolishing and disposing of the Mr Fluffy homes, this is about safety and best practice for the handling of all types of asbestos by all members of our community.
The model regulations will be adopted into territory law through subordinate legislation—the Work Health and Safety (Asbestos) Amendment Regulation 2014—with both the bill and the amendment regulation to commence on 1 January 2015.
Applying the national regulations brings a number of measures into the ACT’s asbestos safety regime, including clarifying safety management procedures for removing asbestos from residential premises, requiring the work safety regulator to be notified five days prior to asbestos removal occurring, and health monitoring provisions for workers who are exposed to asbestos.
As I informed the Assembly when introducing the bill, the reform package does not adopt the national model regulations word for word; rather, the government has been diligent in ensuring that safety standards in the territory are not reduced as a consequence of the reform—and, where possible, we have made decisions that strengthen asbestos safety regulation over and above that of other jurisdictions.
For example, risk assessments must be undertaken by a licensed asbestos assessor in situations where friable asbestos is identified. The territory has mandated an asbestos awareness training course that must be undertaken by all workers who may be exposed to asbestos during their work. It is no longer permitted to remove up to
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