Page 4309 - Week 13 - Thursday, 4 December 2014
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under the scheme, this is what we are going to do,” they can make an informed decision. At the moment, they are being asked to make a decision that they simply do not have all the information for.
As Mr Smyth raised in his report and the commission raised in their report, many people have got contaminated goods. Some home owners are walking away with almost nothing. There are teddy bears, linen, clothes. Let us make sure that is understood, and let us make sure that those people who are losing so much are properly and adequately compensated for their loss.
I also say this for those families in crisis, and there are many. Maybe it is an elderly couple who have been in their home for years and have not been financially affected by this yet. There are others, young families who have had to leave their home because it is infected by Mr Fluffy. They are homeless. They have gone out; they are renting; they are still paying the mortgage. They have been literally left without their clothes, without their kids’ teddy bears. These people are in crisis. I say to the government: show compassion and make sure that with those families who are in crisis we give them the necessary financial support. Let us help them; let us help these people in crisis. We would do it if it was a bushfire; we would do it if it was a flood. Let us help these people who are so badly affected by Mr Fluffy.
Madam Speaker, I call on the government to do all of that today. I know there is a bill for that; I know there is a cost. But this is where the rubber hits the road and these are the priorities of a government. Looking after people, the community of Canberra, who have been affected by a tragedy like Mr Fluffy has to be a number one priority. I do not want to bring politics into this, but I say this: it should come across as a higher priority than many of those that the government are currently putting into their budget. I leave it to the government to make those decisions.
As the committee has said, there is a need for a board of inquiry. This is not a witch-hunt; this is not about just trying to dredge up dirt. But what we have heard loud and clear from the community and from the report is that the people that are watching the 1,000 homes be destroyed, who have lost their livelihood, need to know what went so badly wrong.
MS GALLAGHER (Molonglo—Chief Minister, Minister for Health, Minister for Higher Education and Minister for Regional Development) (9.59): This extraordinary sitting of the Assembly mirrors the importance of the bill that we are debating here this morning.
The loose-fill asbestos insulation eradication scheme is unprecedented in the ACT and in the world. Its cost and complexity will test our government, our budget and our community. This government has taken responsibility for bringing a permanent end to an asbestos legacy which has plagued our city for almost half its history. We wish it were not necessary, we know there are some very difficult days ahead and we know we cannot offer everyone everything they want. But with the evidence before us, the government have taken the only responsible course of action.
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