Page 3010 - Week 08 - Thursday, 15 August 2019
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Asbestos—government information
MR PARTON: My question is to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Safety. In an answer to Select Committee on Estimates 2019-20 question taken on notice 375 you advised that no non-disclosure agreements were signed by owners of Mr Fluffy homes; however, an article in the Canberra Times on 19 July 2017 reported that at least one owner was asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Minister, did you mislead the Assembly in your answer to that question?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I thank Mr Parton for the question. I certainly did not intentionally mislead. I will double-check the information that was provided, the date of that response to the question on notice, the date of the information in the Canberra Times and whether that information in the Canberra Times is in fact accurate. If I do need to correct the record, I will of course come back to the Assembly and do so.
MR PARTON: Minister, how can Canberrans have confidence and trust in your leadership or this government when you are potentially providing inaccurate information as part of official Assembly processes, and how many non-disclosure agreements were signed?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I have already indicated to Mr Parton that I will go and check both the information that I was provided and also the information that has been provided by the Canberra Times and whether that information is accurate. Of course, in relation to matter like this, ministers rely on the information that is provided to them by their directorates, and the accuracy of that information. I will have to go back to the directorate and check that that information was accurate at the time that I signed that response to the question on notice and check again the advice that is in the Canberra Times.
MR WALL: Minister, was it standard practice for non-disclosure agreements to be signed with the owners of Mr Fluffy properties, and what was the reason for such agreements being entered into?
MS STEPHEN-SMITH: I thank Mr Wall for the supplementary. Given that my response to a question on notice was that no non-disclosure agreements had been signed, it is clearly not standard practice.
Multicultural affairs—support program
MR GUPTA: My question is to the Minister for Multicultural Affairs. Minister, can you please update the Assembly on the progress of the integrated welcome to Canberra support service announced in June?
MR STEEL: I thank Mr Gupta for his question. Earlier this year the government announced a suite of new services to support recently arrived migrants, refugees and asylum seekers moving to Canberra, called the integrated welcome to Canberra support service. These new support services align with the ACT government’s vision for an accessible, inclusive and cohesive Canberra and will meet one of the priority
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