Page 1932 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 24 October 1989
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check on, and I will have to check on the dolly. I will let you know. We have bought most of the equipment as a replacement for equipment that has worn out; but I will get back to you with a positive answer.
MR STEFANIAK: I have a supplementary question on that. Is the prime mover a replacement?
MRS GRASSBY: I understand the prime mover is, but I will get back to you on that. When I asked the question before, it was.
Lead in Petrol
MR MOORE: My question, which is to the Minister for Housing and Urban Services, is with reference to an article in the Canberra Times this morning headed "Lead poisoning fuels civic building row". There is a statement there that in the Sydney region the lead content in super grade petrol is 0.4 milligrams a litre and there have been moves to reduce this to 0.3 milligrams a litre. In Canberra we are permitted to have 0.84 milligrams a litre, nearly double the quantity. Most of us are aware of the dangers of lead poisoning. Would the Minister like to tell us what action she is taking to reduce the lead content in ACT petrol?
MRS GRASSBY: Thank you, Mr Moore. It is true that there are two grades of petrol which are normally sold to city or country areas. We get the higher grade lead petrol because we are the distribution centre for everywhere else. It comes in here. If we were to get both grades of petrol in, it would be at a higher cost and would cost motorists more money. So the fact is that we get one grade of petrol because it is distributed to country areas from here.
I understand that the possibility of introducing city grade petrol - that is what the lower grade is - in the ACT was investigated three or four years ago. This was unsuccessful because the oil companies advised that such a move would further raise the price of petrol. A separate distribution network would have to be established for the ACT to keep local petrol separate from petrol going to country areas.
Also I would like to point out that it said that there were only certain problem areas in Canberra. According to the experts, they have tested it and apparently there are only three places where cars stop and idle, and they are Barry Drive, Hindmarsh Drive, and somewhere else.
Mr Collaery: Do they not stop at other lights?
MRS GRASSBY: It is where they are stopped at the traffic lights, where we have the 100 per cent problem of traffic lights changing before you can get around, because we have too much traffic on those areas. I am just trying to find
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