Page 2180 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 6 June 1990
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
MR HUMPHRIES: I thank Mr Stefaniak. Yes, I am aware of the sick building syndrome. I think that this building was a bit sick last night. I assure members of the Assembly that we are actively endeavouring to alleviate some of the basic conditions that tend to create these problems. Basically, the problem is due to the design of sealed buildings and refers to the range of symptoms that people experience only during their times within the sealed environment.
As a public service centre with a large number of office workers, Canberra is particularly prone to this problem. Also, air in Canberra is relatively dry and is drier still when heated during the winter months. This air has the capacity to dry out the human body's natural defence mechanisms making the person more susceptible to illness or discomfort. Investigations have revealed that Canberra does not have a problem with moulds or fungi growing in air-conditioning duct work, as has been reported overseas, and in the majority of cases air-conditioning plants have been well maintained.
Currently my departmental surveyors are using monitoring equipment to measure various indoor climatic factors. The government analyst and his staff are also part of the public health team. The Chief Health Officer, Dr Bob Scott, is a member of the national inter-government task group which is looking into these issues as they relate to problems with the internal environment of government accommodation.
I understand that the occupational health and safety section of the Chief Minister's Department is investigating the possibility of linking personnel absentee records and complaint records to try to identify sick buildings. We will continue to monitor and, if possible, rectify the situation.
Class Sizes
MR BERRY: I direct my question to the Minister for Education, Mr Humphries. Is the Minister aware that class sizes in the ACT are bigger than elsewhere in Australia? Does the Minister propose measures to reduce the size of classes?
MR HUMPHRIES: I think that Mr Berry's assertions ought to be treated with some caution. It has also been suggested that the ACT has the largest average school size in Australia when, in fact, that comparison is with rural schools. Such comparisons really should not be made. I will take on notice the question of whether ACT school class sizes are larger than average. I would rather conduct a comparison between ACT schools and other urban schools throughout Australia. I suspect that the position
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .