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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 6 Hansard (19 June) . . Page.. 1829 ..
MR STEFANIAK (continuing):
In the case of Condamine Court, the successful tenderer is a local firm. They have extensive experience in the demolition industry and they have a longstanding involvement in doing work for ACT Housing. Much of the detailed recycling, Ms Horodny, is carried out at their Hume plant. A further stipulation of the tender contract is that no waste is transferred interstate. Ms Horodny, I am also advised that the stuff that is not recyclable, what we could call the heavy stuff such as bricks and concrete, is sent to Pialligo for crushing. They are materials that cannot be recycled.
I note the first part of your question in terms of the first stage development. Yes, I think that has created a lot of interest in the community for its many environmentally friendly features, notably the grey water recycling and the inclusion of the worm farm within the landscape design. Tenants obviously will benefit greatly from the abundant landscape that uses waste water collected from their showers, laundries and sinks. You might be aware that water is treated on site. Part of the treatment process involves recycled water trickling through an exposed reed bed that also acts as an interesting and attractive landscape feature. Tenants also are participating in a trial of a waste disposal system whereby food scraps are placed in a worm farm on the site and the castings are eventually used to fertilise the landscape. The success of that worm farm, in particular, and the other features of the site, I think, can occur only with the participation of the tenants, and over the past month or so Housing has been working with the tenants to introduce concepts of waste and water recycling. The tenants I have spoken to are absolutely delighted with the new accommodation. Many of them have been tenants there since the early 1960s, so it is a fantastic improvement on what they first came to. If any members have not gone out there and still want to have a look at Condamine Court, I am certainly happy to arrange that. Ms Reilly was at the opening. I think a few members have gone through it; but, if you have not been out to have a look, I would be happy to arrange for that to occur.
MS HORODNY: I have a supplementary question, Mr Speaker. Thank you for that, Mr Stefaniak. You have told us what is happening at Condamine Court, and that is great; but what is ACT Housing's general policy on recycling of demolition waste?
MR STEFANIAK: The standards we are adopting here would be fairly general, Ms Horodny. We have a very strict contract here in terms of the recycling. I think it is not only Housing policy now but also general Government policy that we are recycling in a big way. If there are reusable materials, they are to be reused. If there is waste after that, if it cannot be reused properly, it is to be disposed of. I think that goes not only for ACT Housing but across government.
MR CORBELL: Mr Speaker, my question without notice is to Mr Kaine in his capacity as Minister for Urban Services. Minister, the recently tabled report "Review of ACTION Services", by Roger Graham and Associates, states that there are a number of inefficient work practices that are currently in place in ACTION. Do you agree that this is the case, or is the report wrong? If this is the case, how do you propose to address these issues in light of the enterprise agreement that you have in place with the TWU? Minister, will you attempt to address the problems during the life of the present agreement or will you leave it to someone else to fix?
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