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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 9 Hansard (5 September) . . Page.. 2874 ..
MR SMYTH: Mr Speaker, dioxin testing of the incinerator gases is required under the Lower Molonglo's environmental authorisation, and it shows that dioxins are produced at the incinerator at the level of 0.01 to 0.04 nanograms, or 10 to 40 per cent of the world's most stringent standards. There is no problem with the Lower Molonglo, and I can assure the ACT public that there is no danger of contamination.
This is an issue that Greenpeace has run many times. The problem is that there is no firm standard as to what is the danger of a dioxin. We do not know what it is. What we do know is that dioxins do occur naturally in the bush and they are released by, for instance, bushfires. There was a small burn at the back of Bonython the other day. How much dioxin did that put into the environment? We do not know.
Mr Speaker, I am told that there is monitoring of Lower Molonglo and it shows that it is below the world's best standards. ACTEW does a very good job in the way that it runs that facility.
MS TUCKER: Was that a yes? Will you table the information on emissions that you just claimed we have?
Mr Smyth: I just gave the figures to you.
MS TUCKER: No, I want to see the information. I am asking you whether you will table it. Was that a yes?
Mr Hird: Is that a supplementary question?
MR SPEAKER: Order! Is that a supplementary question?
MS TUCKER: My supplementary question is: given that Greenpeace found that the waste water from the Mitchell incinerator contains high levels of the toxic chemicals dioxin and PCB and that the Lower Molonglo sewerage treatment facility is only designed to break down organic waste, rather than toxic chemicals, what is Environment ACT doing to establish standards that should apply to the waste water discharge from the Mitchell incinerator into the sewerage system.
MR SMYTH: Mr Speaker, in relation to the liquid waste monitoring of the Totalcare facility, environmental authorisation No 8 allows Totalcare to negotiate with ACTEW as to the standards for the discharge of waste water from the site and the Commissioner for the Environment recommends that the resulting standard be communicated to the EMA. When I table our response in the next couple of days, the government will agree with that recommendation.
MR CORBELL
: Mr Speaker, my question is also to the Minister for Urban Services. I understand that ACTION will be closing its Civic ticket office on 8 September and that ticket sales will be taken over by the Newslink newsagency. I understand also that transport officers will be given a new office with street access in the Civic Library. Minister, how much of a cost saving will the closing of the Civic ticket office represent?
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