Page 2068 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 6 August 2014
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On 24 June the Canberra Liberals called for the Chief Minister and the government to allocate $5 million to families who are essentially in crisis situations as a result of having to leave Mr Fluffy affected properties. We also called for a freeze on rates and land tax for those affected properties. Later that day—coincidentally, I am sure—the government created the asbestos response task force. It has allocated—this was later in June—up to $10,000 per household in emergency funding for affected households, counselling services, waiving of certain fees on building file searches and so on, and some other support. Certainly, from this side of the chamber, we welcome that support. It is good to see that that is now rolling out to affected families.
The other issue, as I mentioned before, was that not everybody had been informed of what was going on. On 29 June we called on the government to inform everybody who was a home owner by certified mail that they had an affected property. The government has now done that, and as far as I am aware everybody affected has now been informed. I welcome the government’s response to that. I have met with the head of the task force, Mr Kefford, on this issue and there is a good line of dialogue so that we can approach that task force to let him know where there are gaps in information or where residents are not getting everything that they need.
The commonwealth clearly has a role here. I think that is a unanimous view within this Assembly. The reasons for that have been outlined pretty comprehensively. We will need the support of the federal government to resolve this issue permanently, and that is certainly what we are all seeking. The federal government has a significant role to play. There is indeed an MOU dated from 1991. Although its legal status is unclear, it is clear that that there is, without question, a moral responsibility with the federal government to come to the assistance of the families who have been affected.
I note that the Chief Minister has met with Senator Abetz on this issue. All of our federal members, Liberal and Labor, have met with Senator Abetz. Brianna Heseltine has met with Senator Abetz. Certainly, I have spoken to Senator Abetz. I think it is a very good thing, and a very important thing, that the ACT community, those from the houses affected and all of us from all three parties in this place have the same consistent message for the federal government, because this is a community problem. This is not a problem on which any of us has any desire to play politics. We need an outcome for the families.
Let me now turn to that, because it is important that we recognise the impact on the families. I am sure that many of us have received representations from people who have been affected. Certainly, in my case, I know personally half a dozen or more families who have been affected by this. I think all of us can probably say, “We are only through luck not in their shoes.” I bought a home in Weston Creek that would have been right in the zone for Mr Fluffy. If I had seen a certificate from the commonwealth saying it had been cleared, I do not think that would have stopped me buying the property I am in. Equally, any of us in this building here could be in the same circumstances as many of the affected families.
At this stage about 400 houses have been inspected out of the 1,049 and, to date, as I understand it, 27 families have been displaced from their homes. You can understand
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