Page 4336 - Week 13 - Thursday, 4 December 2014
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Bill agreed to in principle.
Motion, by Mr Barr, agreed to:
That the Government response to Report 6 of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, entitled Inquiry into the proposed Appropriation (Loose-fill Asbestos Insulation Eradication) Bill 2014-15, which was presented to the Assembly earlier today, be authorised for publication.
Detail stage
Bill, by leave, taken as a whole.
MR HANSON (Molonglo—Leader of the Opposition) (11.35): I seek leave to move an amendment to this bill which has not been circulated in accordance with standing order 178A.
Leave granted.
MR HANSON: I move amendment No 1 circulated in my name [see schedule 1 at page 4345]. This is a pretty straightforward amendment, and I certainly hope it will be supported by those opposite. We are seeking to entrench in legislation the objectives contained in the government’s own plan. The ACT government’s preferred way forward on loose fill asbestos: overview dated 28 October 2014 lists all guiding principles and objectives of the scheme:
eliminate, by demolishing all known affected houses, the ongoing risk of exposure to loose fill asbestos insulation for homeowners, tenants, tradespeople and the wider community
provide a fair outcome for owners of affected homes
provide, so far as is possible and reasonable, flexibility and options for informed choices to be made by owners of affected homes
minimise overall net costs to the Canberra community and the ACT Government
We think it is important that those objectives be put into the legislation so that it is very clear what the appropriation of over three-quarters of a billion dollars is to achieve. At the moment it is clear that there is a dis-link between those objectives and the details of the plan. That was made very clear in the speech from Mr Smyth with regard to the committee report and, indeed, the speeches by members of the opposition with regard to the appropriation bill.
In addition to those objectives there is a small addition—the sentence about fairness—so that it reads:
… provide a fair outcome for owners of affected homes, including the ability for affected homeowners to retain ownership of their land.
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