Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation) Share this | Hansard source

I appreciate the member for Wentworth's well-known irony when he says this issue should not be politicised, when in fact that is what the opposition has done. First of all, in terms of the question he alleges is not answered, outside of my ministerial responsibilities in 2009, because I have an interest in health and safety I did contact Telstra not once, not twice but three times. There is correspondence I have tabled where Telstra, in the very last line of the very last letter, say that they are preparing for the NBN rollout. So, despite this sort of sly inference that somehow what has changed is the NBN rollout, Telstra were fully alive to that in 2009, and they certainly indicated that they have solid policies on asbestos.

I am interested in the fact that the member opposite says that the risks of asbestos in Telstra infrastructure are well known. What did the opposition ever do?

We have the relentless NBN watchdog, the member for Wentworth, sitting opposite. What did he ever do to raise the issue of health and safety? He probably has raised it and he probably has raised asbestos issues with the company since 2009—I do not know.

I invite the member for Wentworth to work with the government on asbestos issues. It is fun to throw bricks, but on this particular issue it is not appropriate. I look forward with great interest to finding out how many speeches the member for Wentworth has given about the perils of asbestos. He may have better records than I do—I fully acknowledge that, so I make that caveat—but I have searched nine years of the member for Wentworth's contributions to see what he has said about asbestos. I searched high and searched low—actually, I got someone else to press a button and search Hansardbut not a word until last week. I do not mind the belated interest, because it still is an important issue.

Mr Turnbull interjecting—

I do not mean to puncture the member for glass jaw here, but we must look at what has actually happened. For the record, I again state that the opposition's interest in this matter of Telstra and asbestos is being fuelled by their desire to rubbish the NBN. I do not believe they come here with the bona fides they claim, although I will exempt a number of individual backbenchers and shadow ministers whom I have noticed, periodically over time, raising the issue of asbestos. So it is not a blanket condemnation. But I find it difficult to accept a lecture and some of the politicised rubbish I am hearing.

Going through what we have done: Comcare have audited Telstra in the past, they have reviewed pit safety—

Mr Turnbull interjecting—

As much as the member for Wentworth may find my answer discomfiting, I will give it in the manner I choose. He can ask the questions he wants to ask, but I will put the truth as it should be put.

In 2011, Comcare conducted a review of pit safety. They found a breach by Telstra, which Telstra then rectified. If you want to look at our record in tackling asbestos, it is worth noting that, since I became the minister 17 months ago, it is this side of the House which has finalised the Asbestos management review report, which looked at asbestos everywhere—not just the issues the Liberal Party want to conduct their political games over. It is this government which has acted on the recommendations. I have never had to stand behind a queue of coalition frontbenchers trying to talk about occupational health and safety. It is this government which has passed the legislation for the Office of Asbestos Safety. It is this government which, having heard the latest spate of reports in the last six or seven weeks, has acted to have a meeting with Telstra, NBN, the contractors, the stakeholders—we invited unions to the meeting, something which would never happen under those opposite because of their prejudice and bias against trade unions—and the victims groups.

When it comes to prioritised removal, we are not saying that all asbestos everywhere must be removed tomorrow. It is impossible. There are not enough licensed removalists and there are not enough places to take it. I get that, because I have been following this issue for a long period of time. The dangerous argument—not advanced by the member for Wentworth but by the man who beat him by one vote in the leadership ballot, the Leader of the Opposition—is to just leave it in the ground. 'The safest thing is to leave it in the ground,' the Leader of the Opposition said yesterday. What dangerous words. He is not fit to hold the highest office in the nation if he does not understand that sooner or later we have to start removing this asbestos—otherwise more people will die and more people will get sick. It is not enough to say, 'Leave it in place; we can do no more.' We can and we should.

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