Don Randall (Canning, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wish to discuss a serious public health issue to the people of Mandurah in my electorate of Canning in Western Australia. In December last year I was contacted by a lawn mowing contractor in Mandurah who had witnessed subcontractors in France Street removing and replacing a Telstra pit in preparation for the rollout of the NBN. This whistleblower visited the site after the subcontractor had finished and was astonished to see fragments of asbestos concrete strewn over the lawn. He subsequently contacted my office. A staff member inspected the site. We had the fragments tested at my own expense and confirmed that the fragments did indeed contain asbestos. We found the material at not one but several sites. As we know, asbestos poses a significant health hazard to those who are in contact with it.

While the NBN asbestos issue has obviously been hot news in recent weeks, I must say that we alerted to the relevant authorities many months ago—six months ago in fact. While I have seen Telstra wear the blame for this issue in recent days I think it is important to keep in mind that the asbestos in the Telstra pits is a matter that should have been a appropriately foreshadowed by NBN prior to the rollout of what is Australian's most expensive national infrastructure project.

Like everything else this Labor government does, all the emphasis is placed on the announcement, and detail is a secondary consideration. This is a matter that NBN Co. were well aware of yet now we see Prime Minister Gillard and Ministers Conroy and Shorten scurrying away from an issue that any responsible government would have known would become a significant problem. Yes, it is true that Telstra owns and therefore ultimately is responsible for the pits that are the source of the asbestos. However, the fact remains that this is not a concern that has arisen unexpectedly.

After I alerted authorities to the issue in Mandurah, Comcare initiated an investigation. Curiously, I did not receive any follow-up report from Comcare until my office contacted the department last month. My office was told that the report on the investigation would be provided; however, days later, no such report had been provided. The following week my office was provided with a three-paragraph summary of the investigation undertaken by Comcare, which included very little detail on this very serious matter.

When I subsequently contacted Comcare to request a full copy of the inspector's report, I was astonished when I was told that I must submit a freedom of information application to see the report. The absurdity of this situation is astounding. After having brought this issue to the attention of relevant authorities, I now as a federal member of parliament need to submit an FOI application to see the full results of the federal department's investigation. Perhaps these departments need to be reminded that they exist to serve and are funded by the Australian people.

I also have concerns over the truncated summary of Comcare's report. It states, 'I can advise that Comcare inspected the Telstra pit,' which indicates they inspected the single pit in France Street where the issue originated. I have evidence that the asbestos was found in several sites in France Street alone. I want to see the full report. (Time expired)