Minister claims Daily Telegraph is “not interested in the facts” after broadband asbestos crisis
The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Stephen Conroy, has issued a statement claiming that the Daily Telegraph is “not interested in the facts” following their coverage of his response to questions raised after a contractor was suspended and an investigation initiated into the disposal of asbestos.
The Minister has challenged the paper's coverage
The Minister’s statement includes a claimed full transcript of the questions put to him by the Daily Telegraph, and his responses.
In his statement, he opens with a challenge to the Daily Telegraph’s report, although he does not specify which aspects of the coverage he has taken issue with.
“Today I was contacted by the Daily Telegraph,” the statement opens.
“I was asked seven questions. It is clear that the Daily Telegraph is not interested in the facts in this case.
“When dealing with something as serious as the safety of workers and the community, it is important that the facts are reported without misrepresentation.
“We must be absolutely vigilant each and every time we deal with asbestos. There can be no short cuts.”
The Minister was contacted on 6 June. It has since been reported that contractors are to be removed from asbestos linked infrastructure projects in favour of specialist asbestos removal firms.
The questions and responses in the statement are listed below.
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QUESTIONS
1) On December 13, 2012, The Australian reported the following story:
"TELSTRA has suspended a contractor working to prepare pits for the National Broadband Network as investigations are conducted into the disposal of asbestos-contaminated concrete near front yards.
Photographs were taken last week by workers at the office of federal MP Don Randall, which said the concrete was found strewn near a new Telstra pit in Mandurah, 65km south of Perth.
Staff for the member for Canning said the debris was found in France Street and there were concerns the debris could be disturbed by people mowing their lawns.
NBN Co will be using and paying for access to parts of Telstra's infrastructure as it rolls out the NBN, and the telco has had to conduct remediation work on its pits and ducts before the NBN can move to construction.
Mandurah is one of three second-release sites in Western Australia for the NBN rollout.
Mr Randall's office sent three samples of the concrete cement to the Envirolab group, which detected chrysotile (white), amosite (brown) and crocidolite (blue) asbestos.
Was this your first alert that asbestos handling with the NBN was an issue, when did you first become aware of this and what did you do?
RESPONSE: My office was alerted to this issue on 11 December 2012. We contacted Telstra and NBN Co about this matter.
This was remediation work being carried out by Telstra on a Telstra-owned pit. As Telstra CEO David Thodey has said, “We own the infrastructure - it is our responsibility.”
This case was investigated by Comcare, who issued no notices. Telstra tested the fibre and found that the pieces found at or near the Telstra pits could not be confirmed as coming from these Telstra pits.
2) Why did you dismiss yesterday that the Mandurah had no Comcare finding and had no implications for NBN Co when it was obviously related (sic)?
RESPONSE: As above.
3) What did you when the unions called for a halt to work on May 8, saying 85 per cent of contractors working in pits containing asbestos have not completed the required safety training. (sic)
RESPONSE: My office received a report from the union concerned on 8 May 2013. This was referred immediately to NBN Co to investigate.
The contractor named in the report does not accept the allegation that its staff or contractors are untrained.
It is important to note that the contractor also undertakes remediation work for Telstra.
NBN Co is continuing discussions with the contractor to reconcile the claims made in the union report.
4) On May 28, you rung (sic) Telstra chief David Thodey to express your concerns. On June 3, the meeting in Canberra was held and announced the register and taskforce to monitor asbestos handling. Is that phone call the first action you took on mishandling of asbestos or contacting Telstra (sic)?
RESPONSE: In each instance that has been raised, I have sought information to ascertain whether it was Telstra remediation work and, therefore, Telstra’s responsibility, or whether it related to NBN Co contractors.
As David Thodey said on Monday 3 June:
"I'm very clear - whenever we take on the responsibility of remediation - Telstra is responsible. No questions asked. We own the infrastructure - it is our responsibility, I do not resile from that in any way at all. It is our responsibility."
5) What else did you do dating back to December (a period of six months)?
RESPONSE: As above.
6) Did you receive any briefings of any kind from Telstra, your department or NBN Co relating to asbestos mishandling that six month period? Can you list them?
RESPONSE: As above.
7) Anything else you wish to add?
RESPONSE: The health and safety of the community and workers is always paramount when handling asbestos containing material.
The Government takes any potential cases of asbestos exposure extremely seriously.
There are no short cuts when dealing with asbestos. All safety procedures must be adhered to.
Image Credit: Daily Telegraph