❓ A parliamentary question on notice addresses ongoing lead contamination in Esperance, questioning the effectiveness of cleanup efforts and the government's response. The Minister defends the government's actions, citing improvements in blood lead levels and strengthened environmental management at the port.
AnsweredQoN 696Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ESPERANCE LEAD POLLUTION
I refer to reports that a number of children in Esperance being retested for lead show that contamination continues to affect them. (1) Does the minister concede that it is possible that the continued poisoning of these children is a result of a bungled clean-up operation for which the minister is responsible? (2) When will the minister order a thorough professional blanket clean-up of all environs and houses, including ceiling spaces, within two and a half kilometres of the Esperance port? (3) Why will the minister not renew Mr Michael Jackson’s contract as the head of the clean-up operation in Esperance until we are lead-free? (4) Is it acceptable that eight months after the minister was forced to admit it was her government’s mismanagement that largely contributed to the poisoning of Esperance residents, children are still suffering from dangerous blood lead levels, with the blood lead levels of 11 children not falling and of another seven, in fact, increasing? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN
I refer to reports that a number of children in Esperance being retested for lead show that contamination continues to affect them. (1) Does the minister concede that it is possible that the continued poisoning of these children is a result of a bungled clean-up operation for which the minister is responsible? (2) When will the minister order a thorough professional blanket clean-up of all environs and houses, including ceiling spaces, within two and a half kilometres of the Esperance port? (3) Why will the minister not renew Mr Michael Jackson’s contract as the head of the clean-up operation in Esperance until we are lead-free? (4) Is it acceptable that eight months after the minister was forced to admit it was her government’s mismanagement that largely contributed to the poisoning of Esperance residents, children are still suffering from dangerous blood lead levels, with the blood lead levels of 11 children not falling and of another seven, in fact, increasing? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN
AnswerView source ↗
(1)-(4) The results that we have received from blood testing in children under the age of five - and it is that group that has been the affected group - continue to improve. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : For example, 78 per cent of the children who were originally tested now have blood lead levels below five micrograms a decilitre, which, of course, is what we want to see. There are still a number of children who have blood lead levels in excess of that, but certainly the trajectory is downwards. I think it is now very important for us to ensure that children who have blood lead levels that are still in excess of five units - Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Roe! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : After the second round of testing, every family whose children had blood lead levels of more than five units were offered a thorough professional cleaning of their home. If in any of those families we continue to see elevated lead levels, then, of course, it is incumbent on us to make sure that there is no other possible source of contamination coming in. Dr G.G. Jacobs : Clean them all, minister! Clean it all properly! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I said, after the second round of blood testing, we took the step of ensuring that every home was professionally cleaned where children had shown elevated blood lead levels. If that is not doing the job, we obviously need to investigate further what the cause of the lead contamination or the elevated blood lead levels could be. We have, as the member for Roe knows, ordered another round of clean-up at the port, and that work is ongoing. Mr Jackson was initially appointed for two months because it became very evident to me that personnel who were capable of coordinating the government response were not in place in Esperance. We have three or four times extended Mr Jackson’s period of engagement. We were particularly concerned to ensure that we developed sufficient competence within our government agencies to be able to handle that matter, and Mr Jackson was brought in because we had identified that there was not sufficient personnel. Since then, we have a new administrative team at the Esperance port. Instead of only one part-time environmental officer, we have two full-time officers - a director of environment and an environment officer - and we still have a part-time officer. Therefore, we have massively strengthened the capacity of the port to deal with these issues. Quite frankly, it is the core business of each and every government agency to look after the wellbeing of the community. We lacked the capacity to do that, so we engaged Mr Michael Jackson, who did a fantastic job for that six-month period, to ensure that we were able to strengthen our agencies so that they could undertake this job. I am now confident that we have a team on board that is adequate to take over that task.
(1) Does the minister concede that it is possible that the continued poisoning of these children is a result of a bungled clean-up operation for which the minister is responsible? (2) When will the minister order a thorough professional blanket clean-up of all environs and houses, including ceiling spaces, within two and a half kilometres of the Esperance port? (3) Why will the minister not renew Mr Michael Jackson’s contract as the head of the clean-up operation in Esperance until we are lead-free? (4) Is it acceptable that eight months after the minister was forced to admit it was her government’s mismanagement that largely contributed to the poisoning of Esperance residents, children are still suffering from dangerous blood lead levels, with the blood lead levels of 11 children not falling and of another seven, in fact, increasing? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(4) The results that we have received from blood testing in children under the age of five - and it is that group that has been the affected group - continue to improve. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : For example, 78 per cent of the children who were originally tested now have blood lead levels below five micrograms a decilitre, which, of course, is what we want to see. There are still a number of children who have blood lead levels in excess of that, but certainly the trajectory is downwards. I think it is now very important for us to ensure that children who have blood lead levels that are still in excess of five units - Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Roe! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : After the second round of testing, every family whose children had blood lead levels of more than five units were offered a thorough professional cleaning of their home. If in any of those families we continue to see elevated lead levels, then, of course, it is incumbent on us to make sure that there is no other possible source of contamination coming in. Dr G.G. Jacobs : Clean them all, minister! Clean it all properly! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I said, after the second round of blood testing, we took the step of ensuring that every home was professionally cleaned where children had shown elevated blood lead levels. If that is not doing the job, we obviously need to investigate further what the cause of the lead contamination or the elevated blood lead levels could be. We have, as the member for Roe knows, ordered another round of clean-up at the port, and that work is ongoing. Mr Jackson was initially appointed for two months because it became very evident to me that personnel who were capable of coordinating the government response were not in place in Esperance. We have three or four times extended Mr Jackson’s period of engagement. We were particularly concerned to ensure that we developed sufficient competence within our government agencies to be able to handle that matter, and Mr Jackson was brought in because we had identified that there was not sufficient personnel. Since then, we have a new administrative team at the Esperance port. Instead of only one part-time environmental officer, we have two full-time officers - a director of environment and an environment officer - and we still have a part-time officer. Therefore, we have massively strengthened the capacity of the port to deal with these issues. Quite frankly, it is the core business of each and every government agency to look after the wellbeing of the community. We lacked the capacity to do that, so we engaged Mr Michael Jackson, who did a fantastic job for that six-month period, to ensure that we were able to strengthen our agencies so that they could undertake this job. I am now confident that we have a team on board that is adequate to take over that task.
(2) When will the minister order a thorough professional blanket clean-up of all environs and houses, including ceiling spaces, within two and a half kilometres of the Esperance port? (3) Why will the minister not renew Mr Michael Jackson’s contract as the head of the clean-up operation in Esperance until we are lead-free? (4) Is it acceptable that eight months after the minister was forced to admit it was her government’s mismanagement that largely contributed to the poisoning of Esperance residents, children are still suffering from dangerous blood lead levels, with the blood lead levels of 11 children not falling and of another seven, in fact, increasing? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(4) The results that we have received from blood testing in children under the age of five - and it is that group that has been the affected group - continue to improve. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : For example, 78 per cent of the children who were originally tested now have blood lead levels below five micrograms a decilitre, which, of course, is what we want to see. There are still a number of children who have blood lead levels in excess of that, but certainly the trajectory is downwards. I think it is now very important for us to ensure that children who have blood lead levels that are still in excess of five units - Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Roe! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : After the second round of testing, every family whose children had blood lead levels of more than five units were offered a thorough professional cleaning of their home. If in any of those families we continue to see elevated lead levels, then, of course, it is incumbent on us to make sure that there is no other possible source of contamination coming in. Dr G.G. Jacobs : Clean them all, minister! Clean it all properly! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I said, after the second round of blood testing, we took the step of ensuring that every home was professionally cleaned where children had shown elevated blood lead levels. If that is not doing the job, we obviously need to investigate further what the cause of the lead contamination or the elevated blood lead levels could be. We have, as the member for Roe knows, ordered another round of clean-up at the port, and that work is ongoing. Mr Jackson was initially appointed for two months because it became very evident to me that personnel who were capable of coordinating the government response were not in place in Esperance. We have three or four times extended Mr Jackson’s period of engagement. We were particularly concerned to ensure that we developed sufficient competence within our government agencies to be able to handle that matter, and Mr Jackson was brought in because we had identified that there was not sufficient personnel. Since then, we have a new administrative team at the Esperance port. Instead of only one part-time environmental officer, we have two full-time officers - a director of environment and an environment officer - and we still have a part-time officer. Therefore, we have massively strengthened the capacity of the port to deal with these issues. Quite frankly, it is the core business of each and every government agency to look after the wellbeing of the community. We lacked the capacity to do that, so we engaged Mr Michael Jackson, who did a fantastic job for that six-month period, to ensure that we were able to strengthen our agencies so that they could undertake this job. I am now confident that we have a team on board that is adequate to take over that task.
(3) Why will the minister not renew Mr Michael Jackson’s contract as the head of the clean-up operation in Esperance until we are lead-free? (4) Is it acceptable that eight months after the minister was forced to admit it was her government’s mismanagement that largely contributed to the poisoning of Esperance residents, children are still suffering from dangerous blood lead levels, with the blood lead levels of 11 children not falling and of another seven, in fact, increasing? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(4) The results that we have received from blood testing in children under the age of five - and it is that group that has been the affected group - continue to improve. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : For example, 78 per cent of the children who were originally tested now have blood lead levels below five micrograms a decilitre, which, of course, is what we want to see. There are still a number of children who have blood lead levels in excess of that, but certainly the trajectory is downwards. I think it is now very important for us to ensure that children who have blood lead levels that are still in excess of five units - Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Roe! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : After the second round of testing, every family whose children had blood lead levels of more than five units were offered a thorough professional cleaning of their home. If in any of those families we continue to see elevated lead levels, then, of course, it is incumbent on us to make sure that there is no other possible source of contamination coming in. Dr G.G. Jacobs : Clean them all, minister! Clean it all properly! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I said, after the second round of blood testing, we took the step of ensuring that every home was professionally cleaned where children had shown elevated blood lead levels. If that is not doing the job, we obviously need to investigate further what the cause of the lead contamination or the elevated blood lead levels could be. We have, as the member for Roe knows, ordered another round of clean-up at the port, and that work is ongoing. Mr Jackson was initially appointed for two months because it became very evident to me that personnel who were capable of coordinating the government response were not in place in Esperance. We have three or four times extended Mr Jackson’s period of engagement. We were particularly concerned to ensure that we developed sufficient competence within our government agencies to be able to handle that matter, and Mr Jackson was brought in because we had identified that there was not sufficient personnel. Since then, we have a new administrative team at the Esperance port. Instead of only one part-time environmental officer, we have two full-time officers - a director of environment and an environment officer - and we still have a part-time officer. Therefore, we have massively strengthened the capacity of the port to deal with these issues. Quite frankly, it is the core business of each and every government agency to look after the wellbeing of the community. We lacked the capacity to do that, so we engaged Mr Michael Jackson, who did a fantastic job for that six-month period, to ensure that we were able to strengthen our agencies so that they could undertake this job. I am now confident that we have a team on board that is adequate to take over that task.
(4) Is it acceptable that eight months after the minister was forced to admit it was her government’s mismanagement that largely contributed to the poisoning of Esperance residents, children are still suffering from dangerous blood lead levels, with the blood lead levels of 11 children not falling and of another seven, in fact, increasing? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(4) The results that we have received from blood testing in children under the age of five - and it is that group that has been the affected group - continue to improve. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : For example, 78 per cent of the children who were originally tested now have blood lead levels below five micrograms a decilitre, which, of course, is what we want to see. There are still a number of children who have blood lead levels in excess of that, but certainly the trajectory is downwards. I think it is now very important for us to ensure that children who have blood lead levels that are still in excess of five units - Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Roe! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : After the second round of testing, every family whose children had blood lead levels of more than five units were offered a thorough professional cleaning of their home. If in any of those families we continue to see elevated lead levels, then, of course, it is incumbent on us to make sure that there is no other possible source of contamination coming in. Dr G.G. Jacobs : Clean them all, minister! Clean it all properly! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I said, after the second round of blood testing, we took the step of ensuring that every home was professionally cleaned where children had shown elevated blood lead levels. If that is not doing the job, we obviously need to investigate further what the cause of the lead contamination or the elevated blood lead levels could be. We have, as the member for Roe knows, ordered another round of clean-up at the port, and that work is ongoing. Mr Jackson was initially appointed for two months because it became very evident to me that personnel who were capable of coordinating the government response were not in place in Esperance. We have three or four times extended Mr Jackson’s period of engagement. We were particularly concerned to ensure that we developed sufficient competence within our government agencies to be able to handle that matter, and Mr Jackson was brought in because we had identified that there was not sufficient personnel. Since then, we have a new administrative team at the Esperance port. Instead of only one part-time environmental officer, we have two full-time officers - a director of environment and an environment officer - and we still have a part-time officer. Therefore, we have massively strengthened the capacity of the port to deal with these issues. Quite frankly, it is the core business of each and every government agency to look after the wellbeing of the community. We lacked the capacity to do that, so we engaged Mr Michael Jackson, who did a fantastic job for that six-month period, to ensure that we were able to strengthen our agencies so that they could undertake this job. I am now confident that we have a team on board that is adequate to take over that task.
Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(4) The results that we have received from blood testing in children under the age of five - and it is that group that has been the affected group - continue to improve. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : For example, 78 per cent of the children who were originally tested now have blood lead levels below five micrograms a decilitre, which, of course, is what we want to see. There are still a number of children who have blood lead levels in excess of that, but certainly the trajectory is downwards. I think it is now very important for us to ensure that children who have blood lead levels that are still in excess of five units - Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Roe! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : After the second round of testing, every family whose children had blood lead levels of more than five units were offered a thorough professional cleaning of their home. If in any of those families we continue to see elevated lead levels, then, of course, it is incumbent on us to make sure that there is no other possible source of contamination coming in. Dr G.G. Jacobs : Clean them all, minister! Clean it all properly! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I said, after the second round of blood testing, we took the step of ensuring that every home was professionally cleaned where children had shown elevated blood lead levels. If that is not doing the job, we obviously need to investigate further what the cause of the lead contamination or the elevated blood lead levels could be. We have, as the member for Roe knows, ordered another round of clean-up at the port, and that work is ongoing. Mr Jackson was initially appointed for two months because it became very evident to me that personnel who were capable of coordinating the government response were not in place in Esperance. We have three or four times extended Mr Jackson’s period of engagement. We were particularly concerned to ensure that we developed sufficient competence within our government agencies to be able to handle that matter, and Mr Jackson was brought in because we had identified that there was not sufficient personnel. Since then, we have a new administrative team at the Esperance port. Instead of only one part-time environmental officer, we have two full-time officers - a director of environment and an environment officer - and we still have a part-time officer. Therefore, we have massively strengthened the capacity of the port to deal with these issues. Quite frankly, it is the core business of each and every government agency to look after the wellbeing of the community. We lacked the capacity to do that, so we engaged Mr Michael Jackson, who did a fantastic job for that six-month period, to ensure that we were able to strengthen our agencies so that they could undertake this job. I am now confident that we have a team on board that is adequate to take over that task.
(1)-(4) The results that we have received from blood testing in children under the age of five - and it is that group that has been the affected group - continue to improve. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : For example, 78 per cent of the children who were originally tested now have blood lead levels below five micrograms a decilitre, which, of course, is what we want to see. There are still a number of children who have blood lead levels in excess of that, but certainly the trajectory is downwards. I think it is now very important for us to ensure that children who have blood lead levels that are still in excess of five units - Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Roe! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : After the second round of testing, every family whose children had blood lead levels of more than five units were offered a thorough professional cleaning of their home. If in any of those families we continue to see elevated lead levels, then, of course, it is incumbent on us to make sure that there is no other possible source of contamination coming in. Dr G.G. Jacobs : Clean them all, minister! Clean it all properly! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I said, after the second round of blood testing, we took the step of ensuring that every home was professionally cleaned where children had shown elevated blood lead levels. If that is not doing the job, we obviously need to investigate further what the cause of the lead contamination or the elevated blood lead levels could be. We have, as the member for Roe knows, ordered another round of clean-up at the port, and that work is ongoing. Mr Jackson was initially appointed for two months because it became very evident to me that personnel who were capable of coordinating the government response were not in place in Esperance. We have three or four times extended Mr Jackson’s period of engagement. We were particularly concerned to ensure that we developed sufficient competence within our government agencies to be able to handle that matter, and Mr Jackson was brought in because we had identified that there was not sufficient personnel. Since then, we have a new administrative team at the Esperance port. Instead of only one part-time environmental officer, we have two full-time officers - a director of environment and an environment officer - and we still have a part-time officer. Therefore, we have massively strengthened the capacity of the port to deal with these issues. Quite frankly, it is the core business of each and every government agency to look after the wellbeing of the community. We lacked the capacity to do that, so we engaged Mr Michael Jackson, who did a fantastic job for that six-month period, to ensure that we were able to strengthen our agencies so that they could undertake this job. I am now confident that we have a team on board that is adequate to take over that task.
Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : For example, 78 per cent of the children who were originally tested now have blood lead levels below five micrograms a decilitre, which, of course, is what we want to see. There are still a number of children who have blood lead levels in excess of that, but certainly the trajectory is downwards. I think it is now very important for us to ensure that children who have blood lead levels that are still in excess of five units - Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Roe! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : After the second round of testing, every family whose children had blood lead levels of more than five units were offered a thorough professional cleaning of their home. If in any of those families we continue to see elevated lead levels, then, of course, it is incumbent on us to make sure that there is no other possible source of contamination coming in. Dr G.G. Jacobs : Clean them all, minister! Clean it all properly! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I said, after the second round of blood testing, we took the step of ensuring that every home was professionally cleaned where children had shown elevated blood lead levels. If that is not doing the job, we obviously need to investigate further what the cause of the lead contamination or the elevated blood lead levels could be. We have, as the member for Roe knows, ordered another round of clean-up at the port, and that work is ongoing. Mr Jackson was initially appointed for two months because it became very evident to me that personnel who were capable of coordinating the government response were not in place in Esperance. We have three or four times extended Mr Jackson’s period of engagement. We were particularly concerned to ensure that we developed sufficient competence within our government agencies to be able to handle that matter, and Mr Jackson was brought in because we had identified that there was not sufficient personnel. Since then, we have a new administrative team at the Esperance port. Instead of only one part-time environmental officer, we have two full-time officers - a director of environment and an environment officer - and we still have a part-time officer. Therefore, we have massively strengthened the capacity of the port to deal with these issues. Quite frankly, it is the core business of each and every government agency to look after the wellbeing of the community. We lacked the capacity to do that, so we engaged Mr Michael Jackson, who did a fantastic job for that six-month period, to ensure that we were able to strengthen our agencies so that they could undertake this job. I am now confident that we have a team on board that is adequate to take over that task.
The SPEAKER : Order! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : For example, 78 per cent of the children who were originally tested now have blood lead levels below five micrograms a decilitre, which, of course, is what we want to see. There are still a number of children who have blood lead levels in excess of that, but certainly the trajectory is downwards. I think it is now very important for us to ensure that children who have blood lead levels that are still in excess of five units - Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Roe! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : After the second round of testing, every family whose children had blood lead levels of more than five units were offered a thorough professional cleaning of their home. If in any of those families we continue to see elevated lead levels, then, of course, it is incumbent on us to make sure that there is no other possible source of contamination coming in. Dr G.G. Jacobs : Clean them all, minister! Clean it all properly! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I said, after the second round of blood testing, we took the step of ensuring that every home was professionally cleaned where children had shown elevated blood lead levels. If that is not doing the job, we obviously need to investigate further what the cause of the lead contamination or the elevated blood lead levels could be. We have, as the member for Roe knows, ordered another round of clean-up at the port, and that work is ongoing. Mr Jackson was initially appointed for two months because it became very evident to me that personnel who were capable of coordinating the government response were not in place in Esperance. We have three or four times extended Mr Jackson’s period of engagement. We were particularly concerned to ensure that we developed sufficient competence within our government agencies to be able to handle that matter, and Mr Jackson was brought in because we had identified that there was not sufficient personnel. Since then, we have a new administrative team at the Esperance port. Instead of only one part-time environmental officer, we have two full-time officers - a director of environment and an environment officer - and we still have a part-time officer. Therefore, we have massively strengthened the capacity of the port to deal with these issues. Quite frankly, it is the core business of each and every government agency to look after the wellbeing of the community. We lacked the capacity to do that, so we engaged Mr Michael Jackson, who did a fantastic job for that six-month period, to ensure that we were able to strengthen our agencies so that they could undertake this job. I am now confident that we have a team on board that is adequate to take over that task.
Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : For example, 78 per cent of the children who were originally tested now have blood lead levels below five micrograms a decilitre, which, of course, is what we want to see. There are still a number of children who have blood lead levels in excess of that, but certainly the trajectory is downwards. I think it is now very important for us to ensure that children who have blood lead levels that are still in excess of five units - Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Roe! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : After the second round of testing, every family whose children had blood lead levels of more than five units were offered a thorough professional cleaning of their home. If in any of those families we continue to see elevated lead levels, then, of course, it is incumbent on us to make sure that there is no other possible source of contamination coming in. Dr G.G. Jacobs : Clean them all, minister! Clean it all properly! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I said, after the second round of blood testing, we took the step of ensuring that every home was professionally cleaned where children had shown elevated blood lead levels. If that is not doing the job, we obviously need to investigate further what the cause of the lead contamination or the elevated blood lead levels could be. We have, as the member for Roe knows, ordered another round of clean-up at the port, and that work is ongoing. Mr Jackson was initially appointed for two months because it became very evident to me that personnel who were capable of coordinating the government response were not in place in Esperance. We have three or four times extended Mr Jackson’s period of engagement. We were particularly concerned to ensure that we developed sufficient competence within our government agencies to be able to handle that matter, and Mr Jackson was brought in because we had identified that there was not sufficient personnel. Since then, we have a new administrative team at the Esperance port. Instead of only one part-time environmental officer, we have two full-time officers - a director of environment and an environment officer - and we still have a part-time officer. Therefore, we have massively strengthened the capacity of the port to deal with these issues. Quite frankly, it is the core business of each and every government agency to look after the wellbeing of the community. We lacked the capacity to do that, so we engaged Mr Michael Jackson, who did a fantastic job for that six-month period, to ensure that we were able to strengthen our agencies so that they could undertake this job. I am now confident that we have a team on board that is adequate to take over that task.
Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Roe! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : After the second round of testing, every family whose children had blood lead levels of more than five units were offered a thorough professional cleaning of their home. If in any of those families we continue to see elevated lead levels, then, of course, it is incumbent on us to make sure that there is no other possible source of contamination coming in. Dr G.G. Jacobs : Clean them all, minister! Clean it all properly! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I said, after the second round of blood testing, we took the step of ensuring that every home was professionally cleaned where children had shown elevated blood lead levels. If that is not doing the job, we obviously need to investigate further what the cause of the lead contamination or the elevated blood lead levels could be. We have, as the member for Roe knows, ordered another round of clean-up at the port, and that work is ongoing. Mr Jackson was initially appointed for two months because it became very evident to me that personnel who were capable of coordinating the government response were not in place in Esperance. We have three or four times extended Mr Jackson’s period of engagement. We were particularly concerned to ensure that we developed sufficient competence within our government agencies to be able to handle that matter, and Mr Jackson was brought in because we had identified that there was not sufficient personnel. Since then, we have a new administrative team at the Esperance port. Instead of only one part-time environmental officer, we have two full-time officers - a director of environment and an environment officer - and we still have a part-time officer. Therefore, we have massively strengthened the capacity of the port to deal with these issues. Quite frankly, it is the core business of each and every government agency to look after the wellbeing of the community. We lacked the capacity to do that, so we engaged Mr Michael Jackson, who did a fantastic job for that six-month period, to ensure that we were able to strengthen our agencies so that they could undertake this job. I am now confident that we have a team on board that is adequate to take over that task.
The SPEAKER : Order, member for Roe! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : After the second round of testing, every family whose children had blood lead levels of more than five units were offered a thorough professional cleaning of their home. If in any of those families we continue to see elevated lead levels, then, of course, it is incumbent on us to make sure that there is no other possible source of contamination coming in. Dr G.G. Jacobs : Clean them all, minister! Clean it all properly! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I said, after the second round of blood testing, we took the step of ensuring that every home was professionally cleaned where children had shown elevated blood lead levels. If that is not doing the job, we obviously need to investigate further what the cause of the lead contamination or the elevated blood lead levels could be. We have, as the member for Roe knows, ordered another round of clean-up at the port, and that work is ongoing. Mr Jackson was initially appointed for two months because it became very evident to me that personnel who were capable of coordinating the government response were not in place in Esperance. We have three or four times extended Mr Jackson’s period of engagement. We were particularly concerned to ensure that we developed sufficient competence within our government agencies to be able to handle that matter, and Mr Jackson was brought in because we had identified that there was not sufficient personnel. Since then, we have a new administrative team at the Esperance port. Instead of only one part-time environmental officer, we have two full-time officers - a director of environment and an environment officer - and we still have a part-time officer. Therefore, we have massively strengthened the capacity of the port to deal with these issues. Quite frankly, it is the core business of each and every government agency to look after the wellbeing of the community. We lacked the capacity to do that, so we engaged Mr Michael Jackson, who did a fantastic job for that six-month period, to ensure that we were able to strengthen our agencies so that they could undertake this job. I am now confident that we have a team on board that is adequate to take over that task.
Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : After the second round of testing, every family whose children had blood lead levels of more than five units were offered a thorough professional cleaning of their home. If in any of those families we continue to see elevated lead levels, then, of course, it is incumbent on us to make sure that there is no other possible source of contamination coming in. Dr G.G. Jacobs : Clean them all, minister! Clean it all properly! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I said, after the second round of blood testing, we took the step of ensuring that every home was professionally cleaned where children had shown elevated blood lead levels. If that is not doing the job, we obviously need to investigate further what the cause of the lead contamination or the elevated blood lead levels could be. We have, as the member for Roe knows, ordered another round of clean-up at the port, and that work is ongoing. Mr Jackson was initially appointed for two months because it became very evident to me that personnel who were capable of coordinating the government response were not in place in Esperance. We have three or four times extended Mr Jackson’s period of engagement. We were particularly concerned to ensure that we developed sufficient competence within our government agencies to be able to handle that matter, and Mr Jackson was brought in because we had identified that there was not sufficient personnel. Since then, we have a new administrative team at the Esperance port. Instead of only one part-time environmental officer, we have two full-time officers - a director of environment and an environment officer - and we still have a part-time officer. Therefore, we have massively strengthened the capacity of the port to deal with these issues. Quite frankly, it is the core business of each and every government agency to look after the wellbeing of the community. We lacked the capacity to do that, so we engaged Mr Michael Jackson, who did a fantastic job for that six-month period, to ensure that we were able to strengthen our agencies so that they could undertake this job. I am now confident that we have a team on board that is adequate to take over that task.
Dr G.G. Jacobs : Clean them all, minister! Clean it all properly! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I said, after the second round of blood testing, we took the step of ensuring that every home was professionally cleaned where children had shown elevated blood lead levels. If that is not doing the job, we obviously need to investigate further what the cause of the lead contamination or the elevated blood lead levels could be. We have, as the member for Roe knows, ordered another round of clean-up at the port, and that work is ongoing. Mr Jackson was initially appointed for two months because it became very evident to me that personnel who were capable of coordinating the government response were not in place in Esperance. We have three or four times extended Mr Jackson’s period of engagement. We were particularly concerned to ensure that we developed sufficient competence within our government agencies to be able to handle that matter, and Mr Jackson was brought in because we had identified that there was not sufficient personnel. Since then, we have a new administrative team at the Esperance port. Instead of only one part-time environmental officer, we have two full-time officers - a director of environment and an environment officer - and we still have a part-time officer. Therefore, we have massively strengthened the capacity of the port to deal with these issues. Quite frankly, it is the core business of each and every government agency to look after the wellbeing of the community. We lacked the capacity to do that, so we engaged Mr Michael Jackson, who did a fantastic job for that six-month period, to ensure that we were able to strengthen our agencies so that they could undertake this job. I am now confident that we have a team on board that is adequate to take over that task.
Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I said, after the second round of blood testing, we took the step of ensuring that every home was professionally cleaned where children had shown elevated blood lead levels. If that is not doing the job, we obviously need to investigate further what the cause of the lead contamination or the elevated blood lead levels could be. We have, as the member for Roe knows, ordered another round of clean-up at the port, and that work is ongoing. Mr Jackson was initially appointed for two months because it became very evident to me that personnel who were capable of coordinating the government response were not in place in Esperance. We have three or four times extended Mr Jackson’s period of engagement. We were particularly concerned to ensure that we developed sufficient competence within our government agencies to be able to handle that matter, and Mr Jackson was brought in because we had identified that there was not sufficient personnel. Since then, we have a new administrative team at the Esperance port. Instead of only one part-time environmental officer, we have two full-time officers - a director of environment and an environment officer - and we still have a part-time officer. Therefore, we have massively strengthened the capacity of the port to deal with these issues. Quite frankly, it is the core business of each and every government agency to look after the wellbeing of the community. We lacked the capacity to do that, so we engaged Mr Michael Jackson, who did a fantastic job for that six-month period, to ensure that we were able to strengthen our agencies so that they could undertake this job. I am now confident that we have a team on board that is adequate to take over that task.
Mr Jackson was initially appointed for two months because it became very evident to me that personnel who were capable of coordinating the government response were not in place in Esperance. We have three or four times extended Mr Jackson’s period of engagement. We were particularly concerned to ensure that we developed sufficient competence within our government agencies to be able to handle that matter, and Mr Jackson was brought in because we had identified that there was not sufficient personnel. Since then, we have a new administrative team at the Esperance port. Instead of only one part-time environmental officer, we have two full-time officers - a director of environment and an environment officer - and we still have a part-time officer. Therefore, we have massively strengthened the capacity of the port to deal with these issues. Quite frankly, it is the core business of each and every government agency to look after the wellbeing of the community. We lacked the capacity to do that, so we engaged Mr Michael Jackson, who did a fantastic job for that six-month period, to ensure that we were able to strengthen our agencies so that they could undertake this job. I am now confident that we have a team on board that is adequate to take over that task.
(1) Does the minister concede that it is possible that the continued poisoning of these children is a result of a bungled clean-up operation for which the minister is responsible? (2) When will the minister order a thorough professional blanket clean-up of all environs and houses, including ceiling spaces, within two and a half kilometres of the Esperance port? (3) Why will the minister not renew Mr Michael Jackson’s contract as the head of the clean-up operation in Esperance until we are lead-free? (4) Is it acceptable that eight months after the minister was forced to admit it was her government’s mismanagement that largely contributed to the poisoning of Esperance residents, children are still suffering from dangerous blood lead levels, with the blood lead levels of 11 children not falling and of another seven, in fact, increasing? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(4) The results that we have received from blood testing in children under the age of five - and it is that group that has been the affected group - continue to improve. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : For example, 78 per cent of the children who were originally tested now have blood lead levels below five micrograms a decilitre, which, of course, is what we want to see. There are still a number of children who have blood lead levels in excess of that, but certainly the trajectory is downwards. I think it is now very important for us to ensure that children who have blood lead levels that are still in excess of five units - Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Roe! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : After the second round of testing, every family whose children had blood lead levels of more than five units were offered a thorough professional cleaning of their home. If in any of those families we continue to see elevated lead levels, then, of course, it is incumbent on us to make sure that there is no other possible source of contamination coming in. Dr G.G. Jacobs : Clean them all, minister! Clean it all properly! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I said, after the second round of blood testing, we took the step of ensuring that every home was professionally cleaned where children had shown elevated blood lead levels. If that is not doing the job, we obviously need to investigate further what the cause of the lead contamination or the elevated blood lead levels could be. We have, as the member for Roe knows, ordered another round of clean-up at the port, and that work is ongoing. Mr Jackson was initially appointed for two months because it became very evident to me that personnel who were capable of coordinating the government response were not in place in Esperance. We have three or four times extended Mr Jackson’s period of engagement. We were particularly concerned to ensure that we developed sufficient competence within our government agencies to be able to handle that matter, and Mr Jackson was brought in because we had identified that there was not sufficient personnel. Since then, we have a new administrative team at the Esperance port. Instead of only one part-time environmental officer, we have two full-time officers - a director of environment and an environment officer - and we still have a part-time officer. Therefore, we have massively strengthened the capacity of the port to deal with these issues. Quite frankly, it is the core business of each and every government agency to look after the wellbeing of the community. We lacked the capacity to do that, so we engaged Mr Michael Jackson, who did a fantastic job for that six-month period, to ensure that we were able to strengthen our agencies so that they could undertake this job. I am now confident that we have a team on board that is adequate to take over that task.
(2) When will the minister order a thorough professional blanket clean-up of all environs and houses, including ceiling spaces, within two and a half kilometres of the Esperance port? (3) Why will the minister not renew Mr Michael Jackson’s contract as the head of the clean-up operation in Esperance until we are lead-free? (4) Is it acceptable that eight months after the minister was forced to admit it was her government’s mismanagement that largely contributed to the poisoning of Esperance residents, children are still suffering from dangerous blood lead levels, with the blood lead levels of 11 children not falling and of another seven, in fact, increasing? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(4) The results that we have received from blood testing in children under the age of five - and it is that group that has been the affected group - continue to improve. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : For example, 78 per cent of the children who were originally tested now have blood lead levels below five micrograms a decilitre, which, of course, is what we want to see. There are still a number of children who have blood lead levels in excess of that, but certainly the trajectory is downwards. I think it is now very important for us to ensure that children who have blood lead levels that are still in excess of five units - Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Roe! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : After the second round of testing, every family whose children had blood lead levels of more than five units were offered a thorough professional cleaning of their home. If in any of those families we continue to see elevated lead levels, then, of course, it is incumbent on us to make sure that there is no other possible source of contamination coming in. Dr G.G. Jacobs : Clean them all, minister! Clean it all properly! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I said, after the second round of blood testing, we took the step of ensuring that every home was professionally cleaned where children had shown elevated blood lead levels. If that is not doing the job, we obviously need to investigate further what the cause of the lead contamination or the elevated blood lead levels could be. We have, as the member for Roe knows, ordered another round of clean-up at the port, and that work is ongoing. Mr Jackson was initially appointed for two months because it became very evident to me that personnel who were capable of coordinating the government response were not in place in Esperance. We have three or four times extended Mr Jackson’s period of engagement. We were particularly concerned to ensure that we developed sufficient competence within our government agencies to be able to handle that matter, and Mr Jackson was brought in because we had identified that there was not sufficient personnel. Since then, we have a new administrative team at the Esperance port. Instead of only one part-time environmental officer, we have two full-time officers - a director of environment and an environment officer - and we still have a part-time officer. Therefore, we have massively strengthened the capacity of the port to deal with these issues. Quite frankly, it is the core business of each and every government agency to look after the wellbeing of the community. We lacked the capacity to do that, so we engaged Mr Michael Jackson, who did a fantastic job for that six-month period, to ensure that we were able to strengthen our agencies so that they could undertake this job. I am now confident that we have a team on board that is adequate to take over that task.
(3) Why will the minister not renew Mr Michael Jackson’s contract as the head of the clean-up operation in Esperance until we are lead-free? (4) Is it acceptable that eight months after the minister was forced to admit it was her government’s mismanagement that largely contributed to the poisoning of Esperance residents, children are still suffering from dangerous blood lead levels, with the blood lead levels of 11 children not falling and of another seven, in fact, increasing? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(4) The results that we have received from blood testing in children under the age of five - and it is that group that has been the affected group - continue to improve. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : For example, 78 per cent of the children who were originally tested now have blood lead levels below five micrograms a decilitre, which, of course, is what we want to see. There are still a number of children who have blood lead levels in excess of that, but certainly the trajectory is downwards. I think it is now very important for us to ensure that children who have blood lead levels that are still in excess of five units - Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Roe! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : After the second round of testing, every family whose children had blood lead levels of more than five units were offered a thorough professional cleaning of their home. If in any of those families we continue to see elevated lead levels, then, of course, it is incumbent on us to make sure that there is no other possible source of contamination coming in. Dr G.G. Jacobs : Clean them all, minister! Clean it all properly! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I said, after the second round of blood testing, we took the step of ensuring that every home was professionally cleaned where children had shown elevated blood lead levels. If that is not doing the job, we obviously need to investigate further what the cause of the lead contamination or the elevated blood lead levels could be. We have, as the member for Roe knows, ordered another round of clean-up at the port, and that work is ongoing. Mr Jackson was initially appointed for two months because it became very evident to me that personnel who were capable of coordinating the government response were not in place in Esperance. We have three or four times extended Mr Jackson’s period of engagement. We were particularly concerned to ensure that we developed sufficient competence within our government agencies to be able to handle that matter, and Mr Jackson was brought in because we had identified that there was not sufficient personnel. Since then, we have a new administrative team at the Esperance port. Instead of only one part-time environmental officer, we have two full-time officers - a director of environment and an environment officer - and we still have a part-time officer. Therefore, we have massively strengthened the capacity of the port to deal with these issues. Quite frankly, it is the core business of each and every government agency to look after the wellbeing of the community. We lacked the capacity to do that, so we engaged Mr Michael Jackson, who did a fantastic job for that six-month period, to ensure that we were able to strengthen our agencies so that they could undertake this job. I am now confident that we have a team on board that is adequate to take over that task.
(4) Is it acceptable that eight months after the minister was forced to admit it was her government’s mismanagement that largely contributed to the poisoning of Esperance residents, children are still suffering from dangerous blood lead levels, with the blood lead levels of 11 children not falling and of another seven, in fact, increasing? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(4) The results that we have received from blood testing in children under the age of five - and it is that group that has been the affected group - continue to improve. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : For example, 78 per cent of the children who were originally tested now have blood lead levels below five micrograms a decilitre, which, of course, is what we want to see. There are still a number of children who have blood lead levels in excess of that, but certainly the trajectory is downwards. I think it is now very important for us to ensure that children who have blood lead levels that are still in excess of five units - Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Roe! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : After the second round of testing, every family whose children had blood lead levels of more than five units were offered a thorough professional cleaning of their home. If in any of those families we continue to see elevated lead levels, then, of course, it is incumbent on us to make sure that there is no other possible source of contamination coming in. Dr G.G. Jacobs : Clean them all, minister! Clean it all properly! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I said, after the second round of blood testing, we took the step of ensuring that every home was professionally cleaned where children had shown elevated blood lead levels. If that is not doing the job, we obviously need to investigate further what the cause of the lead contamination or the elevated blood lead levels could be. We have, as the member for Roe knows, ordered another round of clean-up at the port, and that work is ongoing. Mr Jackson was initially appointed for two months because it became very evident to me that personnel who were capable of coordinating the government response were not in place in Esperance. We have three or four times extended Mr Jackson’s period of engagement. We were particularly concerned to ensure that we developed sufficient competence within our government agencies to be able to handle that matter, and Mr Jackson was brought in because we had identified that there was not sufficient personnel. Since then, we have a new administrative team at the Esperance port. Instead of only one part-time environmental officer, we have two full-time officers - a director of environment and an environment officer - and we still have a part-time officer. Therefore, we have massively strengthened the capacity of the port to deal with these issues. Quite frankly, it is the core business of each and every government agency to look after the wellbeing of the community. We lacked the capacity to do that, so we engaged Mr Michael Jackson, who did a fantastic job for that six-month period, to ensure that we were able to strengthen our agencies so that they could undertake this job. I am now confident that we have a team on board that is adequate to take over that task.
Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(4) The results that we have received from blood testing in children under the age of five - and it is that group that has been the affected group - continue to improve. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : For example, 78 per cent of the children who were originally tested now have blood lead levels below five micrograms a decilitre, which, of course, is what we want to see. There are still a number of children who have blood lead levels in excess of that, but certainly the trajectory is downwards. I think it is now very important for us to ensure that children who have blood lead levels that are still in excess of five units - Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Roe! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : After the second round of testing, every family whose children had blood lead levels of more than five units were offered a thorough professional cleaning of their home. If in any of those families we continue to see elevated lead levels, then, of course, it is incumbent on us to make sure that there is no other possible source of contamination coming in. Dr G.G. Jacobs : Clean them all, minister! Clean it all properly! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I said, after the second round of blood testing, we took the step of ensuring that every home was professionally cleaned where children had shown elevated blood lead levels. If that is not doing the job, we obviously need to investigate further what the cause of the lead contamination or the elevated blood lead levels could be. We have, as the member for Roe knows, ordered another round of clean-up at the port, and that work is ongoing. Mr Jackson was initially appointed for two months because it became very evident to me that personnel who were capable of coordinating the government response were not in place in Esperance. We have three or four times extended Mr Jackson’s period of engagement. We were particularly concerned to ensure that we developed sufficient competence within our government agencies to be able to handle that matter, and Mr Jackson was brought in because we had identified that there was not sufficient personnel. Since then, we have a new administrative team at the Esperance port. Instead of only one part-time environmental officer, we have two full-time officers - a director of environment and an environment officer - and we still have a part-time officer. Therefore, we have massively strengthened the capacity of the port to deal with these issues. Quite frankly, it is the core business of each and every government agency to look after the wellbeing of the community. We lacked the capacity to do that, so we engaged Mr Michael Jackson, who did a fantastic job for that six-month period, to ensure that we were able to strengthen our agencies so that they could undertake this job. I am now confident that we have a team on board that is adequate to take over that task.
(1)-(4) The results that we have received from blood testing in children under the age of five - and it is that group that has been the affected group - continue to improve. Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : For example, 78 per cent of the children who were originally tested now have blood lead levels below five micrograms a decilitre, which, of course, is what we want to see. There are still a number of children who have blood lead levels in excess of that, but certainly the trajectory is downwards. I think it is now very important for us to ensure that children who have blood lead levels that are still in excess of five units - Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Roe! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : After the second round of testing, every family whose children had blood lead levels of more than five units were offered a thorough professional cleaning of their home. If in any of those families we continue to see elevated lead levels, then, of course, it is incumbent on us to make sure that there is no other possible source of contamination coming in. Dr G.G. Jacobs : Clean them all, minister! Clean it all properly! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I said, after the second round of blood testing, we took the step of ensuring that every home was professionally cleaned where children had shown elevated blood lead levels. If that is not doing the job, we obviously need to investigate further what the cause of the lead contamination or the elevated blood lead levels could be. We have, as the member for Roe knows, ordered another round of clean-up at the port, and that work is ongoing. Mr Jackson was initially appointed for two months because it became very evident to me that personnel who were capable of coordinating the government response were not in place in Esperance. We have three or four times extended Mr Jackson’s period of engagement. We were particularly concerned to ensure that we developed sufficient competence within our government agencies to be able to handle that matter, and Mr Jackson was brought in because we had identified that there was not sufficient personnel. Since then, we have a new administrative team at the Esperance port. Instead of only one part-time environmental officer, we have two full-time officers - a director of environment and an environment officer - and we still have a part-time officer. Therefore, we have massively strengthened the capacity of the port to deal with these issues. Quite frankly, it is the core business of each and every government agency to look after the wellbeing of the community. We lacked the capacity to do that, so we engaged Mr Michael Jackson, who did a fantastic job for that six-month period, to ensure that we were able to strengthen our agencies so that they could undertake this job. I am now confident that we have a team on board that is adequate to take over that task.
Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : For example, 78 per cent of the children who were originally tested now have blood lead levels below five micrograms a decilitre, which, of course, is what we want to see. There are still a number of children who have blood lead levels in excess of that, but certainly the trajectory is downwards. I think it is now very important for us to ensure that children who have blood lead levels that are still in excess of five units - Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Roe! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : After the second round of testing, every family whose children had blood lead levels of more than five units were offered a thorough professional cleaning of their home. If in any of those families we continue to see elevated lead levels, then, of course, it is incumbent on us to make sure that there is no other possible source of contamination coming in. Dr G.G. Jacobs : Clean them all, minister! Clean it all properly! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I said, after the second round of blood testing, we took the step of ensuring that every home was professionally cleaned where children had shown elevated blood lead levels. If that is not doing the job, we obviously need to investigate further what the cause of the lead contamination or the elevated blood lead levels could be. We have, as the member for Roe knows, ordered another round of clean-up at the port, and that work is ongoing. Mr Jackson was initially appointed for two months because it became very evident to me that personnel who were capable of coordinating the government response were not in place in Esperance. We have three or four times extended Mr Jackson’s period of engagement. We were particularly concerned to ensure that we developed sufficient competence within our government agencies to be able to handle that matter, and Mr Jackson was brought in because we had identified that there was not sufficient personnel. Since then, we have a new administrative team at the Esperance port. Instead of only one part-time environmental officer, we have two full-time officers - a director of environment and an environment officer - and we still have a part-time officer. Therefore, we have massively strengthened the capacity of the port to deal with these issues. Quite frankly, it is the core business of each and every government agency to look after the wellbeing of the community. We lacked the capacity to do that, so we engaged Mr Michael Jackson, who did a fantastic job for that six-month period, to ensure that we were able to strengthen our agencies so that they could undertake this job. I am now confident that we have a team on board that is adequate to take over that task.
The SPEAKER : Order! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : For example, 78 per cent of the children who were originally tested now have blood lead levels below five micrograms a decilitre, which, of course, is what we want to see. There are still a number of children who have blood lead levels in excess of that, but certainly the trajectory is downwards. I think it is now very important for us to ensure that children who have blood lead levels that are still in excess of five units - Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Roe! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : After the second round of testing, every family whose children had blood lead levels of more than five units were offered a thorough professional cleaning of their home. If in any of those families we continue to see elevated lead levels, then, of course, it is incumbent on us to make sure that there is no other possible source of contamination coming in. Dr G.G. Jacobs : Clean them all, minister! Clean it all properly! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I said, after the second round of blood testing, we took the step of ensuring that every home was professionally cleaned where children had shown elevated blood lead levels. If that is not doing the job, we obviously need to investigate further what the cause of the lead contamination or the elevated blood lead levels could be. We have, as the member for Roe knows, ordered another round of clean-up at the port, and that work is ongoing. Mr Jackson was initially appointed for two months because it became very evident to me that personnel who were capable of coordinating the government response were not in place in Esperance. We have three or four times extended Mr Jackson’s period of engagement. We were particularly concerned to ensure that we developed sufficient competence within our government agencies to be able to handle that matter, and Mr Jackson was brought in because we had identified that there was not sufficient personnel. Since then, we have a new administrative team at the Esperance port. Instead of only one part-time environmental officer, we have two full-time officers - a director of environment and an environment officer - and we still have a part-time officer. Therefore, we have massively strengthened the capacity of the port to deal with these issues. Quite frankly, it is the core business of each and every government agency to look after the wellbeing of the community. We lacked the capacity to do that, so we engaged Mr Michael Jackson, who did a fantastic job for that six-month period, to ensure that we were able to strengthen our agencies so that they could undertake this job. I am now confident that we have a team on board that is adequate to take over that task.
Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : For example, 78 per cent of the children who were originally tested now have blood lead levels below five micrograms a decilitre, which, of course, is what we want to see. There are still a number of children who have blood lead levels in excess of that, but certainly the trajectory is downwards. I think it is now very important for us to ensure that children who have blood lead levels that are still in excess of five units - Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Roe! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : After the second round of testing, every family whose children had blood lead levels of more than five units were offered a thorough professional cleaning of their home. If in any of those families we continue to see elevated lead levels, then, of course, it is incumbent on us to make sure that there is no other possible source of contamination coming in. Dr G.G. Jacobs : Clean them all, minister! Clean it all properly! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I said, after the second round of blood testing, we took the step of ensuring that every home was professionally cleaned where children had shown elevated blood lead levels. If that is not doing the job, we obviously need to investigate further what the cause of the lead contamination or the elevated blood lead levels could be. We have, as the member for Roe knows, ordered another round of clean-up at the port, and that work is ongoing. Mr Jackson was initially appointed for two months because it became very evident to me that personnel who were capable of coordinating the government response were not in place in Esperance. We have three or four times extended Mr Jackson’s period of engagement. We were particularly concerned to ensure that we developed sufficient competence within our government agencies to be able to handle that matter, and Mr Jackson was brought in because we had identified that there was not sufficient personnel. Since then, we have a new administrative team at the Esperance port. Instead of only one part-time environmental officer, we have two full-time officers - a director of environment and an environment officer - and we still have a part-time officer. Therefore, we have massively strengthened the capacity of the port to deal with these issues. Quite frankly, it is the core business of each and every government agency to look after the wellbeing of the community. We lacked the capacity to do that, so we engaged Mr Michael Jackson, who did a fantastic job for that six-month period, to ensure that we were able to strengthen our agencies so that they could undertake this job. I am now confident that we have a team on board that is adequate to take over that task.
Dr G.G. Jacobs interjected. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Roe! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : After the second round of testing, every family whose children had blood lead levels of more than five units were offered a thorough professional cleaning of their home. If in any of those families we continue to see elevated lead levels, then, of course, it is incumbent on us to make sure that there is no other possible source of contamination coming in. Dr G.G. Jacobs : Clean them all, minister! Clean it all properly! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I said, after the second round of blood testing, we took the step of ensuring that every home was professionally cleaned where children had shown elevated blood lead levels. If that is not doing the job, we obviously need to investigate further what the cause of the lead contamination or the elevated blood lead levels could be. We have, as the member for Roe knows, ordered another round of clean-up at the port, and that work is ongoing. Mr Jackson was initially appointed for two months because it became very evident to me that personnel who were capable of coordinating the government response were not in place in Esperance. We have three or four times extended Mr Jackson’s period of engagement. We were particularly concerned to ensure that we developed sufficient competence within our government agencies to be able to handle that matter, and Mr Jackson was brought in because we had identified that there was not sufficient personnel. Since then, we have a new administrative team at the Esperance port. Instead of only one part-time environmental officer, we have two full-time officers - a director of environment and an environment officer - and we still have a part-time officer. Therefore, we have massively strengthened the capacity of the port to deal with these issues. Quite frankly, it is the core business of each and every government agency to look after the wellbeing of the community. We lacked the capacity to do that, so we engaged Mr Michael Jackson, who did a fantastic job for that six-month period, to ensure that we were able to strengthen our agencies so that they could undertake this job. I am now confident that we have a team on board that is adequate to take over that task.
The SPEAKER : Order, member for Roe! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : After the second round of testing, every family whose children had blood lead levels of more than five units were offered a thorough professional cleaning of their home. If in any of those families we continue to see elevated lead levels, then, of course, it is incumbent on us to make sure that there is no other possible source of contamination coming in. Dr G.G. Jacobs : Clean them all, minister! Clean it all properly! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I said, after the second round of blood testing, we took the step of ensuring that every home was professionally cleaned where children had shown elevated blood lead levels. If that is not doing the job, we obviously need to investigate further what the cause of the lead contamination or the elevated blood lead levels could be. We have, as the member for Roe knows, ordered another round of clean-up at the port, and that work is ongoing. Mr Jackson was initially appointed for two months because it became very evident to me that personnel who were capable of coordinating the government response were not in place in Esperance. We have three or four times extended Mr Jackson’s period of engagement. We were particularly concerned to ensure that we developed sufficient competence within our government agencies to be able to handle that matter, and Mr Jackson was brought in because we had identified that there was not sufficient personnel. Since then, we have a new administrative team at the Esperance port. Instead of only one part-time environmental officer, we have two full-time officers - a director of environment and an environment officer - and we still have a part-time officer. Therefore, we have massively strengthened the capacity of the port to deal with these issues. Quite frankly, it is the core business of each and every government agency to look after the wellbeing of the community. We lacked the capacity to do that, so we engaged Mr Michael Jackson, who did a fantastic job for that six-month period, to ensure that we were able to strengthen our agencies so that they could undertake this job. I am now confident that we have a team on board that is adequate to take over that task.
Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : After the second round of testing, every family whose children had blood lead levels of more than five units were offered a thorough professional cleaning of their home. If in any of those families we continue to see elevated lead levels, then, of course, it is incumbent on us to make sure that there is no other possible source of contamination coming in. Dr G.G. Jacobs : Clean them all, minister! Clean it all properly! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I said, after the second round of blood testing, we took the step of ensuring that every home was professionally cleaned where children had shown elevated blood lead levels. If that is not doing the job, we obviously need to investigate further what the cause of the lead contamination or the elevated blood lead levels could be. We have, as the member for Roe knows, ordered another round of clean-up at the port, and that work is ongoing. Mr Jackson was initially appointed for two months because it became very evident to me that personnel who were capable of coordinating the government response were not in place in Esperance. We have three or four times extended Mr Jackson’s period of engagement. We were particularly concerned to ensure that we developed sufficient competence within our government agencies to be able to handle that matter, and Mr Jackson was brought in because we had identified that there was not sufficient personnel. Since then, we have a new administrative team at the Esperance port. Instead of only one part-time environmental officer, we have two full-time officers - a director of environment and an environment officer - and we still have a part-time officer. Therefore, we have massively strengthened the capacity of the port to deal with these issues. Quite frankly, it is the core business of each and every government agency to look after the wellbeing of the community. We lacked the capacity to do that, so we engaged Mr Michael Jackson, who did a fantastic job for that six-month period, to ensure that we were able to strengthen our agencies so that they could undertake this job. I am now confident that we have a team on board that is adequate to take over that task.
Dr G.G. Jacobs : Clean them all, minister! Clean it all properly! Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I said, after the second round of blood testing, we took the step of ensuring that every home was professionally cleaned where children had shown elevated blood lead levels. If that is not doing the job, we obviously need to investigate further what the cause of the lead contamination or the elevated blood lead levels could be. We have, as the member for Roe knows, ordered another round of clean-up at the port, and that work is ongoing. Mr Jackson was initially appointed for two months because it became very evident to me that personnel who were capable of coordinating the government response were not in place in Esperance. We have three or four times extended Mr Jackson’s period of engagement. We were particularly concerned to ensure that we developed sufficient competence within our government agencies to be able to handle that matter, and Mr Jackson was brought in because we had identified that there was not sufficient personnel. Since then, we have a new administrative team at the Esperance port. Instead of only one part-time environmental officer, we have two full-time officers - a director of environment and an environment officer - and we still have a part-time officer. Therefore, we have massively strengthened the capacity of the port to deal with these issues. Quite frankly, it is the core business of each and every government agency to look after the wellbeing of the community. We lacked the capacity to do that, so we engaged Mr Michael Jackson, who did a fantastic job for that six-month period, to ensure that we were able to strengthen our agencies so that they could undertake this job. I am now confident that we have a team on board that is adequate to take over that task.
Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I said, after the second round of blood testing, we took the step of ensuring that every home was professionally cleaned where children had shown elevated blood lead levels. If that is not doing the job, we obviously need to investigate further what the cause of the lead contamination or the elevated blood lead levels could be. We have, as the member for Roe knows, ordered another round of clean-up at the port, and that work is ongoing. Mr Jackson was initially appointed for two months because it became very evident to me that personnel who were capable of coordinating the government response were not in place in Esperance. We have three or four times extended Mr Jackson’s period of engagement. We were particularly concerned to ensure that we developed sufficient competence within our government agencies to be able to handle that matter, and Mr Jackson was brought in because we had identified that there was not sufficient personnel. Since then, we have a new administrative team at the Esperance port. Instead of only one part-time environmental officer, we have two full-time officers - a director of environment and an environment officer - and we still have a part-time officer. Therefore, we have massively strengthened the capacity of the port to deal with these issues. Quite frankly, it is the core business of each and every government agency to look after the wellbeing of the community. We lacked the capacity to do that, so we engaged Mr Michael Jackson, who did a fantastic job for that six-month period, to ensure that we were able to strengthen our agencies so that they could undertake this job. I am now confident that we have a team on board that is adequate to take over that task.
Mr Jackson was initially appointed for two months because it became very evident to me that personnel who were capable of coordinating the government response were not in place in Esperance. We have three or four times extended Mr Jackson’s period of engagement. We were particularly concerned to ensure that we developed sufficient competence within our government agencies to be able to handle that matter, and Mr Jackson was brought in because we had identified that there was not sufficient personnel. Since then, we have a new administrative team at the Esperance port. Instead of only one part-time environmental officer, we have two full-time officers - a director of environment and an environment officer - and we still have a part-time officer. Therefore, we have massively strengthened the capacity of the port to deal with these issues. Quite frankly, it is the core business of each and every government agency to look after the wellbeing of the community. We lacked the capacity to do that, so we engaged Mr Michael Jackson, who did a fantastic job for that six-month period, to ensure that we were able to strengthen our agencies so that they could undertake this job. I am now confident that we have a team on board that is adequate to take over that task.
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