❓ A parliamentary question addresses ongoing lead dust pollution in Esperance after a cleanup, highlighting a concerningly high contamination level in a house and questioning the government's handling of the situation. The Minister acknowledges some contamination but emphasizes progress and commitment to further action.
AnsweredQoN 524Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ESPERANCE LEAD DUST POLLUTION
I direct my question to the minister as the minister responsible for the clean-up of Esperance following the lead pollution. (1) Is the minister aware that lead dust pollution has occurred in Esperance after the clean-up and that the result of the recent swabbing of one of the houses shows that the dust pollution was 0.54 micrograms per square centimetre? The acceptable level is 0.04. (2) Does the minister concede that there is ongoing contamination in Esperance despite cessation of lead export through the port and that the government has failed to clean up the environs, including the port? (3) Will the minister or the Premier visit the Esperance community and apologise to it for failing to deal with the contamination? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN
I direct my question to the minister as the minister responsible for the clean-up of Esperance following the lead pollution. (1) Is the minister aware that lead dust pollution has occurred in Esperance after the clean-up and that the result of the recent swabbing of one of the houses shows that the dust pollution was 0.54 micrograms per square centimetre? The acceptable level is 0.04. (2) Does the minister concede that there is ongoing contamination in Esperance despite cessation of lead export through the port and that the government has failed to clean up the environs, including the port? (3) Will the minister or the Premier visit the Esperance community and apologise to it for failing to deal with the contamination? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN
AnswerView source ↗
(1)-(3) As I pointed out today, we have had this unfortunate result in which four of the 12 tanks that were re-tested indicate that there is lead contamination. An opposition member: You are ducking for cover again. Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I do not think that I am ducking for cover. I think it was a member on the government side who asked the question. We are being very open and transparent about this process. The DEPUTY SPEAKER : I am not too sure, member for Roe, whether your colleagues want to listen to the answer to your question. I thought they would treat your question with more consideration and let the minister respond. Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I also pointed out, the re-testing that we have done on children with blood lead levels in excess of five micrograms has shown a marked decrease, which has been our primary focus. We have also put in place new dust monitors around the port environs and the results we have for the three months of May, June and July do not show any detectable levels of lead. Any instance of contamination raised with the government will be addressed. I am not sure whether the particular case is the same case raised with me by one of the community members when I last went to the port, but if the member is prepared to provide that information, of course that will be looked at. The government is committed to cleaning up the contamination, and the results that can be seen now in the declining blood lead levels and the air monitoring indicate that the government is getting there. The government accepts there are some results that are inconsistent with that, and we will go back and look at what the problem is with those, and will redouble our efforts. The government is taking every step possible to address this problem and is very committed to cleaning that up for the people of Esperance. Mr T. Buswell : Are you going to go down there? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I have been down there on several occasions, and I anticipate I will be going there on many more occasions, and the Premier has indicated the same. The real focus is not grandstanding, it is not getting up and jumping up and down, it is in fact trying to deal, in a methodical and scientific way, with a very difficult problem. [See additional information on page 5676.]
(1) Is the minister aware that lead dust pollution has occurred in Esperance after the clean-up and that the result of the recent swabbing of one of the houses shows that the dust pollution was 0.54 micrograms per square centimetre? The acceptable level is 0.04. (2) Does the minister concede that there is ongoing contamination in Esperance despite cessation of lead export through the port and that the government has failed to clean up the environs, including the port? (3) Will the minister or the Premier visit the Esperance community and apologise to it for failing to deal with the contamination? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(3) As I pointed out today, we have had this unfortunate result in which four of the 12 tanks that were re-tested indicate that there is lead contamination. An opposition member: You are ducking for cover again. Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I do not think that I am ducking for cover. I think it was a member on the government side who asked the question. We are being very open and transparent about this process. The DEPUTY SPEAKER : I am not too sure, member for Roe, whether your colleagues want to listen to the answer to your question. I thought they would treat your question with more consideration and let the minister respond. Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I also pointed out, the re-testing that we have done on children with blood lead levels in excess of five micrograms has shown a marked decrease, which has been our primary focus. We have also put in place new dust monitors around the port environs and the results we have for the three months of May, June and July do not show any detectable levels of lead. Any instance of contamination raised with the government will be addressed. I am not sure whether the particular case is the same case raised with me by one of the community members when I last went to the port, but if the member is prepared to provide that information, of course that will be looked at. The government is committed to cleaning up the contamination, and the results that can be seen now in the declining blood lead levels and the air monitoring indicate that the government is getting there. The government accepts there are some results that are inconsistent with that, and we will go back and look at what the problem is with those, and will redouble our efforts. The government is taking every step possible to address this problem and is very committed to cleaning that up for the people of Esperance. Mr T. Buswell : Are you going to go down there? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I have been down there on several occasions, and I anticipate I will be going there on many more occasions, and the Premier has indicated the same. The real focus is not grandstanding, it is not getting up and jumping up and down, it is in fact trying to deal, in a methodical and scientific way, with a very difficult problem. [See additional information on page 5676.]
(2) Does the minister concede that there is ongoing contamination in Esperance despite cessation of lead export through the port and that the government has failed to clean up the environs, including the port? (3) Will the minister or the Premier visit the Esperance community and apologise to it for failing to deal with the contamination? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(3) As I pointed out today, we have had this unfortunate result in which four of the 12 tanks that were re-tested indicate that there is lead contamination. An opposition member: You are ducking for cover again. Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I do not think that I am ducking for cover. I think it was a member on the government side who asked the question. We are being very open and transparent about this process. The DEPUTY SPEAKER : I am not too sure, member for Roe, whether your colleagues want to listen to the answer to your question. I thought they would treat your question with more consideration and let the minister respond. Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I also pointed out, the re-testing that we have done on children with blood lead levels in excess of five micrograms has shown a marked decrease, which has been our primary focus. We have also put in place new dust monitors around the port environs and the results we have for the three months of May, June and July do not show any detectable levels of lead. Any instance of contamination raised with the government will be addressed. I am not sure whether the particular case is the same case raised with me by one of the community members when I last went to the port, but if the member is prepared to provide that information, of course that will be looked at. The government is committed to cleaning up the contamination, and the results that can be seen now in the declining blood lead levels and the air monitoring indicate that the government is getting there. The government accepts there are some results that are inconsistent with that, and we will go back and look at what the problem is with those, and will redouble our efforts. The government is taking every step possible to address this problem and is very committed to cleaning that up for the people of Esperance. Mr T. Buswell : Are you going to go down there? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I have been down there on several occasions, and I anticipate I will be going there on many more occasions, and the Premier has indicated the same. The real focus is not grandstanding, it is not getting up and jumping up and down, it is in fact trying to deal, in a methodical and scientific way, with a very difficult problem. [See additional information on page 5676.]
(3) Will the minister or the Premier visit the Esperance community and apologise to it for failing to deal with the contamination? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(3) As I pointed out today, we have had this unfortunate result in which four of the 12 tanks that were re-tested indicate that there is lead contamination. An opposition member: You are ducking for cover again. Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I do not think that I am ducking for cover. I think it was a member on the government side who asked the question. We are being very open and transparent about this process. The DEPUTY SPEAKER : I am not too sure, member for Roe, whether your colleagues want to listen to the answer to your question. I thought they would treat your question with more consideration and let the minister respond. Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I also pointed out, the re-testing that we have done on children with blood lead levels in excess of five micrograms has shown a marked decrease, which has been our primary focus. We have also put in place new dust monitors around the port environs and the results we have for the three months of May, June and July do not show any detectable levels of lead. Any instance of contamination raised with the government will be addressed. I am not sure whether the particular case is the same case raised with me by one of the community members when I last went to the port, but if the member is prepared to provide that information, of course that will be looked at. The government is committed to cleaning up the contamination, and the results that can be seen now in the declining blood lead levels and the air monitoring indicate that the government is getting there. The government accepts there are some results that are inconsistent with that, and we will go back and look at what the problem is with those, and will redouble our efforts. The government is taking every step possible to address this problem and is very committed to cleaning that up for the people of Esperance. Mr T. Buswell : Are you going to go down there? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I have been down there on several occasions, and I anticipate I will be going there on many more occasions, and the Premier has indicated the same. The real focus is not grandstanding, it is not getting up and jumping up and down, it is in fact trying to deal, in a methodical and scientific way, with a very difficult problem. [See additional information on page 5676.]
Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(3) As I pointed out today, we have had this unfortunate result in which four of the 12 tanks that were re-tested indicate that there is lead contamination. An opposition member: You are ducking for cover again. Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I do not think that I am ducking for cover. I think it was a member on the government side who asked the question. We are being very open and transparent about this process. The DEPUTY SPEAKER : I am not too sure, member for Roe, whether your colleagues want to listen to the answer to your question. I thought they would treat your question with more consideration and let the minister respond. Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I also pointed out, the re-testing that we have done on children with blood lead levels in excess of five micrograms has shown a marked decrease, which has been our primary focus. We have also put in place new dust monitors around the port environs and the results we have for the three months of May, June and July do not show any detectable levels of lead. Any instance of contamination raised with the government will be addressed. I am not sure whether the particular case is the same case raised with me by one of the community members when I last went to the port, but if the member is prepared to provide that information, of course that will be looked at. The government is committed to cleaning up the contamination, and the results that can be seen now in the declining blood lead levels and the air monitoring indicate that the government is getting there. The government accepts there are some results that are inconsistent with that, and we will go back and look at what the problem is with those, and will redouble our efforts. The government is taking every step possible to address this problem and is very committed to cleaning that up for the people of Esperance. Mr T. Buswell : Are you going to go down there? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I have been down there on several occasions, and I anticipate I will be going there on many more occasions, and the Premier has indicated the same. The real focus is not grandstanding, it is not getting up and jumping up and down, it is in fact trying to deal, in a methodical and scientific way, with a very difficult problem. [See additional information on page 5676.]
(1)-(3) As I pointed out today, we have had this unfortunate result in which four of the 12 tanks that were re-tested indicate that there is lead contamination. An opposition member: You are ducking for cover again. Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I do not think that I am ducking for cover. I think it was a member on the government side who asked the question. We are being very open and transparent about this process. The DEPUTY SPEAKER : I am not too sure, member for Roe, whether your colleagues want to listen to the answer to your question. I thought they would treat your question with more consideration and let the minister respond. Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I also pointed out, the re-testing that we have done on children with blood lead levels in excess of five micrograms has shown a marked decrease, which has been our primary focus. We have also put in place new dust monitors around the port environs and the results we have for the three months of May, June and July do not show any detectable levels of lead. Any instance of contamination raised with the government will be addressed. I am not sure whether the particular case is the same case raised with me by one of the community members when I last went to the port, but if the member is prepared to provide that information, of course that will be looked at. The government is committed to cleaning up the contamination, and the results that can be seen now in the declining blood lead levels and the air monitoring indicate that the government is getting there. The government accepts there are some results that are inconsistent with that, and we will go back and look at what the problem is with those, and will redouble our efforts. The government is taking every step possible to address this problem and is very committed to cleaning that up for the people of Esperance. Mr T. Buswell : Are you going to go down there? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I have been down there on several occasions, and I anticipate I will be going there on many more occasions, and the Premier has indicated the same. The real focus is not grandstanding, it is not getting up and jumping up and down, it is in fact trying to deal, in a methodical and scientific way, with a very difficult problem. [See additional information on page 5676.]
An opposition member: You are ducking for cover again. Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I do not think that I am ducking for cover. I think it was a member on the government side who asked the question. We are being very open and transparent about this process. The DEPUTY SPEAKER : I am not too sure, member for Roe, whether your colleagues want to listen to the answer to your question. I thought they would treat your question with more consideration and let the minister respond. Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I also pointed out, the re-testing that we have done on children with blood lead levels in excess of five micrograms has shown a marked decrease, which has been our primary focus. We have also put in place new dust monitors around the port environs and the results we have for the three months of May, June and July do not show any detectable levels of lead. Any instance of contamination raised with the government will be addressed. I am not sure whether the particular case is the same case raised with me by one of the community members when I last went to the port, but if the member is prepared to provide that information, of course that will be looked at. The government is committed to cleaning up the contamination, and the results that can be seen now in the declining blood lead levels and the air monitoring indicate that the government is getting there. The government accepts there are some results that are inconsistent with that, and we will go back and look at what the problem is with those, and will redouble our efforts. The government is taking every step possible to address this problem and is very committed to cleaning that up for the people of Esperance. Mr T. Buswell : Are you going to go down there? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I have been down there on several occasions, and I anticipate I will be going there on many more occasions, and the Premier has indicated the same. The real focus is not grandstanding, it is not getting up and jumping up and down, it is in fact trying to deal, in a methodical and scientific way, with a very difficult problem. [See additional information on page 5676.]
Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I do not think that I am ducking for cover. I think it was a member on the government side who asked the question. We are being very open and transparent about this process. The DEPUTY SPEAKER : I am not too sure, member for Roe, whether your colleagues want to listen to the answer to your question. I thought they would treat your question with more consideration and let the minister respond. Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I also pointed out, the re-testing that we have done on children with blood lead levels in excess of five micrograms has shown a marked decrease, which has been our primary focus. We have also put in place new dust monitors around the port environs and the results we have for the three months of May, June and July do not show any detectable levels of lead. Any instance of contamination raised with the government will be addressed. I am not sure whether the particular case is the same case raised with me by one of the community members when I last went to the port, but if the member is prepared to provide that information, of course that will be looked at. The government is committed to cleaning up the contamination, and the results that can be seen now in the declining blood lead levels and the air monitoring indicate that the government is getting there. The government accepts there are some results that are inconsistent with that, and we will go back and look at what the problem is with those, and will redouble our efforts. The government is taking every step possible to address this problem and is very committed to cleaning that up for the people of Esperance. Mr T. Buswell : Are you going to go down there? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I have been down there on several occasions, and I anticipate I will be going there on many more occasions, and the Premier has indicated the same. The real focus is not grandstanding, it is not getting up and jumping up and down, it is in fact trying to deal, in a methodical and scientific way, with a very difficult problem. [See additional information on page 5676.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER : I am not too sure, member for Roe, whether your colleagues want to listen to the answer to your question. I thought they would treat your question with more consideration and let the minister respond. Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I also pointed out, the re-testing that we have done on children with blood lead levels in excess of five micrograms has shown a marked decrease, which has been our primary focus. We have also put in place new dust monitors around the port environs and the results we have for the three months of May, June and July do not show any detectable levels of lead. Any instance of contamination raised with the government will be addressed. I am not sure whether the particular case is the same case raised with me by one of the community members when I last went to the port, but if the member is prepared to provide that information, of course that will be looked at. The government is committed to cleaning up the contamination, and the results that can be seen now in the declining blood lead levels and the air monitoring indicate that the government is getting there. The government accepts there are some results that are inconsistent with that, and we will go back and look at what the problem is with those, and will redouble our efforts. The government is taking every step possible to address this problem and is very committed to cleaning that up for the people of Esperance. Mr T. Buswell : Are you going to go down there? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I have been down there on several occasions, and I anticipate I will be going there on many more occasions, and the Premier has indicated the same. The real focus is not grandstanding, it is not getting up and jumping up and down, it is in fact trying to deal, in a methodical and scientific way, with a very difficult problem. [See additional information on page 5676.]
Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I also pointed out, the re-testing that we have done on children with blood lead levels in excess of five micrograms has shown a marked decrease, which has been our primary focus. We have also put in place new dust monitors around the port environs and the results we have for the three months of May, June and July do not show any detectable levels of lead. Any instance of contamination raised with the government will be addressed. I am not sure whether the particular case is the same case raised with me by one of the community members when I last went to the port, but if the member is prepared to provide that information, of course that will be looked at. The government is committed to cleaning up the contamination, and the results that can be seen now in the declining blood lead levels and the air monitoring indicate that the government is getting there. The government accepts there are some results that are inconsistent with that, and we will go back and look at what the problem is with those, and will redouble our efforts. The government is taking every step possible to address this problem and is very committed to cleaning that up for the people of Esperance. Mr T. Buswell : Are you going to go down there? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I have been down there on several occasions, and I anticipate I will be going there on many more occasions, and the Premier has indicated the same. The real focus is not grandstanding, it is not getting up and jumping up and down, it is in fact trying to deal, in a methodical and scientific way, with a very difficult problem. [See additional information on page 5676.]
Any instance of contamination raised with the government will be addressed. I am not sure whether the particular case is the same case raised with me by one of the community members when I last went to the port, but if the member is prepared to provide that information, of course that will be looked at. The government is committed to cleaning up the contamination, and the results that can be seen now in the declining blood lead levels and the air monitoring indicate that the government is getting there. The government accepts there are some results that are inconsistent with that, and we will go back and look at what the problem is with those, and will redouble our efforts. The government is taking every step possible to address this problem and is very committed to cleaning that up for the people of Esperance. Mr T. Buswell : Are you going to go down there? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I have been down there on several occasions, and I anticipate I will be going there on many more occasions, and the Premier has indicated the same. The real focus is not grandstanding, it is not getting up and jumping up and down, it is in fact trying to deal, in a methodical and scientific way, with a very difficult problem. [See additional information on page 5676.]
Mr T. Buswell : Are you going to go down there? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I have been down there on several occasions, and I anticipate I will be going there on many more occasions, and the Premier has indicated the same. The real focus is not grandstanding, it is not getting up and jumping up and down, it is in fact trying to deal, in a methodical and scientific way, with a very difficult problem. [See additional information on page 5676.]
Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I have been down there on several occasions, and I anticipate I will be going there on many more occasions, and the Premier has indicated the same. The real focus is not grandstanding, it is not getting up and jumping up and down, it is in fact trying to deal, in a methodical and scientific way, with a very difficult problem. [See additional information on page 5676.]
[See additional information on page 5676.]
(1) Is the minister aware that lead dust pollution has occurred in Esperance after the clean-up and that the result of the recent swabbing of one of the houses shows that the dust pollution was 0.54 micrograms per square centimetre? The acceptable level is 0.04. (2) Does the minister concede that there is ongoing contamination in Esperance despite cessation of lead export through the port and that the government has failed to clean up the environs, including the port? (3) Will the minister or the Premier visit the Esperance community and apologise to it for failing to deal with the contamination? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(3) As I pointed out today, we have had this unfortunate result in which four of the 12 tanks that were re-tested indicate that there is lead contamination. An opposition member: You are ducking for cover again. Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I do not think that I am ducking for cover. I think it was a member on the government side who asked the question. We are being very open and transparent about this process. The DEPUTY SPEAKER : I am not too sure, member for Roe, whether your colleagues want to listen to the answer to your question. I thought they would treat your question with more consideration and let the minister respond. Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I also pointed out, the re-testing that we have done on children with blood lead levels in excess of five micrograms has shown a marked decrease, which has been our primary focus. We have also put in place new dust monitors around the port environs and the results we have for the three months of May, June and July do not show any detectable levels of lead. Any instance of contamination raised with the government will be addressed. I am not sure whether the particular case is the same case raised with me by one of the community members when I last went to the port, but if the member is prepared to provide that information, of course that will be looked at. The government is committed to cleaning up the contamination, and the results that can be seen now in the declining blood lead levels and the air monitoring indicate that the government is getting there. The government accepts there are some results that are inconsistent with that, and we will go back and look at what the problem is with those, and will redouble our efforts. The government is taking every step possible to address this problem and is very committed to cleaning that up for the people of Esperance. Mr T. Buswell : Are you going to go down there? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I have been down there on several occasions, and I anticipate I will be going there on many more occasions, and the Premier has indicated the same. The real focus is not grandstanding, it is not getting up and jumping up and down, it is in fact trying to deal, in a methodical and scientific way, with a very difficult problem. [See additional information on page 5676.]
(2) Does the minister concede that there is ongoing contamination in Esperance despite cessation of lead export through the port and that the government has failed to clean up the environs, including the port? (3) Will the minister or the Premier visit the Esperance community and apologise to it for failing to deal with the contamination? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(3) As I pointed out today, we have had this unfortunate result in which four of the 12 tanks that were re-tested indicate that there is lead contamination. An opposition member: You are ducking for cover again. Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I do not think that I am ducking for cover. I think it was a member on the government side who asked the question. We are being very open and transparent about this process. The DEPUTY SPEAKER : I am not too sure, member for Roe, whether your colleagues want to listen to the answer to your question. I thought they would treat your question with more consideration and let the minister respond. Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I also pointed out, the re-testing that we have done on children with blood lead levels in excess of five micrograms has shown a marked decrease, which has been our primary focus. We have also put in place new dust monitors around the port environs and the results we have for the three months of May, June and July do not show any detectable levels of lead. Any instance of contamination raised with the government will be addressed. I am not sure whether the particular case is the same case raised with me by one of the community members when I last went to the port, but if the member is prepared to provide that information, of course that will be looked at. The government is committed to cleaning up the contamination, and the results that can be seen now in the declining blood lead levels and the air monitoring indicate that the government is getting there. The government accepts there are some results that are inconsistent with that, and we will go back and look at what the problem is with those, and will redouble our efforts. The government is taking every step possible to address this problem and is very committed to cleaning that up for the people of Esperance. Mr T. Buswell : Are you going to go down there? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I have been down there on several occasions, and I anticipate I will be going there on many more occasions, and the Premier has indicated the same. The real focus is not grandstanding, it is not getting up and jumping up and down, it is in fact trying to deal, in a methodical and scientific way, with a very difficult problem. [See additional information on page 5676.]
(3) Will the minister or the Premier visit the Esperance community and apologise to it for failing to deal with the contamination? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(3) As I pointed out today, we have had this unfortunate result in which four of the 12 tanks that were re-tested indicate that there is lead contamination. An opposition member: You are ducking for cover again. Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I do not think that I am ducking for cover. I think it was a member on the government side who asked the question. We are being very open and transparent about this process. The DEPUTY SPEAKER : I am not too sure, member for Roe, whether your colleagues want to listen to the answer to your question. I thought they would treat your question with more consideration and let the minister respond. Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I also pointed out, the re-testing that we have done on children with blood lead levels in excess of five micrograms has shown a marked decrease, which has been our primary focus. We have also put in place new dust monitors around the port environs and the results we have for the three months of May, June and July do not show any detectable levels of lead. Any instance of contamination raised with the government will be addressed. I am not sure whether the particular case is the same case raised with me by one of the community members when I last went to the port, but if the member is prepared to provide that information, of course that will be looked at. The government is committed to cleaning up the contamination, and the results that can be seen now in the declining blood lead levels and the air monitoring indicate that the government is getting there. The government accepts there are some results that are inconsistent with that, and we will go back and look at what the problem is with those, and will redouble our efforts. The government is taking every step possible to address this problem and is very committed to cleaning that up for the people of Esperance. Mr T. Buswell : Are you going to go down there? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I have been down there on several occasions, and I anticipate I will be going there on many more occasions, and the Premier has indicated the same. The real focus is not grandstanding, it is not getting up and jumping up and down, it is in fact trying to deal, in a methodical and scientific way, with a very difficult problem. [See additional information on page 5676.]
Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(3) As I pointed out today, we have had this unfortunate result in which four of the 12 tanks that were re-tested indicate that there is lead contamination. An opposition member: You are ducking for cover again. Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I do not think that I am ducking for cover. I think it was a member on the government side who asked the question. We are being very open and transparent about this process. The DEPUTY SPEAKER : I am not too sure, member for Roe, whether your colleagues want to listen to the answer to your question. I thought they would treat your question with more consideration and let the minister respond. Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I also pointed out, the re-testing that we have done on children with blood lead levels in excess of five micrograms has shown a marked decrease, which has been our primary focus. We have also put in place new dust monitors around the port environs and the results we have for the three months of May, June and July do not show any detectable levels of lead. Any instance of contamination raised with the government will be addressed. I am not sure whether the particular case is the same case raised with me by one of the community members when I last went to the port, but if the member is prepared to provide that information, of course that will be looked at. The government is committed to cleaning up the contamination, and the results that can be seen now in the declining blood lead levels and the air monitoring indicate that the government is getting there. The government accepts there are some results that are inconsistent with that, and we will go back and look at what the problem is with those, and will redouble our efforts. The government is taking every step possible to address this problem and is very committed to cleaning that up for the people of Esperance. Mr T. Buswell : Are you going to go down there? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I have been down there on several occasions, and I anticipate I will be going there on many more occasions, and the Premier has indicated the same. The real focus is not grandstanding, it is not getting up and jumping up and down, it is in fact trying to deal, in a methodical and scientific way, with a very difficult problem. [See additional information on page 5676.]
(1)-(3) As I pointed out today, we have had this unfortunate result in which four of the 12 tanks that were re-tested indicate that there is lead contamination. An opposition member: You are ducking for cover again. Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I do not think that I am ducking for cover. I think it was a member on the government side who asked the question. We are being very open and transparent about this process. The DEPUTY SPEAKER : I am not too sure, member for Roe, whether your colleagues want to listen to the answer to your question. I thought they would treat your question with more consideration and let the minister respond. Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I also pointed out, the re-testing that we have done on children with blood lead levels in excess of five micrograms has shown a marked decrease, which has been our primary focus. We have also put in place new dust monitors around the port environs and the results we have for the three months of May, June and July do not show any detectable levels of lead. Any instance of contamination raised with the government will be addressed. I am not sure whether the particular case is the same case raised with me by one of the community members when I last went to the port, but if the member is prepared to provide that information, of course that will be looked at. The government is committed to cleaning up the contamination, and the results that can be seen now in the declining blood lead levels and the air monitoring indicate that the government is getting there. The government accepts there are some results that are inconsistent with that, and we will go back and look at what the problem is with those, and will redouble our efforts. The government is taking every step possible to address this problem and is very committed to cleaning that up for the people of Esperance. Mr T. Buswell : Are you going to go down there? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I have been down there on several occasions, and I anticipate I will be going there on many more occasions, and the Premier has indicated the same. The real focus is not grandstanding, it is not getting up and jumping up and down, it is in fact trying to deal, in a methodical and scientific way, with a very difficult problem. [See additional information on page 5676.]
An opposition member: You are ducking for cover again. Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I do not think that I am ducking for cover. I think it was a member on the government side who asked the question. We are being very open and transparent about this process. The DEPUTY SPEAKER : I am not too sure, member for Roe, whether your colleagues want to listen to the answer to your question. I thought they would treat your question with more consideration and let the minister respond. Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I also pointed out, the re-testing that we have done on children with blood lead levels in excess of five micrograms has shown a marked decrease, which has been our primary focus. We have also put in place new dust monitors around the port environs and the results we have for the three months of May, June and July do not show any detectable levels of lead. Any instance of contamination raised with the government will be addressed. I am not sure whether the particular case is the same case raised with me by one of the community members when I last went to the port, but if the member is prepared to provide that information, of course that will be looked at. The government is committed to cleaning up the contamination, and the results that can be seen now in the declining blood lead levels and the air monitoring indicate that the government is getting there. The government accepts there are some results that are inconsistent with that, and we will go back and look at what the problem is with those, and will redouble our efforts. The government is taking every step possible to address this problem and is very committed to cleaning that up for the people of Esperance. Mr T. Buswell : Are you going to go down there? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I have been down there on several occasions, and I anticipate I will be going there on many more occasions, and the Premier has indicated the same. The real focus is not grandstanding, it is not getting up and jumping up and down, it is in fact trying to deal, in a methodical and scientific way, with a very difficult problem. [See additional information on page 5676.]
Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I do not think that I am ducking for cover. I think it was a member on the government side who asked the question. We are being very open and transparent about this process. The DEPUTY SPEAKER : I am not too sure, member for Roe, whether your colleagues want to listen to the answer to your question. I thought they would treat your question with more consideration and let the minister respond. Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I also pointed out, the re-testing that we have done on children with blood lead levels in excess of five micrograms has shown a marked decrease, which has been our primary focus. We have also put in place new dust monitors around the port environs and the results we have for the three months of May, June and July do not show any detectable levels of lead. Any instance of contamination raised with the government will be addressed. I am not sure whether the particular case is the same case raised with me by one of the community members when I last went to the port, but if the member is prepared to provide that information, of course that will be looked at. The government is committed to cleaning up the contamination, and the results that can be seen now in the declining blood lead levels and the air monitoring indicate that the government is getting there. The government accepts there are some results that are inconsistent with that, and we will go back and look at what the problem is with those, and will redouble our efforts. The government is taking every step possible to address this problem and is very committed to cleaning that up for the people of Esperance. Mr T. Buswell : Are you going to go down there? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I have been down there on several occasions, and I anticipate I will be going there on many more occasions, and the Premier has indicated the same. The real focus is not grandstanding, it is not getting up and jumping up and down, it is in fact trying to deal, in a methodical and scientific way, with a very difficult problem. [See additional information on page 5676.]
The DEPUTY SPEAKER : I am not too sure, member for Roe, whether your colleagues want to listen to the answer to your question. I thought they would treat your question with more consideration and let the minister respond. Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I also pointed out, the re-testing that we have done on children with blood lead levels in excess of five micrograms has shown a marked decrease, which has been our primary focus. We have also put in place new dust monitors around the port environs and the results we have for the three months of May, June and July do not show any detectable levels of lead. Any instance of contamination raised with the government will be addressed. I am not sure whether the particular case is the same case raised with me by one of the community members when I last went to the port, but if the member is prepared to provide that information, of course that will be looked at. The government is committed to cleaning up the contamination, and the results that can be seen now in the declining blood lead levels and the air monitoring indicate that the government is getting there. The government accepts there are some results that are inconsistent with that, and we will go back and look at what the problem is with those, and will redouble our efforts. The government is taking every step possible to address this problem and is very committed to cleaning that up for the people of Esperance. Mr T. Buswell : Are you going to go down there? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I have been down there on several occasions, and I anticipate I will be going there on many more occasions, and the Premier has indicated the same. The real focus is not grandstanding, it is not getting up and jumping up and down, it is in fact trying to deal, in a methodical and scientific way, with a very difficult problem. [See additional information on page 5676.]
Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : As I also pointed out, the re-testing that we have done on children with blood lead levels in excess of five micrograms has shown a marked decrease, which has been our primary focus. We have also put in place new dust monitors around the port environs and the results we have for the three months of May, June and July do not show any detectable levels of lead. Any instance of contamination raised with the government will be addressed. I am not sure whether the particular case is the same case raised with me by one of the community members when I last went to the port, but if the member is prepared to provide that information, of course that will be looked at. The government is committed to cleaning up the contamination, and the results that can be seen now in the declining blood lead levels and the air monitoring indicate that the government is getting there. The government accepts there are some results that are inconsistent with that, and we will go back and look at what the problem is with those, and will redouble our efforts. The government is taking every step possible to address this problem and is very committed to cleaning that up for the people of Esperance. Mr T. Buswell : Are you going to go down there? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I have been down there on several occasions, and I anticipate I will be going there on many more occasions, and the Premier has indicated the same. The real focus is not grandstanding, it is not getting up and jumping up and down, it is in fact trying to deal, in a methodical and scientific way, with a very difficult problem. [See additional information on page 5676.]
Any instance of contamination raised with the government will be addressed. I am not sure whether the particular case is the same case raised with me by one of the community members when I last went to the port, but if the member is prepared to provide that information, of course that will be looked at. The government is committed to cleaning up the contamination, and the results that can be seen now in the declining blood lead levels and the air monitoring indicate that the government is getting there. The government accepts there are some results that are inconsistent with that, and we will go back and look at what the problem is with those, and will redouble our efforts. The government is taking every step possible to address this problem and is very committed to cleaning that up for the people of Esperance. Mr T. Buswell : Are you going to go down there? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I have been down there on several occasions, and I anticipate I will be going there on many more occasions, and the Premier has indicated the same. The real focus is not grandstanding, it is not getting up and jumping up and down, it is in fact trying to deal, in a methodical and scientific way, with a very difficult problem. [See additional information on page 5676.]
Mr T. Buswell : Are you going to go down there? Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I have been down there on several occasions, and I anticipate I will be going there on many more occasions, and the Premier has indicated the same. The real focus is not grandstanding, it is not getting up and jumping up and down, it is in fact trying to deal, in a methodical and scientific way, with a very difficult problem. [See additional information on page 5676.]
Ms A.J.G. MacTIERNAN : I have been down there on several occasions, and I anticipate I will be going there on many more occasions, and the Premier has indicated the same. The real focus is not grandstanding, it is not getting up and jumping up and down, it is in fact trying to deal, in a methodical and scientific way, with a very difficult problem. [See additional information on page 5676.]
[See additional information on page 5676.]
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