❓ Hon. Darren West questions the Minister for Water regarding the Water Corporation's handling of an asbestos incident at Minnivale, specifically concerning notification of exposed individuals and communication with the Member for Bassendean.
AnsweredQoN 1470Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
WATER CORPORATION — MINNIVALE ASBESTOS INCIDENT
1470. Hon DARREN WEST to the
minister representing the Minister for Water:
I refer to the Water Corporation
Minnivale asbestos incident.
(1) At the briefing given to the
member for Bassendean on 21 October 2015 —
(a) who attended?
(b) was the member for Bassendean
told that —
(i) 88 people had been exposed to
asbestos at Minnivale;
(ii) the vast majority of those 88
had already been spoken to about their exposure;
(iii) the remaining people exposed
would be notified by the end of that day;
(iv) Water
Corp would be putting a public notice concerning the incident on its website
the following morning?
(c) Was the
member for Bassendean asked at the briefing to keep the information given
confidential; and, if so, who made that request?
(2) How many
of the 88 people exposed to asbestos had not been notified of the situation by
11.00 am on 22 October 2015?
1470. Hon DARREN WEST to the
minister representing the Minister for Water:
I refer to the Water Corporation
Minnivale asbestos incident.
(1) At the briefing given to the
member for Bassendean on 21 October 2015 —
(a) who attended?
(b) was the member for Bassendean
told that —
(i) 88 people had been exposed to
asbestos at Minnivale;
(ii) the vast majority of those 88
had already been spoken to about their exposure;
(iii) the remaining people exposed
would be notified by the end of that day;
(iv) Water
Corp would be putting a public notice concerning the incident on its website
the following morning?
(c) Was the
member for Bassendean asked at the briefing to keep the information given
confidential; and, if so, who made that request?
(2) How many
of the 88 people exposed to asbestos had not been notified of the situation by
11.00 am on 22 October 2015?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for some notice of this
question.
(1) (a) The
member for Bassendean; Hon Kate Doust, MLC; Sue Murphy, CEO, Water Corporation;
Mark Leathersich, general manager, assets delivery, Water Corporation; and
Nicole O'Keefe, chief of staff, Minister for Water.
(b) (i) Yes.
This comprised 22 Water Corporation staff and 66 contractors. These figures
were correct as at 21 October 2015.
(ii) The majority of Water
Corporation staff had been told.
(iii) No.
(iv) No.
(c) The offer
of a confidential briefing was made, in person, by the minister to the member
for Bassendean on Wednesday, 21 October 2015 prior to question time. The
minister advised of the situation, offered a briefing, which was held later
that afternoon, and advised that she would not be making a public statement
until such time as the Water Corporation was confident that everyone who had
been involved was aware.
(2) All but
one Water Corporation employee had been verbally informed. At this stage, the
contractors had not confirmed who had or had not been notified from their
workforce.
question.
(1) (a) The
member for Bassendean; Hon Kate Doust, MLC; Sue Murphy, CEO, Water Corporation;
Mark Leathersich, general manager, assets delivery, Water Corporation; and
Nicole O'Keefe, chief of staff, Minister for Water.
(b) (i) Yes.
This comprised 22 Water Corporation staff and 66 contractors. These figures
were correct as at 21 October 2015.
(ii) The majority of Water
Corporation staff had been told.
(iii) No.
(iv) No.
(c) The offer
of a confidential briefing was made, in person, by the minister to the member
for Bassendean on Wednesday, 21 October 2015 prior to question time. The
minister advised of the situation, offered a briefing, which was held later
that afternoon, and advised that she would not be making a public statement
until such time as the Water Corporation was confident that everyone who had
been involved was aware.
(2) All but
one Water Corporation employee had been verbally informed. At this stage, the
contractors had not confirmed who had or had not been notified from their
workforce.
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