❓ Mr. Love questions the Minister for Industrial Relations about asbestos in wind turbine brake pads. The Minister acknowledges the issue and assures that WorkSafe is managing the situation in collaboration with other authorities.
AnsweredQoN 686Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Asbestos—Wind turbine lift brake pads
686. Mr Shane Love to
the Minister for Industrial Relations:
Before I ask my
question, I would just like to join the Premier and the Leader of the
Opposition in recognising the passing of Mr Mark Mudie and thanking all those
who have spent many days fighting bushfires across Western Australia.
I refer to reports
that asbestos has been detected in the lift brake pads of many wind turbines
imported into Australia from China.
(1) Can the minister confirm that all wind
turbines imported by the companies in question, located in regions right across
the state, have been individually inspected by Western Australia's regulatory
authorities, such as WorkSafe, to ascertain the level of contamination?
(2) If they have not been inspected, why not, and
when will those inspections take place?
686. Mr Shane Love to
the Minister for Industrial Relations:
Before I ask my
question, I would just like to join the Premier and the Leader of the
Opposition in recognising the passing of Mr Mark Mudie and thanking all those
who have spent many days fighting bushfires across Western Australia.
I refer to reports
that asbestos has been detected in the lift brake pads of many wind turbines
imported into Australia from China.
(1) Can the minister confirm that all wind
turbines imported by the companies in question, located in regions right across
the state, have been individually inspected by Western Australia's regulatory
authorities, such as WorkSafe, to ascertain the level of contamination?
(2) If they have not been inspected, why not, and
when will those inspections take place?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I thank the member. Of course, we
know that asbestos in its various forms is a challenge for us and across the
world. In Western Australia, people are especially affected by asbestos-related
diseases and the terrible consequences from exposure to asbestos. I have seen
that firsthand in colleagues I worked with in the past, family members who are now
affected by asbestosis and also people in my electorate who have been affected—young
people and older people as well. We know that this is a very real issue. The
challenges we have at present are not only the legacy materials that are around
from the ubiquitous nature of asbestos used in building materials and the like,
but also the way different jurisdictions deal with asbestos. Products are imported
from China, for instance, but other countries may not have guidelines that are as
stringent as the ones we have in Western Australia. The example the member gave
was the braking mechanisms in wind turbines. That is a good example, but there
are many other examples. We need to work with our federal authorities to ensure
we understand that the materials we bring in from overseas have undergone the
same sorts of checks we would expect any domestically manufactured or sourced
products to go through.
I can assure the member that
WorkSafe, as the regulatory body responsible under my portfolio, is aware of
those products. At the moment, it is working through how to manage the
identification of particular products that might be present in some of the wind
turbines and working with the suppliers of those products, whether they are
already in built form in situ or maybe in the process of being installed. It is
working with other states and federal authorities to make sure that we manage
any presence of asbestos-related products.
I think it is important to
understand, too, the nature of asbestos. Whether it is in products that are
imported or whether it is in built form, as we are aware, it is important for
us all to understand where it is and how we can best manage that. I am confident
that WorkSafe is managing that, along with energy authorities as well as our
interstate and federal counterparts.
know that asbestos in its various forms is a challenge for us and across the
world. In Western Australia, people are especially affected by asbestos-related
diseases and the terrible consequences from exposure to asbestos. I have seen
that firsthand in colleagues I worked with in the past, family members who are now
affected by asbestosis and also people in my electorate who have been affected—young
people and older people as well. We know that this is a very real issue. The
challenges we have at present are not only the legacy materials that are around
from the ubiquitous nature of asbestos used in building materials and the like,
but also the way different jurisdictions deal with asbestos. Products are imported
from China, for instance, but other countries may not have guidelines that are as
stringent as the ones we have in Western Australia. The example the member gave
was the braking mechanisms in wind turbines. That is a good example, but there
are many other examples. We need to work with our federal authorities to ensure
we understand that the materials we bring in from overseas have undergone the
same sorts of checks we would expect any domestically manufactured or sourced
products to go through.
I can assure the member that
WorkSafe, as the regulatory body responsible under my portfolio, is aware of
those products. At the moment, it is working through how to manage the
identification of particular products that might be present in some of the wind
turbines and working with the suppliers of those products, whether they are
already in built form in situ or maybe in the process of being installed. It is
working with other states and federal authorities to make sure that we manage
any presence of asbestos-related products.
I think it is important to
understand, too, the nature of asbestos. Whether it is in products that are
imported or whether it is in built form, as we are aware, it is important for
us all to understand where it is and how we can best manage that. I am confident
that WorkSafe is managing that, along with energy authorities as well as our
interstate and federal counterparts.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.