❓ A parliamentary question regarding the Esperance lead contamination clean-up, specifically seeking clarification on the Premier's statements and the financial contributions from the mining industry and the government. The question highlights confusion regarding ministerial responsibility and portfolio allocation.
AnsweredQoN 917Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
ESPERANCE LEAD CONTAMINATION
917. Hon ROBIN CHAPPLE to the minister representing the
Treasurer:
This question was originally directed to the Leader of the
House representing the Premier but has been redirected to the Minister for
Finance representing the Treasurer.
I refer to the Premier's statement on Q&A on Monday, 5 November 2012, in
reference to the lead in Esperance, ''We spent $30 million cleaning the
whole town and a mining industry economy is prosperous enough to do that. Now,
that was a result of transport, not mining activities, but it was fixed.''
(1) Did the mining industry contribute any funds towards the
clean-up?
(2) How much in total did the Liberal–National
government contribute financially to the clean-up?
(3) Is the
Premier confident that the Liberal–National government ''fixed''
the clean-up in a satisfactory manner and that there will be no legacies?
917. Hon ROBIN CHAPPLE to the minister representing the
Treasurer:
This question was originally directed to the Leader of the
House representing the Premier but has been redirected to the Minister for
Finance representing the Treasurer.
I refer to the Premier's statement on Q&A on Monday, 5 November 2012, in
reference to the lead in Esperance, ''We spent $30 million cleaning the
whole town and a mining industry economy is prosperous enough to do that. Now,
that was a result of transport, not mining activities, but it was fixed.''
(1) Did the mining industry contribute any funds towards the
clean-up?
(2) How much in total did the Liberal–National
government contribute financially to the clean-up?
(3) Is the
Premier confident that the Liberal–National government ''fixed''
the clean-up in a satisfactory manner and that there will be no legacies?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for notice of the question.
This answer is provided in my capacity as Minister for Finance representing the
Minister for Transport. The Department of Transport advises —
(1) Under a
deed of settlement between the Esperance Port Authority, Magellan Metals, the
State of Western Australia and Ivernia Inc, Magellan Metals committed towards
the clean-up costs.
(2) Expenditure
is continuing this financial year to complete sentinel monitoring within the
town site, and once completed an accurate figure will be known.
(3) As this question is asking an opinion of the Premier, it
is best referred to him.
Point of Order
Hon
ROBIN CHAPPLE : I
directed the question to the Premier, who has now redirected it. I am now being
told to redirect it back to the Premier.
The
PRESIDENT : When you
ask questions involving aspects of different portfolios, you have to break up
those questions separately. If you ask a specific question of the Premier, it
would have had to have gone to the Premier on that specific aspect. If you want
a question concerning Treasury items or Transport items, it is a different
minister; you cannot combine all those things into one question.
Hon ROBIN CHAPPLE : Mr President, if I may: i t was a
question directed to the Premier because of the Premier's statement. I
sought no advice from Treasury, I sought no advice from Transport; I wanted to
clarify the Premier's statement. I directed the question to the Premier
and was told that it would be redirected to the Minister for Finance
representing the Treasurer. It now appears the Minister for Transport has
answered it.
The PRESIDENT : The same thing applies: it would
still have required you to break that question up into two segments, if you required
responses from two completely different ministers.
Hon ROBIN CHAPPLE : I was not; I just required an
answer from the Premier.
The PRESIDENT : There is no point of order. You
would have to put a question specifically to the Premier on that aspect. I
remind you that you cannot ask a minister for an opinion, so the question may
have to be rephrased in terms of the specific information you require.
Questions without Notice Resumed
This answer is provided in my capacity as Minister for Finance representing the
Minister for Transport. The Department of Transport advises —
(1) Under a
deed of settlement between the Esperance Port Authority, Magellan Metals, the
State of Western Australia and Ivernia Inc, Magellan Metals committed towards
the clean-up costs.
(2) Expenditure
is continuing this financial year to complete sentinel monitoring within the
town site, and once completed an accurate figure will be known.
(3) As this question is asking an opinion of the Premier, it
is best referred to him.
Point of Order
Hon
ROBIN CHAPPLE : I
directed the question to the Premier, who has now redirected it. I am now being
told to redirect it back to the Premier.
The
PRESIDENT : When you
ask questions involving aspects of different portfolios, you have to break up
those questions separately. If you ask a specific question of the Premier, it
would have had to have gone to the Premier on that specific aspect. If you want
a question concerning Treasury items or Transport items, it is a different
minister; you cannot combine all those things into one question.
Hon ROBIN CHAPPLE : Mr President, if I may: i t was a
question directed to the Premier because of the Premier's statement. I
sought no advice from Treasury, I sought no advice from Transport; I wanted to
clarify the Premier's statement. I directed the question to the Premier
and was told that it would be redirected to the Minister for Finance
representing the Treasurer. It now appears the Minister for Transport has
answered it.
The PRESIDENT : The same thing applies: it would
still have required you to break that question up into two segments, if you required
responses from two completely different ministers.
Hon ROBIN CHAPPLE : I was not; I just required an
answer from the Premier.
The PRESIDENT : There is no point of order. You
would have to put a question specifically to the Premier on that aspect. I
remind you that you cannot ask a minister for an opinion, so the question may
have to be rephrased in terms of the specific information you require.
Questions without Notice Resumed
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.