❓ Mr. Kelly questions the Minister for Water about the removal of occupational health and safety references from the Water Corporation's business plan, linking it to a recent asbestos exposure incident. The Minister vehemently denies any connection, emphasizing employee safety and ongoing investigations.
AnsweredQoN 983Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
WATER CORPORATION — MINNIVALE RESERVOIR — ASBESTOS
983. Mr D.J. KELLY to the Minister for
Water:
I refer the minister firstly to the
ongoing issue of exposure of workers to asbestos due to mistakes made by the
Water Corporation; and, secondly, I refer the minister to the Water Corporation's
2015–16 business plan known as the ''Statement of Corporate
Intent'' that was tabled by the minister last week.
(1) Why has the
minister and the board deleted all references to occupational health and safety
from the Water Corporation's 2015–16 business plan?
(2) In
particular, why has the minister deleted the sections ''Keeping our
People Safe'' and ''Zero Harm'' from the document, along
with statements such as ''Safety is our first priority'' and
commitments to having a safety culture that all appeared in previous years?
(3) Does this not
support the view of many employees that under the minister's leadership
safety is now being compromised by her emphasis on cost cutting and improving
the dividend to government?
983. Mr D.J. KELLY to the Minister for
Water:
I refer the minister firstly to the
ongoing issue of exposure of workers to asbestos due to mistakes made by the
Water Corporation; and, secondly, I refer the minister to the Water Corporation's
2015–16 business plan known as the ''Statement of Corporate
Intent'' that was tabled by the minister last week.
(1) Why has the
minister and the board deleted all references to occupational health and safety
from the Water Corporation's 2015–16 business plan?
(2) In
particular, why has the minister deleted the sections ''Keeping our
People Safe'' and ''Zero Harm'' from the document, along
with statements such as ''Safety is our first priority'' and
commitments to having a safety culture that all appeared in previous years?
(3) Does this not
support the view of many employees that under the minister's leadership
safety is now being compromised by her emphasis on cost cutting and improving
the dividend to government?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question.
I start by also adding sincere condolences to the families of those who have
been impacted by the fires in Esperance. Our thoughts are with the community as
they go through the following days and months. It will be a difficult time for
that community. I know that the rest of Western Australia is thinking of them.
(1)–(3) I
absolutely reject the premise of all three questions. There is absolutely no
doubt in my mind, and I am very aware, that the Water Corporation puts the
safety of its employees front and centre. The member will be very aware that
that statement of corporate intent is developed over a period of time. That
occurred well in advance of any of the incidents that we have been referring to
in relation to Minnivale.
Mr D.J. Kelly : That was the plan.
Ms
M.J. DAVIES : Sorry, did the member just say that we planned to do this at
Minnivale?
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Thank you; through the Chair.
Ms
M.J. DAVIES : There is absolutely no link between the changes under the
business program at the Water Corporation and the restructuring of the
organisation with the incident that occurred at Minnivale—absolutely
none. I stood in front of this place yesterday and said that the earliest
assessment of this—bear in mind that the investigation is still
underway—is that there was a process breakdown in Water Corporation's
operations. WorkSafe is responsible for, and will be responsible for, managing
the outcomes of the report and the investigation that is currently underway. It
has the power to issue infringement or enforcement notices and to undertake
prosecutions if required. We do not shy away from the seriousness of this
situation, but there is absolutely no link between the changes that have been
occurring under the business reorganisation at the Water Corporation and the
incident at Minnivale. It is unbelievable that the member is making that link.
I start by also adding sincere condolences to the families of those who have
been impacted by the fires in Esperance. Our thoughts are with the community as
they go through the following days and months. It will be a difficult time for
that community. I know that the rest of Western Australia is thinking of them.
(1)–(3) I
absolutely reject the premise of all three questions. There is absolutely no
doubt in my mind, and I am very aware, that the Water Corporation puts the
safety of its employees front and centre. The member will be very aware that
that statement of corporate intent is developed over a period of time. That
occurred well in advance of any of the incidents that we have been referring to
in relation to Minnivale.
Mr D.J. Kelly : That was the plan.
Ms
M.J. DAVIES : Sorry, did the member just say that we planned to do this at
Minnivale?
Several members interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Thank you; through the Chair.
Ms
M.J. DAVIES : There is absolutely no link between the changes under the
business program at the Water Corporation and the restructuring of the
organisation with the incident that occurred at Minnivale—absolutely
none. I stood in front of this place yesterday and said that the earliest
assessment of this—bear in mind that the investigation is still
underway—is that there was a process breakdown in Water Corporation's
operations. WorkSafe is responsible for, and will be responsible for, managing
the outcomes of the report and the investigation that is currently underway. It
has the power to issue infringement or enforcement notices and to undertake
prosecutions if required. We do not shy away from the seriousness of this
situation, but there is absolutely no link between the changes that have been
occurring under the business reorganisation at the Water Corporation and the
incident at Minnivale. It is unbelievable that the member is making that link.
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.