❓ A Western Australian parliamentary question seeks information on asbestos-related compensation claims against the Department of Housing, including the number of current claims, past settlements, and the Department's rationale for settling these claims.
AnsweredQoN 8089Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
(1) How many claims are there presently in Western Australia (or other states) naming the Department of Housing as a defendant in compensation claims for asbestos diseases in tradesmen relating to the building, maintaining or renovating of the State's public housing stock?
(2) In the previous five years, how many such claims naming the Department of Housing or its predecessors has the Department settled out of court rather than contest at trial?
(3) By settling such claims, does the Department acknowledge that evidence exists that the Department continued to utilise asbestos products and engaged tradesmen to build, maintain or renovate Departmental properties when it knew asbestos building materials were potentially hazardous and, if not, why were the claims settled rather than taken to trial?
(2) In the previous five years, how many such claims naming the Department of Housing or its predecessors has the Department settled out of court rather than contest at trial?
(3) By settling such claims, does the Department acknowledge that evidence exists that the Department continued to utilise asbestos products and engaged tradesmen to build, maintain or renovate Departmental properties when it knew asbestos building materials were potentially hazardous and, if not, why were the claims settled rather than taken to trial?
AnswerView source ↗
Answered
1 August 2012
Responded by
Minister for Housing
Response time
50 days
The Department of Housing advises:
(1) 8
(2) 49
(3) Each claim the Department has been a party to is independent of another and is considered on the allegations presented by the plaintiff. It is not possible to provide a generic response to the basis for settlement of each individual claim, although it is noted it is often the preference of parties to expedite the claim by settlement rather than litigation.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
(1) 8
(2) 49
(3) Each claim the Department has been a party to is independent of another and is considered on the allegations presented by the plaintiff. It is not possible to provide a generic response to the basis for settlement of each individual claim, although it is noted it is often the preference of parties to expedite the claim by settlement rather than litigation.
Notice: This document is created or edited using unregistered or evaluation copy of rtLib valid for testing or development purposes only. To use it for productive or any other purposes please register it. You may purchase the license on
http://www.rtlib.com
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.