p>Ballarat residents have been contacting me over recent days and raising concerns about asbestos safety across our community.
I understand that Telstra was carrying out remediation activity in Sussex St this week.
If any resident is concerned about specific work being conducted in their area they should get in contact with Telstra on 1800 067 225.
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Ballarat residents have been contacting me over recent days and raising concerns about asbestos safety across our community.
I understand that Telstra was carrying out remediation activity in Sussex St this week.
If any resident is concerned about specific work being conducted in their area they should get in contact with Telstra on 1800 067 225.
I will continue to work with Minister Stephen Conroy (Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) and Minister Bill Shorten (Employment and Workplace Relations, Financial Services and Superannuation) to ensure local residents are given up-to-date information about what is happening in our community.
The Office of Asbestos Safety has a number of useful resources online and I recommend concerned residents read their fact sheet: Download Office of Asbestos Safety Factsheet (PDF, 0.44MB)
Obviously people should stay clear of these worksites and should not collect debris at a worksite. The health and safety of Australian workers and communities is the Government’s number one priority. We are all too familiar with the problem of asbestos – a deadly product that was unfortunately extensively used for a number of decades in homes, offices, and infrastructure.
Telstra’s pit and duct infrastructure is being leased by NBN Co. As part of those agreements, Telstra is required to undertake remediation work before providing the pits and ducts to NBN Co to use. Under the agreements, Telstra and NBN Co are each required to comply with Australia’s strict Health, Safety, and Environment obligations, which includes the handling of hazardous materials such as asbestos.
The Government expects these laws to be followed at all times. There are no short cuts when dealing with asbestos. All safety procedures must be adhered to.
Both myself and my staff will continue to talk with local residents to ensure all concerns are addressed as a matter of priority. Please contact my office on (03) 5338 8123 or email me direct at catherine.king.mp@aph.gov.au; if you would like any further information, or you believe your calls to Telstra are not being addressed.
Catherine
LABOR TO DELIVER FIRST NATIONAL ASBESTOS EXPOSURE REGISTER
The Gillard Labor Government views the identification and removal of asbestos as an absolute priority.
Today (Monday, 3 June) the Government has announced that the first National Asbestos Exposure Register will be created and maintained by the new national Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency.
A full copy of the announcement can be found here: https://www.catherineking.com.au/media/labor-to-deliver-first-national-asbestos-exposure-/
TODAY’S SUMMIT
Ministers Shorten and Conroy met with Telstra and NBN Co executives, Comcare, the Office of Asbestos Safety, unions and asbestos safety and victims groups to a meeting in Canberra today (Monday, 3 June) to agree on the next steps required in response to the Telstra pits incidents.
At that meeting, the Government sought from Telstra details of its safety and removal program, specifically a commitment to remove asbestos from the high risk pits. Already, the Government regulator Comcare has stopped work and ordered asbestos removed from two sites in NSW.
The Government is also looking to establish a national register to keep a record of people – be they workers or members of the general public – who think they may have been exposed to asbestos. Ministers Conroy and Shorten will be seeking agreement at today’s meeting on this proposal.
WHAT IS TELSTRA DOING?
Telstra has suspended all new remediation work and has conducted a full audit into the work practices of its contractors.
- Telstra has also appointed PWC to review its asbestos handling processes and systems.
- Telstra has appointed Executive Director of Telstra Network Construction, John Gibbs, to oversee all asbestos management activities, including current compliance and outcomes from last week’s contractor audits.
- Telstra will create up to 200 additional inspection and supervisory jobs will be created to ensure all asbestos-related remediation activity is supervised by an accredited person.
- Telstra will reinforce its high compliance standards with all relevant field employees working with asbestos.
- The temporary stop work on pit remediation will stay in place for contractors (and sub-contractors) until they have completed further training on working with, removing, transporting and disposing of asbestos containing material.
- Following the audit Telstra will work with Comcare and an accredited training partner to review and update the mandatory training program that all Telstra contractors will need to implement before they are approved to work on Telstra pits.
- Stronger community engagement guidelines to ensure the community is better informed about work in their areas, including longer notification periods, more intensive doorknocking and letterbox drops and improved signage at worksites alerting residents to asbestos-related works.
Telstra has established a hotline for any resident concerned about work in their area. The number is 1800 067 225
WHAT IS NBN CO DOING?
NBN Co requires its contractors to be fully compliant with legislative requirements, including:
- The Work Health and Safety Regulations (Commonwealth) Act 2011
- Code of Practice – How to Manage and Control Asbestos in the Workplace, and
- Code of Practice – How to Safely Remove Asbestos.
NBN Co has also implemented a system of regular audits as a means of verifying our contractors’ and their sub-contractors ongoing compliance with these requirements.
NBN Co has activated a cross-company team of senior managers to manage and oversee asbestos-related issues.
NBN Co met last week with representatives from NBN Co’s prime contractors to reiterate our expectations for the safety of workers and residents in communities where the NBN is being rolled out.
At the meeting NBN Co insisted contractors step up senior supervision of field workers undertaking high risk construction activities.
The meeting was attended by representatives from Comcare, the Commonwealth government health and safety body, which reiterated the strict Commonwealth guidelines for asbestos handling and management.
- At the end of April NBN Co had 3650 contractors working on network construction who had completed Safety and Awareness training, which includes training in the identification and handling of asbestos.
- To date NBN Co has conducted 2947 audits and inspections of its contractors to ensure they are complying with health and safety requirements.
- ComCare has also audited NBN Co’s Hazardous Procedures and Programs in May 2012 and did not find any issues in regards to health and safety.