Minister fails duty of care over asbestos
Thursday, 11 March 2010 11:32
Dr Bruce Flegg MPShadow Minister for Education & TrainingMember for Moggill11 March 2010
Minister fails duty of care over asbestos
SCHOOL children and teachers have been exposed to potentially lethal asbestos fibres while sitting in their classrooms, the LNP said today.
Shadow Minister for Education & Training Dr Bruce Flegg said it was an extraordinary revelation by Education Minister Geoff Wilson that he had been aware students and teachers in at least three Mackay schools had been exposed to asbestos.
“The Bligh Labor government has admitted school children and teachers were exposed to potentially lethal asbestos fibres while sitting in classes, even while yet another local school was still being investigated for asbestos contamination,” Dr Flegg said.
“Minister Wilson today also admitted prep year students at a third school, Moranbah State School, were also directly exposed to asbestos when work was carried out on it while they were in class.
“For six years we have been trying to make students and teachers safe from asbestos and yet this continues to occur.
“Parents and teachers have a right to be incensed that children and teachers have been exposed.”
Dr Flegg said from a medical perspective there was no safe level of asbestos and there was no way of testing children to see if they had inhaled asbestos or not.
“Taxpayers are paying a fortune for safe asbestos removal but someone is making a fortune without doing the job properly,” he said.
“The connection between asbestos contaminated clothes in the house and deadly mesothelioma cancer is well established yet students seem to have been sent home in potentially contaminated clothing and have not even been given the appropriate safety advice.
“This Minister needs to take responsibility for his ongoing failure to provide a duty of care. “It is not enough to call yet another investigation.”
Media contact: Leonie Shepherd - 0414 794 796