Schwarten blunders again over school asbestos

SCHOOLCHILDREN in Mackay continue to be placed at serious risk by sloppy asbestos removal practices, the LNP said today.

Shadow Minister for Public Works and Information and Communication Technology Jann Stuckey said Minister Schwarten, despite his protestations, had ignored LNP warnings that asbestos removal procedures at Mackay schools did not comply with QBuild procedures.

“Despite assuring Parliament that QBuild was complying with its own rules for asbestos removal in Mackay, students from two more Mackay schools had to be evacuated when it was discovered that asbestos had been disturbed in 19 classrooms,” said Ms Stuckey.

“The minister assured Parliament that a monitoring process was in place to ensure appropriate practices were followed,” she said.

“If this is the case, why is the minister allowing work to be carried out on buildings known to contain asbestos while classes are being conducted?”

 Ms Stuckey said it was not good enough for the minister to conduct yet another ‘investigation’.

“This further failure to ensure proper practices are being followed poses serious questions,” she said.

“Who is the contractor this government is now blaming for their latest asbestos bungle?

 “How many more schools have been exposed to these potentially unsafe practices?

 “And why did this minister’s much lauded monitoring systems fail to detect this for five months?”