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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-06-08 Daily Xml
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Targeted Lead Abatement Program

The Hon. G.G. BROCK (Frome) (15:11): My question is to the Minister for Energy and Mining. Can the minister update the house on the progress of the new or updated agreement with the TLAP Port Pirie program, which is due to expire in 2024? With your leave, and that of the house, sir, I will further explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. G.G. BROCK: In 2014, this agreement between the South Australian government, the Department for Health and Nyrstar was formulated to address issues with regard to reducing lead in the blood of our children and also the environment in Port Pirie. There was an independent review undertaken during early 2020, which passed the halfway mark of this agreement when it was supposed to have been done before that; however, to my information, it was completed in April 2020, with a new agreement to be brought back.

Minister, it's now nearly 15 months since the draft was presented to the parties and neither the mayor nor myself have seen a final report before it being made public, which the minister has mentioned in this house during estimates on 24 November 2020 and also in answering my question on 31 March this year. With your leave, I will quote both of those:

I have certainly committed to the member for Frome that he would get a copy of that report before it goes public—no change whatsoever on that from my perspective.

That was on Wednesday 31 March. In estimates, it was the same question and the same answer.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart—Minister for Energy and Mining) (15:13): I start with the last part of the member's question. Those quotes are accurate and those quotes remain accurate. As I have said to the member on numerous occasions in and outside this chamber, he will receive that information and he will receive it in advance of the public receiving it—so nothing has changed there.

To the substance of the question, it is actually about the TLAP program. For those who may not know, the Targeted Lead Abatement Program is a program that the previous government, when the member for Frome was a minister in the previous government, devised in partnership with Nyrstar, the company running the smelter. The member for Frome was integrally involved, deeply involved in creating this program.

This program has done some good things, but not good enough for our government. We have been very respectful with regard to allowing that program and the people running it to get on with the work. The member for Frome set them a task, as did his ministerial colleagues under the former Labor government. We wanted it to have every opportunity to achieve the results the former government said it would achieve. Let me thank the people who have worked on that program. They have worked hard, they have done a good job and they have made a contribution.

The program that the member for Frome and his colleagues back under the former Labor government put together has not delivered enough. As the member for Frome would know, on Friday last week I was in Port Pirie with Mr Peter Dolan, who is currently the second in charge of the EPA. Mr Peter Dolan has taken up an employment contract to work and to lead the TLAP program. The second in charge of the EPA is moving from Adelaide. He has bought a house in Port Pirie. He is going to live in Port Pirie and he is going to run this program, because our Marshall Liberal government and I, as the lead minister for this area of work, are determined to make sure that the people of Port Pirie get a better deal, get better results, get better outcomes and have healthier lives than they have received under the former Labor government.

We are determined to make sure that this happens. Step 1, and one of the recommendations from the independent review that has been undertaken, was to put a new leader in place, and we are doing that. We will also restructure the way it works. We have had many discussions with the company on this, keeping in mind that this is a program which is jointly overseen by the Nyrstar company and the South Australian government. We are working very, very closely with them. We are making sure that the community gets the very best results.

Another complaint the community has had about the program that the member for Frome and the previous government developed has been with regard to transparency. We have made sure that information is going to be available for the community, for the local media who want it, for anybody who wants it. The new structure which we are going to put in place will work extremely well for the people of Port Pirie.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: Too little, too late.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: The member for West Torrens says 'too little, too late'. Well, guess what?

The SPEAKER: Order! The minister will not respond to interjections.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: I have not given up on the people of Port Pirie. Perhaps the member for West Torrens has given up on the people of Port Pirie, but I have not given up on those people. They will get a better deal—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Members on my left!

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: —under the Marshall Liberal government than they got before. Mr Peter Dolan starts his job on 12 July, and on 12 July we will have much more information to share not only with the member for Frome but with the Port Pirie community more broadly and this chamber.

The SPEAKER: Before I call the member for Frome on a supplementary question, the member for West Torrens and the member for Playford will leave for the remainder of question time under standing order 137A.

The honourable members for West Torrens and Playford having withdrawn from the chamber:

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