Dr WOODRUFF question to PREMIER, Mr ROCKLIFF
Last week in Legislative Council Estimates we caught Macquarie Point Development Corporation (MPDC) clearly misleading. We asked MPDC how much contaminated soil containing asbestos, lead, mercury, arsenic, cyanide and other chemicals of concern was under the footprint of your stadium and we were told is 130,000 cubic metres. When we later sought to confirm that amount with the Environment Protection Authority (EPA), we were told, in fact, it could be up to 220,000 cubic metres of contaminated soil – a significantly different number.
On Thursday, during the Legislative Council’s hearing with the Tasmanian Planning Commission (TPC) panel members, we asked whether MPDC had told the TPC about this huge volume of toxic soil that will need to be excavated, treated, stored and removed from the site. They had not. Apart from the obvious public health risks posed by this large volume of soil. It raises a question of trust. Given the untruths, how can Tasmanians –
The SPEAKER – The member’s time for the question has expired.
Members interjecting.
Dr Woodruff – trust a single word MDPC says or you do either?
The SPEAKER – Next question, because there wasn’t a question – that was a long statement, Dr Woodruff. You need to – at the heart, you did not get to your question.
Dr Woodruff – My question was – it goes to a matter of trust, and I didn’t get to the follow‑up question.
The SPEAKER – No, sorry, you had to ask a question.
Dr Woodruff – Speaker, I have never heard that – there was a question there. There was a question about the trust.
The SPEAKER – You said, ‘my question is’ and the time expired. You had a very long statement.
Dr Woodruff – I had a second question. The question throughout was about trust ‑ how can anyone trust the Premier?
The SPEAKER – You are asking the question now. I remind members asking a question that you have one minute to ask a question and 30 seconds to ask a supplementary. It is not a time for a statement, it is to ask a question. The question did not get asked in that long statement. I encourage members to make your questions shorter and time them if necessary, but the time is not to make a statement to the House.
