Select Committee Stands By Recommendations On Asbestos Petition

The Local Government and Environment Select Committee has presented a report on a response received from the Manukau City Council to the committee’s previous report on Petition 1996/1628 of Rosemary Godwin and others. The petition relates to asbestos contamination in East Tamaki.

The committee’s previous report made seven recommendations to the Manukau City Council (the council) that would address the concerns expressed by petitioners. The council has accepted five of the committee’s recommendations and rejected two of them.

The committee considers the council has overlooked the objectives of the recommendations. In particular, the committee intended not to attribute blame for the situation. The recommendations formed a ‘package’ of measures or actions the committee considers would help all parties to move forward towards a long-term solution. The council’s decision to adopt only those recommendations it considered were already being carried out only serves to diminish the overall effectiveness of the committee’s suggested measures, and could potentially prolong efforts to resolve the concerns of the residents.

The committee emphasises it has not explicitly or implicitly endorsed the council’s actions as being ‘best practice’, as the council’s response suggests.

The council is seeking a contribution from the Government of up to one million dollars towards the costs of preparing its assessment and management control strategy. The council has not taken up an invitation to revise its previous application, to increase the project’s national applicability. In light of this, and also given the council’s budget is significantly greater than that of the Ministry for the Environment, the committee does not support the council’s request for a contribution from the Government.

The committee stands by all of its recommendations on the petition.

Jeanette Fitzsimons
Chairperson

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