WATERLOO RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL
The Hon. ELISABETH KIRKBY: My question without notice is directed to the Minister for Planning, and Minister for Housing and to the Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs, representing the Minister for Health.
The Hon. D. J. Gay: On a point of order: the honourable member has asked a question of two Ministers. My understanding is that standing orders provide that a question without notice must be directed to a Minister.
The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. D. J. Gay has the advantage of being much closer to the honourable member than I am. I confess that over the level of chatter I could not hear to whom she was addressing the question. Perhaps the honourable member would start again.
The Hon. ELISABETH KIRKBY: I did direct the question to the Minister for Planning, and Minister for Housing and also to the Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs, representing the Minister for Health, because the question is both a health question and a planning question.
The PRESIDENT: Order! The honourable member will address her question to one Minister relating to that Minister's portfolio or to the portfolio represented by that Minister. If the member has a question relating to another ministry for another Minister, it will have to be the subject of a second question.
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The Hon. ELISABETH KIRKBY: I direct my question to the Minister for Planning, and Minister for Housing, representing the Minister for Health. Is it the Government's intention to proceed with a residential development to house 30,000 people near the Waterloo incinerator when the South Sydney City Council has already revealed that the rate of leukaemia and lymphoma in the suburbs near the site has risen?
The Hon. R. J. WEBSTER: I do not know that South Sydney City Council has revealed any such thing as purported by the honourable member. It is not the intention of the Government to build 30,000 houses. However, it is fair to say that with the advent of the rail link between the city and the airport and beyond, there will be opportunities for substantial rezoning and residential redevelopment of that corridor between the city and the airport. It may well be that over time there will be a great deal of redevelopment of that redundant industrial area. It is interesting to note that there seems to be a propensity amongst Opposition members, both Labor and Democrats, to want to close down all means of disposing of rubbish.
The Hon. Patricia Forsythe: All of them?
The Hon. R. J. WEBSTER: Literally all of them, because one of the three and a half shadow ministers who shadow me -
The Hon. Virginia Chadwick: Tell us the half.
The Hon. R. J. WEBSTER: I am keeping that a secret. Pam Allan has said we have to close down all the ocean outfalls so everything cannot be sent out to sea. She wanted all incinerators to be closed down. I shall have more to say on incinerators in a minute.
The PRESIDENT: Order! I call the Hon. Jan Burnswoods to order.
The Hon. R. J. WEBSTER: The honourable member for Blacktown wanted all the incinerators closed down and now wants a moratorium on landfill sites. If the Labor Party wants to stop waste being taken out, stop it going into landfill, and stop it being burnt, what will we do with it?
The Hon. R. S. L. Jones: Recycle it.
[Interruption]
The PRESIDENT: Order! I call the Hon. Jan Burnswoods to order for the second time.
The Hon. R. J. WEBSTER: I will be very interested to hear how the Hon. R. S. L. Jones proposes to recycle the screenings from the Malabar sewerage plant.
The Hon. R. S. L. Jones: I will tell you later.
The Hon. R. J. WEBSTER: In fact, I do not want to hear how the member will recycle that produce; it would be more than I can cope with! Putting the screenings through the washing machine and reusing them would not be the answer. As far as the Environment Protection Authority and the Department of Health are concerned - the Hon. Elisabeth Kirkby can rest assured - there is no health problem from that incinerator. However, any rezoning which may occur will be subject to appropriate environmental and planning scrutiny. The impact of the incinerator on the area will no doubt be taken into account before anything occurs.