Mr HENDERSON - 2000-08-09
Last week I uncovered a serious oil spill from government-owned tanks at Stokes Hill, just 150 m from the harbour. The Stokes Hill tanks were built in 1962 to hold a relatively stable substance, diesel. Waste oil, unlike diesel, contains heavy metals and other corrosive substances which are difficult to contain. In this NT News article of 2 February 1999, under the heading ‘Waste Management and Pollution Control’, Randall Scott said a toxic waste dump for the storage of waste water would have to be ‘especially built and lined with clay in a geologically secure area’. Is it not true that the oil spill at Stokes Hill happened because the government allowed a toxic concoction of waste oil in a tank that was never built for that purpose and which its experts say is inadequate?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, this is a cheap grab by the member opposite, a member who is obviously going for the leadership over on that side.
The issue at Stokes Hill is that there is a remnant tank left over from the Stokes Hill power station. In fact there are a couple of tanks. One is not in use, and that is where there is some oil spillage. The leakage has occurred from an open tank, I might say. The member will tell us, if he is being truthful in his presentation of the issue, that there was a little bit of remnant sludge at the bottom of the tank. A trap system has been built around the tank and any sludge that has leaked out has been caught in the traps that are designed for that purpose.
The presentation of the facts is the key issue here, and who you present them to is another issue. I will get to that. The traps are working. That is what they are there for. The Department of Transport and Works …
Ms Martin: How can you stand in here and say that?
Mr BALDWIN: Because that is the truth. It is easy for me to tell the truth.
The Department of Transport and Works will be pumping out those traps. The traps have worked very effectively.
The second tank is being used by a waste oil disposal company and that is in good order. The other tanks that are up there, so there is no confusion in this issue, belong to the naval base, and there is no leakages from those tanks. I place that on the record so that the Defence Force is not tangled up in this issue.
When these matters come about, there is a very easy and proper way for the public to alert my Department of Lands, Planning and Environment. The Environment Unit within that deals with all these issues. There is a hotline and there is a unit of people …
Mr Henderson: It’s a government site. You should be monitoring it.
Mr BALDWIN: The member for Wanguri went to that site. He had a look at that site and what did he do? Jumped into the media, as has happened before from the opposition. He jumped into the media rather than alerting the people concerned that there could be an issue - not that there was a great issue, but there could be an issue. The responsible thing to do would have been to alert that unit through the hotline.
We know he is going for the top job on the other side. While the Labor leader was away at a conference in Tasmania, launching her business policy, perhaps she could have let the member for Wanguri have access to her files. Following a similar incident, I wrote to the Leader of the Opposition on 22 March this year, pointing out that the appropriate unit within my department was the Environment Unit and pointing out also the number of the Hotline.
Just in case, do you have a pen there? Write this down: 1800 064 567. That is the appropriate number to call. I told to the Leader of the Opposition that I trusted that she would assist my dedicated officers within the department in making that number known to her members. I ask her to do that now, please.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, this is a cheap grab by the member opposite, a member who is obviously going for the leadership over on that side.
The issue at Stokes Hill is that there is a remnant tank left over from the Stokes Hill power station. In fact there are a couple of tanks. One is not in use, and that is where there is some oil spillage. The leakage has occurred from an open tank, I might say. The member will tell us, if he is being truthful in his presentation of the issue, that there was a little bit of remnant sludge at the bottom of the tank. A trap system has been built around the tank and any sludge that has leaked out has been caught in the traps that are designed for that purpose.
The presentation of the facts is the key issue here, and who you present them to is another issue. I will get to that. The traps are working. That is what they are there for. The Department of Transport and Works …
Ms Martin: How can you stand in here and say that?
Mr BALDWIN: Because that is the truth. It is easy for me to tell the truth.
The Department of Transport and Works will be pumping out those traps. The traps have worked very effectively.
The second tank is being used by a waste oil disposal company and that is in good order. The other tanks that are up there, so there is no confusion in this issue, belong to the naval base, and there is no leakages from those tanks. I place that on the record so that the Defence Force is not tangled up in this issue.
When these matters come about, there is a very easy and proper way for the public to alert my Department of Lands, Planning and Environment. The Environment Unit within that deals with all these issues. There is a hotline and there is a unit of people …
Mr Henderson: It’s a government site. You should be monitoring it.
Mr BALDWIN: The member for Wanguri went to that site. He had a look at that site and what did he do? Jumped into the media, as has happened before from the opposition. He jumped into the media rather than alerting the people concerned that there could be an issue - not that there was a great issue, but there could be an issue. The responsible thing to do would have been to alert that unit through the hotline.
We know he is going for the top job on the other side. While the Labor leader was away at a conference in Tasmania, launching her business policy, perhaps she could have let the member for Wanguri have access to her files. Following a similar incident, I wrote to the Leader of the Opposition on 22 March this year, pointing out that the appropriate unit within my department was the Environment Unit and pointing out also the number of the Hotline.
Just in case, do you have a pen there? Write this down: 1800 064 567. That is the appropriate number to call. I told to the Leader of the Opposition that I trusted that she would assist my dedicated officers within the department in making that number known to her members. I ask her to do that now, please.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016