Federal cabinet will consider on Monday night a substantial contribution to the estimated $1bn cost of buying and demolishing up to 1,000 Canberra homes that had loose-fill asbestos insulation pumped into their ceilings in the 1960s and 70s.
The ACT government and more than 40 families who have been forced to leave their houses have been waiting for months for the federal government’s decision before a program of acquisition and demolition can proceed.
The commonwealth originally funded a clean-up of the asbestos in the late 1980s and 90s, checking thousands of houses and removing asbestos where it was found.
But in mid-2013 loose-fill asbestos was again found in a house, and it became clear the original program had in many cases not successfully removed the fibres, which remained in the walls and was sometimes contaminating living areas through cracks or openings.
ACT chief minister Katy Gallagher has urged the prime minister to make a decision on the asbestos - originally pumped into the homes by an operator called Mr Fluffy.
Gallagher has said she let Tony Abbott know “that there’s a lot of worried people sitting in homes that need some certainty about their future”.
Public service minister senator Eric Abetz is leading the federal response on the issue.
A spokesman said; “The government takes asbestos-related issues very seriously. The minister has been working closely with the ACT government and affected homeowners to help progress a solution to the Mr Fluffy issue.”
The federal government commissioned the original 1980s decontamination program, before the Australian Capital Territory achieved self government, under a memorandum of understanding containing a formula for sharing the costs.
Gallagher told Guardian Australia in August the commonwealth had a clear responsibility.
“The commonwealth has significant responsibility here, and that’s because they were the governing entity when this business was allowed to operate in the territory,” she said.
“Now that we know 20 years on that there are still ongoing legacy issues then ultimately I don’t think it’s an issue the commonwealth can wash its hands of.”
Gallagher said the original memorandum was a “pretty good framework to be operating under”.
The ACT government has said it hopes to recoup some of the cost of purchasing and demolition through the resale of land.
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