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Questions & Answers Paper No 673 PROOF LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS No. 115 WEDNESDAY 16 OCTOBER 2019 (The Questions and Answers Paper published every Tuesday of each week will contain, by number and title, all unanswered questions, together with questions to which answers have been received on the previous sitting and any new questions. On subsequent days, new questions are printed, as are questions to which answers were received the previous day. Consequently the full text of any question will be printed only twice: when notice is given; and, when answered.) Notice given on date shown 674 Legislative Council Questions and Answers No. 115— Wednesday 16 October 2019 Publication of Questions Answer to be lodged by Q & A No. 101 (Including Question Nos 0466 to 0473) 16 October 2019 Q & A No. 102 (Including Question Nos 0474 to 0474) 17 October 2019 Q & A No. 103 (Questions—Nil) - Q & A No. 104 (Including Question Nos 0475 to 0488) 21 October 2019 Q & A No. 105 (Including Question Nos 0489 to 0493) 22 October 2019 Q & A No. 106 (Including Question Nos 0494 to 0550) 23 October 2019 Q & A No. 107 (Including Question Nos 0551 to 0551) 24 October 2019 Q & A No. 108 (Including Question Nos 0552 to 0606) 25 October 2019 Q & A No. 109 (Including Question Nos 0607 to 0613) 29 October 2019 Q & A No. 110 (Questions—Nil) - Q & A No. 111 (Including Question Nos 0614 to 0615) 31 October 2019 Q & A No. 112 (Including Question Nos 0616 to 0619) 01 November 2019 Q & A No. 113 (Including Question Nos 0620 to 0667) 04 November 2019 Q & A No. 114 (Including Question Nos 0668 to 0668) 05 November 2019 Q & A No. 115 (Including Question Nos 0669 to 0672) 06 November 2019 675 Legislative Council Questions and Answers No. 115— Wednesday 16 October 2019 25 SEPTEMBER 2019 (Paper No. 101) *466 TREASURER—AGENT-GENERAL FOR NSW—Mr Primrose asked the Minister for Finance and Small Business representing the Treasurer— (1) Who was the last Agent-General for NSW based in London? (2) When was the position officially abolished? (3) What were the official reasons for abolishing the position? (4) Is the NSW Government considering reinstating the position in London? (a) If so, why? (5) Is the NSW Government considering establishing positions of Agent-General in other locations, such as Brussels, Beijing, Washington, Tokyo, Singapore and Seoul? (a) If not, why not? Answer— The last Agent-General based in London was Neil Pickard, and the office was abolished in 1992. The NSW Government is always looking to promote our State domestically and internationally. We seek to support and equip businesses to export, attract international investors, and capitalise on opportunities. Our representatives are already based in key international markets, however we are currently exploring options to raise the profile of our London office. *467 PREMIER—AGENT-GENERAL FOR NSW—Mr Primrose asked the Special Minister of State, Minister for the Public Service and Employee Relations, Aboriginal Affairs, and the Arts, Vice-President of the Executive Council representing the Premier— (1) Who was the last Agent-General for NSW based in London? (2) When was the position officially abolished? (3) What were the official reasons for abolishing the position? (4) Is the NSW Government considering reinstating the position in London? (a) If so, why? (5) Is the NSW Government considering establishing positions of Agent-General in other locations, such as Brussels, Beijing, Washington, Tokyo, Singapore and Seoul? (a) If not, why not? Answer— The NSW Government will always promote our State domestically and internationally. We seek to support and equip businesses to export, attract international investors, and capitalise on opportunities. Our representatives are already based in key international markets, and we are currently exploring options to raise the profile of our London office. *468 WATER, PROPERTY AND HOUSING—ONLINE MONITORING SYSTEMS IN SEWERS—Mr Latham asked the Minister for Mental Health, Regional Youth and Women representing the Minister for Water, Property and Housing— (1) What recommendations were made by Sydney Water's 'Wastewater System Trade Waste Hazard Committee' for the installation of continuous online monitoring systems in sewers to monitor a range of key wastewater parameters and identify potentially hazardous events and significant changes in wastewater characteristics in: (a) 2006? (b) subsequent years? (c) How have the recommendations been implemented? (2) How many sewer monitoring systems does Sydney Water have in place as of September 2019? 676 Legislative Council Questions and Answers No. 115— Wednesday 16 October 2019 (3) What hazardous events have these monitoring systems identified in 2019? Answer— I am advised: 1 (a) In March 2006, the Wastewater System Trade Waste Hazard Committee discussed monitoring practices for hydrogen sulphide, flammable gasses and volatile organic compounds across the network's sewage pumping stations. The committee agreed to set up a trial of a new online wastewater monitoring equipment named "Envirodyne". This decision resulted in trial installations of online monitoring equipment at three sewage pumping stations at Camellia, Silverwater and Concord West. The monitor trial for hydrogen sulphide and flammable gasses proved to be a success while monitoring for volatile organic was unsuccessful. (b) In 2009, another trial commenced using a different device - S:CAN. Three pumping stations located at Camellia, Lidcombe and St Marys were involved. The trials showed the sensors could provide useful data but experienced poor reliability due to the harsh operating conditions. As a result, no S:CAN devices are currently deployed. In 2011, a collaborative project commenced with other water utilities and Griffith University to develop equipment for liquid monitoring. The equipment was developed and trialled until 2017. Sewage pumping stations at St Marys, Dunheved, Lidcombe and Penrith were involved. The monitoring tested for pH, turbidity, conductivity and temperature. Technology developed during this research contributed to the body of knowledge but didn't deliver a technological outcome which was viable for improving monitoring capability. (c) Sydney Water is actively investigating new technologies to improve the way wastewater is monitored to identify either potentially hazardous events or significant changes in wastewater characteristics. 2. As of September 2019, Sydney Water has continuous online monitoring systems in place at six sewage pumping stations. These systems mainly monitor for gasses. One site has liquid and gas monitoring. SP0067 Camellia - (gas and liquid) SP0071 - Rozelle SP0138 – Padstow SP0297 – Taren Point SP0327 – Chipping Norton SP0477 – Lidcombe 3. Throughout 2019 Sydney Water's monitoring systems have identified 24 events involving the Lower Explosive Limit (LEL). LEL is the lowest concentration (percentage) of a gas or a vapor in the air capable of producing a flash of fire in the presence of an ignition source. These events were managed in accordance with existing protocols. These events were managed in accordance with existing protocols and did not result in adverse outcomes. *469 HEALTH AND MEDICAL RESEARCH—NUCLEAR MEDICINE UNITS AND DECAY TANKS—Mr Latham asked the Minister for Mental Health, Regional Youth and Women representing the Minister for Health and Medical Research— (1) How many NSW hospitals have nuclear medicine units? (2) Which hospitals have decay tanks available to them? (3) What guidelines have the Australian Department of Health issued for decay tanks at these hospitals? Answer— (1) There are 17 public hospital Nuclear Medicine Departments in NSW. There is also a wide range of private radiology practices utilising nuclear medicine. (2) Liverpool and Royal Prince Alfred public hospitals have Nuclear Medicine units which utilise on-site decay tank systems for the management of radioactive waste. (3) The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency published a safety guide for Predisposal Management of Radioactive Waste (2008) as part of the Radiation Protection Series. 677 Legislative Council Questions and Answers No. 115— Wednesday 16 October 2019 *470 BETTER REGULATION AND INNOVATION—SAFEWORK NSW—Mr Latham asked the Minister for Finance and Small Business representing the Minister for Better Regulation and Innovation— (1) What recommendations have been made by SafeWork NSW following its investigation into the death of a Veolia employee, sub-contracted by Sydney Water, who had been working at the Brickpit site at Homebush in early May? (2) What other workers were affected by sewerage fumes at the site? (3) What does the SafeWork NSW report say about the health and work safety of these workers? (4) What action is the Government taking in response to the SafeWork NSW Reports into these matters? Answer— 1-4. Safework has begun investigations and the matter is being considered by the Coroner. As the investigation is ongoing Safework is unable to comment further at this time. *471 TRANSPORT AND ROADS—CHARLEYONG BRIDGE OVER THE MONGARLOWE RIVER—Ms Boyd asked the Special Minister of State, Minister for the Public Service and Employee Relations, Aboriginal Affairs, and the Arts, Vice-President of the Executive Council representing the Minister for Transport and Roads— (1) What is the full cost of demolishing the existing Charleyong Bridge over the Mongarlowe River? (2) What costings were used as the basis for the decision to remove the existing Charleyong Bridge? (3) What has been the full cost of reinforcing ⁄ maintaining
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