Rob Stokes, Minister for Planning, has refused to close the Westconnex construction sites following reports asbestos may be present in road-base used at the sites.

In a letter to Jo Haylen MP, Member for Summer Hill, the Minister noted the asbestos claims are being investigated but refused to respond to Ms Haylen’s demands to close the sites in the interests of worker and public safety.

Last week, the ABC reported that a former employee of an excavation company providing road base to the sites believed asbestos was present in the recycled waste provided to Westconnex sites.

Ms Haylen wrote demanding the sites be closed until the claims could be discounted.

Quotes from the Member for Summer Hill, Jo Haylen MP

“The Minister should have acted immediately to shut down those sites. People are rapidly losing faith that this Government is up to delivering the project.

“The Government keeps asking us to trust them. They’ve asked us to trust them on property acquisitions, on planning conditions, and now on the health and safety of residents.

“It’s not good enough for the Premier to apologise later and do nothing to fix the problem when it could be fixed.

“The Premier knew about the problems with the acquisition process and did absolutely nothing to fix it. We can’t afford for him to ignore the problem of asbestos and apologise later.

“These sites should be shut immediately until the investigation is completed and the community can be assured their safety is not at risk.”