Efforts made by Member for Eden-Monaro Mike Kelly to address the issue of the alleged inappropriate asbestos removal at the Kings Highway realignment have gained him the support of Kingsway residents.
For more local news and photos grab a copy of the Queanbeyan Age.
But Member for Monaro Steve Whan still remains in the firing line and was described as being on a “course for self-destruction” by resident Don Kirk.
The resident has stepped back from running a political campaign against the state member, saying no politician is worth $1 million.
“He doesn't need my assistance or input,” Mr Kirk said
“But I'm only too happy to help him if he wants help.”
Residents of Kingsway have met with Dr Kelly several times since the “Kings Highway hijack” reported in ifThe Queanbeyan Agenf on January 29.
The story detailed how residents had stopped realignment road works from going ahead through a protest, and how they believed proper precautions had not been taken during the removal of what is believed to have been asbestos. It was confirmed by the paper that Workcover was investigating.
During the protest, Mr Kirk was so outraged that local politicians would not listen to the concerns of residents that he said he would mount a million dollar campaign against both Mr Kelly and Mr Whan.
Mr Kirk now describes the federal member as “a man of the people, for the people” since he has shown a commitment to resolving the asbestos issue that may have affected all residents in the Kingsway.
“It's a great concern to Mike Kelly because of his army experience where he was closely associated with not only asbestos, but asbestos victims,” Mr Kirk said.
Dr Kelly said he had viewed the site and was disturbed to find out about the alleged handling of illegally dumped asbestos.
Mr Kirk said he heard that Mr Whan had been on the radio and had discussed the asbestos issue, but the state politician was yet to speak with the residents at length.
When asked if he would sit down and talk to Mr Whan about the issue, Mr Kirk replied he would talk to anyone if it would create a solution to the problem.
Residents of the Kingsway are now requesting an open and independent inquiry into the handling of the asbestos issue and Mr Kirk said they were confident Dr Kelly and NSW Upper House member Matthew Mason-Cox would support this.
“I'm not suggesting there's a cover-up but I'm saying not all the facts have been publicly revealed,” Mr Kirk said.
“Some authority should do it. We want the responsible people held responsible.”
However, the residents conceded that the realignment would take place but vowed to continue the campaign for safety issues to be addressed for the new development.
Some safety measures agreed to already include extending the road to four lanes instead of three, building a centre line safety barrier, and installing a fixed speed camera along with an alternating decibel camera. Landscaping will also be done around the road reserve and houses in close proximity to the road will be architecturally noise treated.
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