Monday, July 7, 2008

ABC drops new site after radioactivity fears

ABC drops new site after radioactivity fears

PM - Monday, 7 July , 2008 18:46:00
Reporter: Donna Field
MARK COLVIN: The ABC has abandoned plans to build its new Queensland headquarters at a site in Brisbane after discovering the possibility of radioactive contamination.

A year and a half ago, the national broadcaster had to abandon its Queensland headquarters at Toowong, because of a breast cancer cluster among staff.

Since then, staff have been working from several temporary locations.

The managing director Mark Scott says today's decision to terminate the contract for the purchase of land at Newstead was not made lightly, but the health and wellbeing of staff was the overriding priority.

Donna Field reports.

DONNA FIELD: The ABC in Queensland has been without a permanent home for a year and a half, after a breast cancer cluster forced the closure of its Toowong studios.

Since then, the national broadcaster has been searching for a new home in Brisbane. Last November, WATPAC Property announced it had secured one of the most prestigious and highly sought after tenancies available in the market.

The ABC had agreed to buy about 3,800 square metres of land at inner-city Newstead. But today, ABC managing director Mark Scott released a statement to staff explaining why the building won't be going ahead.

He said:

(Extract from ABC statement)

READER: Recently, following completion of site remediation work, the ABC discovered the possibility of radioactive contamination affecting parts of the site. Further investigation revealed elevated levels of radiation above the naturally occurring background levels.

The existence of any elevated levels of radiation is of great concern to the ABC. The breast cancer cluster amongst staff who worked at the former ABC studios at Toowong and the evacuation of those studios as a result of those health concerns, is well known.

DONNA FIELD: The ABC has terminated the contract of sale on the Newstead land, and started action in the Supreme Court in Queensland. The developer WATPAC says it will fight the action.

Managing director Greg Kempton says the ABC's decision came as a surprise because the sit now meets very tough environmental standards.

GREG KEMPTON: The contract was subject to a number of conditions, including a lengthy due diligence period in favour if the ABC. And removal of the fenced site from the environmental management registrar. The sale site was removed from the environmental management registrar on the 30 June 2008 and certified by the environmental protection agency as suitable for any use, which is the highest classification.

Furthermore, Qld Health, known as Radiation Health, in their letter to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), certified that the sale site has been successfully remediated. The contract is now unconditional and WATPAC regards the ABC as being breach of their contractual obligations.

DONNA FIELD: The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance has welcomed the ABC's decision to abandon the Newstead site.

Spokeswoman, Michelle Rae.

MICHELLE RAE: Obviously, for the Alliance, the welfare of staff is paramount. So we find it very encouraging to hear that the ABC is taking serious, the advice they've received on this analysis. And what we hope is that they can resolve their long-term accommodation issues as soon as possible, but always maintain staff health and safety as a priority.

DONNA FIELD: Ms Rae says today's announcement will likely delay a permanent home for the ABC in Queensland and the union will be meeting members to gauge their reactions to that.

MICHELLE RAE: One of the things that we're concerned about is that these were always meant to be interim, and now that Newstead is not going to happen, it's becoming more of a permanent fixture. So we want to actually talk to members and actually start to resolve some of the issues that they may be facing.

DONNA FIELD: The ABC says it will start identifying alternate sites immediately. But the executive director of the Property Council of Australia, Steve Greenwood, says that may prove difficult.

STEVE GREENWOOD: Look, there's no doubt about it that the market in Brisbane are, for commercial and industrial sites, are very tight at the moment. There's no doubt about that. And as a result, cost of acquiring that land is, it's increasing. So if the ABC does pull out of this deal, it's going to have a bit of a challenge on it hands at wanting another suitable site, that's for sure.

MARK COLVIN: Steve Greenwood, executive director of the Property Council of Australia, ending Donna Field's report.

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