Mr Fluffy buyback program slows further

Of the 1040 eligible ACT properties, just 61 remain standing, the Asbestos Response Taskforce's latest report shows.

After receiving a $1 billion loan from from federal government, the ACT government in 2014 began a voluntary buyback, demolition and land sales program.

The public sales program netted the government just $15,880,500 in the first six months of 2019, from the sale of 25 blocks.

That's well down on the $51 million the government made in the six months to December from the sale of 86 blocks.

In total, the land sales program has netted $560,067,951. No sales were made via auction this year with sales transferred in house as of January 1.

The report said 13 properties were demolished in the first half of the year, bringing the total number of demolitions under the taskforce to 954.

In total - including private demolitions - 979 Mr Fluffy properties have been demolished. Contracts for sale have been exchanged on 852 remediated blocks with sales settled on 836 of them.

The government says it's made steady progress in demolishing 55 complex properties, with seven demolished in the six month period. There are 21 remaining.

The program's focus continued to be on the demolition of complex properties during the six month period.

Two properties were deemed "eligible impacted" during the six months, which added to the total number of properties in the scheme.

"Eligible impacted" usually means that while the property does not contain loose fill asbestos itself, it is attached to one that does.

The demolition bill sits at $86,989,939, with the average cost increasing by more than $1000 to 90,615 in the six months to June 2019.

Only 47 sites have been sold to their original owners, under the first-right of-refusal program. Total first-right-of-refusal sales are at $37.4 million.

The uptake of the first-right of-refusal program sits at just under eight per cent.

The government expects interactions with affected homeowners to continue to decrease, with the buyback program closing on June 30 next year. During the reporting period, there was an improvement in the number of properties which had an asbestos contamination report prepared and lodged with WorkSafe ACT.

"WorkSafe ACT continue to monitor compliance and liaise with affected property owners and have advised that the owners of an additional five properties are in the process of obtaining an AMP," the report said.

Under the original deal, the territory was to pay back 70 per cent of the $1 billion concessional loan from the Commonwealth by selling off cleared blocks of land.

To meet that goal, it still needs to bring in about $140 million.