Lorraine Carvalho, whose husband Leo was arrested for attempting to block the demolition of Mr Fluffy house in Lyons in 2016, also told an ACT government hearing that the processes undertaken by Worksafe and the Asbestos Response Taskforce prioritised saving money over safety for workers and neighbours.

Mrs Carvalho was appearing at a hearing as part of the Public Accounts Committee's inquiry into Worksafe ACT's management of the demolition of Mr Fluffy houses.

According to Mrs Carvahlo, a member of the asbestos taskforce at a public meeting about Mr Fluffy houses had called her "psychotic" and told her to "get back on my meds" on two occasions. Mrs Carvalho said that at one public meeting she had seen public officials laughing at a member of the public who owned a Mr Fluffy house and that in an argument that followed, she slammed a table with her open hand.

The relationship between the Carvalho family and the taskforce was not a positive one, Mrs Carvalho conceded, saying that they had chosen not to sell their property to the ACT government because it had been undervalued.

Intervention orders were taken out by Asbestos Response Taskforce members against Mrs Carvalho, Mr Carvalho and their son, Ben Carvalho, in May 2016, Mrs Carvalho said, in what she claimed was a move to silence the family. The interim orders were dropped in April 2017, before they were due to be heard in court, she said. The legal proceedings cost the family $10,000, Mrs Carvalho said.

She described her neighbours watching as contractors began demolition of the house next door to her own in April 2016 and their attempts to ensure that safety practices were being adhered to.

"[The neighbours] witnessed the workers knocking down the front and side door of the house with sledge hammers, crowbars and wearing no protective clothing even though signs on the front fencing indicated that this was necessary when entering the house," she said.

She says that neighbours, not Worksafe, were the ones attempting to protect the safety of the workers involved. Mrs Carvalho said that the concerns from her husband, her son and their neighbours that the ceiling in the house had been breached were "totally disregarded".

Due to the height difference between the block that was being cleared at 4 Barrow Place in Lyons, and Mrs Carvalho's block next door, debris from the house including bricks fell into her yard, she said.

"This was reported but no subsequent action was taken," Mrs Carvalho said.

Despite a kerbside meeting between residents and officials, the work continued in what Mrs Carvalho contended was an unsafe manner.

"I can only surmise that they allowed the demolition to continue purely out of spite as my family had brought unwanted attention to safety issues associated with the demolition of Mr Fluffy houses," she told the hearing.

"Leo's arrest could have been easily avoided saving the rate payers thousands of dollars simply by engaging an independent assessor and not authorities who have a conflict of interest when conducting their duties."

The actions taken by the task force and Worksafe were "decided purely by financial reasons, where it is cost-saving not life-saving," Mrs Carvalho said.

"The de-fitting of the interior of the house was primitive, whereby workmen were not wearing protective clothing, used crow bars and sledge hammers to gain access to the house. There was no protection for the community other than a wire fence around the perimeter of the property," the submission from Mr and Mrs Carvalho to the inquiry said.

Last year Mr Carvalho was found guilty of obstruction over blocking the truck holding a skip bin of the demolished house, but he was not convicted over the incident. Mrs Carvalho said that her husband did not want to stop the work on demolishing the houses, but wanted it done quickly and safely.

"We have been deceived on many a occasion," she said of the ACT government, as she called for a royal commission into the response to the Mr Fluffy house buybacks and demolitions.

Geoffrey Rutledge, Deputy Director General, Sustainability and the Built Environment said "the Taskforce strongly denies the allegations made and is not in a position to comment on the views of this individual any further".

"Safety remains the paramount concern in the demolition of all loose-fill asbestos affected houses."

A spokeswoman for Worksafe ACT said "WorkSafe ACT remain committed to supporting the safe demolition of houses affected by loose fill asbestos insulation in the ACT".

"Inspectors attend the sites of demolition multiple times in the lead up to the demolition. Inspectors also attend on demolition day and work closely with the head contractors, workers and the Taskforce to support the safe demolition of these houses for our community."

"WorkSafe ACT will continue to work to support the remaining demolitions to ensure that safety as a key priority," she said.