Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 10 Hansard (Wednesday, 25 August 2004) . . Page.. 4220 ..

a mention, made the most reprehensible comment to me. He said, “We’ve just been here meeting with the government to talk about your asbestos nonsense.”

I have got to tell you that that was a shocking statement to hear from a supposedly responsible member of the public, somebody who had been here discussing and consulting and informing the government that he frankly did not like this bill and what I was trying to achieve. Too bad! This is not why I, along with a number of other people, wanted to see this legislation brought forward. I find the comments of that individual not only reprehensible but an indication of a lack of duty of care for the welfare of the broader community.

I have been told that this was going to cost a fortune, that it was going to cost thousands and thousands of dollars to address. My answer to that is this: what price do you put on a life? Tell me; tell me what price you put on a life. It was implied that the world was going to end. I remember the same argument put to me by other lobby groups when we were looking at the smoking ban legislation last year. People said, “Look, if you do this to us it’s going to destroy us; it’s going to affect our income stream.” Let me tell you one thing: one big club in the ACT has had an increase of almost 10,000 in their membership since the smoking legislation went through. I do not believe that this legislation is going to stop the world from turning; it is not going to make the world end. We as legislators have a duty of care to ensure that we look out for the health of the community. Fortunately, we all agree on that.

This legislation—and I must refer to a comment made by the Speaker and others—was rushed. You were right, Mr Speaker; it was rushed. We had no choice. I had no choice. As I said, this issue was brought to me in July. I tabled the bill on 4 August. I am grateful that the minister and the government responded to this legislation. But if I had not tabled this bill on 4 August this issue would have been left till after the election. I felt it needed to be done now. I had a slot available and I acted on it. I appreciate the work that not only the members but also the staff have done. I know it has put pressure on them but what you are doing is a good thing; it is a valiant thing.

I need to also inform members of this: the adverse effects of asbestos have been known for decades. The first notified death of an asbestos-related disease was in 1899. James Hardie has been aware of the fatal effects of asbestos exposure since the 1930s.

One man inspired me to persevere with this, despite some criticism and some very stupid media reports, including one irresponsible article by Crispin Hull in the Canberra Times, having written something without checking his facts. This is not uncommon for most journalists that write for the Canberra Times—but not all, and in this instance I compliment Elicia Murray for the sterling effort that she put into her article on Sunday. My inspiration was Bernie Banton. Bernie Banton is here tonight. Bernie Banton suffers from asbestosis. Bernie Banton worked for James Hardie. Bernie Banton lost one brother to an asbestos-related disease and has another brother who suffers from an asbestos-related disease. Bernie Banton took the fight up to James Hardie in Sydney—this has been a five-year battle—and won.

I must also acknowledge his wife, Karen. Karen has been Bernie’s rock. Bernie refers to Karen as “my darling”. I think members of this place who have that support network—their rock, their partner, whatever—know that without that support we could not do the

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .