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MEDIA RELEASE
NICK XENOPHON M.L.C. INDEPENDENT NO POKIES
MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
WITH
2,500 SOUTH AUSTRALIANS ALREADY MARKED TO DIE FROM ASBESTOS OVER THE NEXT 20
YEARS: MOVE FOR ASBESTOS
HOTLINE TO ADVISE AND WARN – AND SAVE LIVES · James Hardie will be asked to
fund the $1 million a year scheme. · Call on Premier – as a patron
of the Asbestos Victims Association – to back the legislation in Parliament. In
the wake of the damning findings of the Special Commission of Inquiry into James
Hardie, The
legislation, the Asbestos (Protective Measures) Bill, is to be introduced by No
Pokies MLC Nick Xenophon on October 13th in State Parliament – who,
along with Premier Mike Rann (and others) is a patron of the Asbestos Victims
Association (AVA). The legislation will require the State Government to: ·
set up a dedicated service to
educate, advise and warn the public of the dangers of asbestos lurking in hundreds of thousands of South Australian homes. ·
provide a
hotline for home renovators and construction workers concerned about potential
exposure to asbestos to get advice, and if necessary send out experts to visit
homes and building sites – at no cost – to inspect and check for exposure. · independently
report on compliance with existing asbestos laws and regulations, and also their
effectiveness in protecting public health and safety. Extent of the problem and
the risk · Two out of
three homes and other buildings in · As many as
53 000 people may be diagnosed with asbestos-related disease in Australia by
2020 – with 2,500 South Australians already ‘marked’ to die in the next 20
years form exposure to asbestos. · Asbestos-related
diseases, including the invariably fatal lung cancer mesothelioma, can take
between 25 and 40 years to develop after exposure. Mr Xenophon has received the support of the AVA for the
Bill as well as 36 year old Belinda Dunn – who contracted mesothelioma when
exposed to asbestos as a child when her father demolished their carport. “The Special Commission
of Inquiry into James Hardie has confirmed the massive cover up and deceit –
over many decades – of “Setting up this
hotline and service – that James Hardie should be forced to pay for – will
invariably save lives and prevent South Australians needlessly being subjected
to the pain and horror of asbestos related illness”. Mr Xenophon said he was “hopeful”
that Premier Rann – as a co-patron of the AVA - will support the legislation. “Mike Rann and Michael
Wright did the right thing and supported legislation I introduced in 2001
(becoming law in 2002) giving families of asbestos victims the right to
compensation even after the death of their loved one. That law was aimed at
ending the disgrace of ‘deathbed’ court hearings. This law is aimed at
preventing exposure from occurring in the first place”. Mr Xenophon said he is also drafting legislation to require houses sold to have an asbestos disclosure statement on contracts. This was called for last month by the AVA and the Australian Manufacturers Workers Union.
Written and authorised by Nick Xenophon, 653 Lower North East Road, Paradise, SA 5075 |