MAKING THE ASBESTOS BAN A REALITY FOR WORKERS

The Senate Economics References Committee today released a report on asbestos, as part of the non-conforming building products inquiry.

 

Hearings were conducted throughout the country, hearing from workers and asbestos support groups in Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide. Too many times the committee heard that frontline workers and community advocates were the last line of defence in identifying asbestos in building and consumer products.

 

This report sets out a number of recommendations to take the burden off workers and to make sure those in supply chains are more accountable for illegal asbestos importation.

 The committee heard that while the national asbestos ban has been in place since 2003, Australian Border Force did not issue any regulatory notices until 2016, some 13 years later.

 

Strengthening border security, more prosecutions and tougher penalties for importers of asbestos were among the committee’s recommendations.  Other recommendations include a review of free trade agreements, higher product testing standards, a national public asbestos register and better information and training for industry.

 

The report also recommends Australia continue its information campaign on the risks of asbestos in the Asia-Pacific region and pursue global restrictions on chrysotile (white) asbestos through the 2019 Rotterdam Convention.

 

Committee Chair Senator Chris Ketter said the inquiry highlighted inconsistencies in definitions of asbestos across countries and this, along with a lack of due diligence on the part of importers, led to Australians being exposed to asbestos, which has no known safe exposure limit.

 

Australia has the highest reported per capita incidence of asbestos-related disease in the world and it is predicted that around 25,000 Australians will die from asbestos-related disease over the next 40 years.

 

Australia started banning the use of asbestos in the 1980s and this year marks a decade since landmark legal action was taken by ASIC against James Hardie Industries. 

 

Yet Australians are still at risk of exposure to asbestos through product importation, whether it be substations, gaskets, insulation, vehicles or even children’s toys.

 

“It is time the Commonwealth stopped passing the buck to the states and stepped up to stop asbestos at the border, before Australians are exposed and the damage is done,” Senator Ketter said.

 

The report is available online at: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Economics/Non-conforming45th/Interim_report_asbestos