Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for Reid for his motion. We in Australia have been well aware of the effects of asbestos on humans for a number of years. In large part, this has been brought to public knowledge through the work of the Bernie Banton Foundation. This foundation was founded by Bernie and Karen Banton to support and encourage sufferers of asbestos diseases and their carers and loved ones. The foundation estimates that by 2020 approximately 40,000 Australians will have contracted asbestos related cancer. In recent days a good friend of mine has been diagnosed. Foundations such as this, along with governments, the trade union movement and other individuals, have played a large role in raising awareness about the dangers of asbestos and in banning the sale and use of asbestos and asbestos related products in Australia.

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that was widely used between the 1940s and the late 1980s in Australia. It is valued for its durability, fire resistance and excellent insulating properties. Asbestos is extremely dangerous as its fibres are 50 to 200 times thinner than human hair and can float in the air for a long time. It is invisible to the naked eye and can be breathed into the lungs. In Australia, chrysotile asbestos was the most popular form of asbestos used in roofing materials, asbestos cement sheeting—also known as fibro—and pipes.

Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that is a known carcinogenic. Chrysotile, amosite and crocidolite were all used in the asbestos cement industry for insulation and lagging. Although the use of these substances has been prohibited and there are removal programs in place, considerable amounts of the material remain in some work and residential environments. There have been some recent articles about asbestos materials in school buildings and roofs in Queensland. That situation is creating considerable issues for those particular communities.

Asbestos can cause severe health problems if it is breathed in. Although most of the fibres are removed by the body’s natural defences, some fibres can remain in the lungs. Possible health effects of asbestos include: asbestosis; progressive and irreversible scarring of lung tissue, which impairs breathing; lung cancer; mesothelioma, which is a cancer of the lining around the lungs and abdomen; and benign pleural diseases, or non-cancerous diseases, that can affect the linings around the lungs and abdomen.

Asbestos related illnesses can take up to 50 years to develop in some cases, and, although there are some treatments available, there are currently no known cures. In my electorate of Forde, I have become aware of some cases of asbestosis caused by the presence of asbestos in residential and industrial areas. As I said earlier, a good friend of mine was recently diagnosed with asbestosis. Since December 2003, the use of all forms of asbestos in Australia has been banned. Prohibitions have been placed on the manufacture, supply, storage, transport, sale, use and re-use, installation and replacement of asbestos-containing material. At the same time, the Commonwealth implemented a ban on the import and export of asbestos and asbestos-containing materials. This ban does not apply to asbestos installed prior to December 2003.

The battle over the categorisation of chrysotile asbestos as a hazardous chemical under the terms of the Rotterdam convention is ongoing, as countries such as Canada continue to export asbestos to India and other countries in South Asia. On two occasions, Ottawa blocked consensus at the Rotterdam convention to place chrysotile asbestos, a known toxin, on its list of dangerous products. The sale, mining and use of all forms of asbestos, including chrysotile asbestos, should be banned globally.

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