Why Won’t the Government Tell the Truth About Asbestos?

The Victorian Government’s response to the extensive asbestos contamination after the January bushfires was a disgrace, but we shouldn’t be surprised, considering that they have done little or nothing to warn people about the possibility of asbestos exposure in their homes and workplaces.

Successive State and Federal Governments have failed to protect Australians from the dangers of asbestos. They allowed the mining, manufacture and distribution of asbestos containing products long after the hazards were known. When they were finally forced to acknowledge the problem, they dragged their feet in implementing a ban on the importation of asbestos products. They have failed to warn of us of the extent of and dangers of asbestos contamination and they have done nothing to assist in removing this deadly product from our environment. Are they afraid that if we all knew, we would be asking why it’s taken this long? And demanding they do something about it? Maybe even looking to them for compensation – why not? They could have prevented it!

After the fires and extreme winds of the January bushfires, instead of informing the public about the extreme danger of entering an area that is contaminated by asbestos after a fire and extreme winds, the Government effectively suspended the OH&S Regulations by Government Gazette and allowed a sub standard cleanup. We have just learned that this has recently been extended to March 2010.

Understandably, people were anxious to return to their homes and towns after the fires, but perhaps if they had been told that they could well be exposed to asbestos fibres if they did, they might have changed their minds.

Why don’t bushfire victims have the protection of the Occupational Health and Safety Act that the rest of us enjoy? We would hate to think that the Government were just saving themselves, and perhaps the insurance companies, the expense of doing it properly.

Australian State and Federal Governments have so far managed to avoid taking any responsibility for the deaths of thousands of people. It’s not good enough. Yes, removal is expensive, but so is looking after people who have asbestos related disease. If people start looking to them for compensation (as this writer intends to do if I am ever diagnosed with one), maybe they’ll decide it’s cheaper to get rid of it than to keep dealing with effects of asbestos exposure.