Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's a technical term. He has probably come across it. We might see it in lots of units or apartments, but whilst it might be a cheaper product to install, the legacy it has can be profound. If the workers involved in cutting and installing that stone haven't done it in a safe way, they are exposing themselves to this deadly dust. Once it is there, it's a bit like the asbestos problem. We need to make sure we are monitoring where this stone already exists, where the engineered stone has been used, because in future renovations and future work, particularly on a home, it may have four or five owners before that stone is disturbed. In apartments it's a similar situation. But once it's there, it becomes a legacy, just like asbestos. I do believe, whilst this is a good first step and we are talking about a national plan, we do need to start to work with the states on looking at a ban on engineered stone because we do need to stop its use to make sure we don't have the same legacies as asbestos.

This government is committed to tackling occupational respiratory disease and undertaking a suite of reforms to ensure Australia's prevention and treatment measures are world class. We want to protect workers from unacceptable health risks like those associated with this deadly silica dust. We are developing a national silicosis prevention strategy and a national action plan in collaboration with health professionals, unions and industry as well as our counterparts in the states and territories. This is one of those spaces where there are federal government responsibilities and state and territory responsibilities.

We are investigating an education campaign for employers, workers and health professionals on how to improve prevention, detection and treatment. Treatment is critical for those who have already contracted the disease, and prevention is to ensure that further workers aren't exposed. We are exploring limiting the use of engineered stone, including import bans, as I've just mentioned. I believe it's a step we need to take to ensure that we don't have that future legacy and impose a future burden on future workers, future homeowners and so on and so forth. We're working with the states and territories, as I've mentioned, to ensure that we have a coordinated approach across all jurisdictions to keep workers safe.

This bill delivers on the recommendation of the National Dust Disease Taskforce to establish a national occupational respiratory disease register. It follows an increase in silicosis in stonemasons working on engineered stone benchtops. Whilst it is a naturally occurring substance, and we do see it in some workers in mining, it is particularly a problem in engineered stone and stonemasonry work because they have been using engineered stone. There is some debate in the industry about whether it can be used safely ever, and that is where the science needs to come in to tell us whether it can be used safely in any way.

The national register will capture information relating to respiratory diseases believed to have been occupationally incurred or exacerbated, and it will support the use of information to understand the true scale of these diseases in Australia to take action to further reduce exposure in workplaces. This bill will require medical specialists in the fields of respiratory and sleep medicine and occupational and environmental medicine to diagnose certain occupational respiratory diseases and to notify the diagnosis, patient and exposure to the register via an online portal. Information is key to this. This bill is consistent with the recommendations of the task force. Whilst the register will be only silicosis initially, there will be the opportunity for the Minister for Health and Aged Care to prescribe other diseases following consultation with states and territories and the Chief Medical Officer. What's really important is making sure that we're capturing future diseases that we are able to detect.

Within this space, I want to acknowledge that, as with asbestos, Australia is a leader in the world. I note that any reform we do in this space will be watched in other parts of the world because they look to us for leadership in workplace health and safety. Just as we've been a leader in asbestos education and awareness, we can be a leader in silica dust reform and silicosis too.

This bill recognises the potential burden that notification will have on physicians. We will work to make sure that that burden is able to be managed in a way that is minimal, but the notification is necessary. If we really want to get a handle on how far and how deep this is and how many have been exposed, we need the data. The data is the first step that we are taking in our plan to make sure that we are tackling this deadly disease.

Every worker has the right to come home safe not just from injuries that occur in the workplace but from longer term injuries that we quite often don't focus on. We focus on being crushed by equipment and on trying to prevent those instant workplace accidents that may occur, but we do also need to make sure we focus on less obvious incidents, like exposure to dust—asbestos dust, silica dust or any sort of dust that may cause respiratory disease. Far too often, individuals exposed to silica dust may develop silicosis or asbestos and develop mesothelioma but have it dismissed as being from other factors, such as living with a smoker or being a smoker, but we know that's not always the case. We need to take seriously what's happening in the workplace in relation to dust.

In concluding, I want to acknowledge the leadership of the men and women who work in this space—those brave individuals who saw all of us to tell their stories—as well as the leadership of the ACTU, the AMWU and the CFMMEU, in making sure we all know that deadly dust is causing a huge problem in Australian workplaces.

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