Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

As I said the last time we spoke on the Customs Amendment (Expedited Seizure and Disposal of Engineered Stone) Bill 2024, Joanna told me how she was going through her problems and what it meant for her and her daughter's future. She contracted silicosis while working in a quarry in Montrose, where she worked in admin and did some of the more hands-on work. She said:

No matter where you were in the plant you would be exposed to dust. It would be all over your clothes and skin.

There was no escaping it. There was no protection for the workers who were doing an honest day's work for an honest day's pay. She talked about how there was no information about the danger from her employer. Despite it being a multinational company, there was no education and no warning about the risk. Understandably, she talked about her anger when she said:

I fear this will affect my life and my family's life and I am angry. I should never have been exposed to this disease.

Since then, I have been on the tail of this, writing to ministers, lobbying, working in the government for reform. I'm pleased to report that this government has not rested in our attempts to protect Australian workers and to make sure no worker is subject to the long and agonising deaths that are linked to silicosis and silica related diseases. With cooperation with states and territories, we have implemented a world-first prohibition on use, manufacture, supply, processing and installation of engineered stone benchtops, panels and slabs that cause these diseases. And this legislation does prevent greedy businesses from putting their workers at risk and into vulnerable positions to suffer the consequences of this disease, closing loopholes that put Australians at risk by prohibiting illegal importation.

The ban complements the government's work on Australia's domestic ban under the WHS laws, because now all engineered stone in Australia is manufactured overseas and imported. That's why the Albanese government is acting decisively to add more layers of deterrence at the border, giving Border Force more mechanisms to prevent this silent killer from slipping through the cracks and doing irreversible damage to people.

Regulation to enact the import prohibition is currently under development. To ensure the effectiveness of these measures, the Australian government has committed $32.1 million of funding over two years, as highlighted in the 2024-25 budget. The Customs Amendment (Expedited Seizure and Disposal of Engineered Stone) Bill 2024 is a key component required to support the proposed prohibition. The amendments in this bill would support ABF's operational effectiveness by allowing ABF officers to more efficiently administer and dispose of seized engineered stone at the border. It's building on previous policies that the Albanese Labor government has implemented to protect Australian workers, like the National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry Bill, because only a Labor government will stand up and fight for workers. Labor's commitment to ongoing industrial reform continues to be at the forefront of our agenda—something the coalition fight at every single turn. While they say they're for the Australian worker, they're really for their mates who supply the private jets and the fat wallets.

This change is needed not only to protect Australian workers but also to make sure our Border Force and Customs have mechanisms and processes that deal with the product that will not compromise their ability to effectively manage other priorities at our border. It's important because it's a bulk good, and the government recognises the practical challenges of management of seized engineered stone products.

This amendment seeks to combat the importation of engineered stone. This will cause an increase in the volume of seized goods required to be stored and associated work and will affect ABF's capacity to effectively regulate and administer other operations. The legislation streamlines the logistic and administrative tasks related to managing seizures for the intended new engineered-stone prohibition. It will allow for more-efficient compliance processes.

Another important factor about this legislation is that, while it will have exponential effects on health and safety conditions for workers, it is only importers who are still attempting to import engineered stone containing the crystalline silica and have the prohibited goods seized who will be affected this change. And I'd like to remind the House that this amendment we are debating today is just one of the steps we've taken to address this.

On 1 July 2024 we joined with states and territories to implement the world's first prohibition of the use, manufacture, supply, processing and installation of these engineered-stone benchtops, panels and slabs in Australia. These are all steps taken by our government to reduce the rate of silicosis and related diseases, because without the measures that our government introduced, the rates of silicosis and other respiratory diseases are unacceptably high. Back in 2023 an ABC report showed that, despite increased awareness, many Australians are still missing out on the diagnosis. The dust-borne diseases are preventable, yet it was shown that bosses, bad workplace practices and a lack of oversight were putting workers at risk.

Too many young Australian workers are diagnosed with this preventable illness, and they are suffering an entirely preventable death. Dust-borne diseases impact workers from a wide range of industries: construction, manufacturing, tunnelling, mining and quarrying. Sadly, we know that the numbers will rise, given workers' exposure to a very high level of crystalline silica in the engineered-stone industry since the early 2000s. Medical experts warned that the time it takes from exposure to the time of diagnosis means the number of cases will likely increase over the next few years.

Work is already being undertaken by Safe Work Australia to address silicosis. Jurisdictions have also taken immediate steps to address the increase in silicosis, including through legislative changes, development of codes of practice, education, awareness campaigns and compliance awards, and the establishment of a collaborative mechanism such as the heads of WorkSafe's working group on silicosis. This is all good work, but we need to maintain the momentum and ensure the safety of workers.

With all that said, let's go back to the basics of what we're talking about here. Silicosis is a lung disease mainly caused by inhaling silica, a mineral commonly found in certain rocks and soil. Silica dust is created when cutting, drilling, grinding or polishing certain types of stone, rock, sand and clay. Over time, inhaling silica dust causes inflammation, which leads to scarring of the lung tissue, which then causes stiffening of the lungs, making it difficult to breathe. Silica dust particles are 100 times smaller than a grain of sand—so small you can't see them with the naked eye. If inhaled, these particles become trapped and will cause irritation throughout the lungs, causing an irritation that the immune system cells will try to attack. The attack will be unsuccessful and cause the immune system cells to die, which then causes inflammation and scar tissue in the lungs. The development of scar tissue inhibits a person's ability to breathe, showing the signs of silicosis and, in severe cases, autoimmune disease. It's pretty clear why we need to be proactive in responding to this disease, because of the devastating and debilitating effects on workers.

A Curtin University study shows that between 80,000 and 100,000 people may have silicosis. The Cancer Council estimates that roughly 600,000 workers have the potential for exposure each year across a wide range of industries, whether it's cutting marble for fancy benchtops or from the dust from the rocks cut in mines. Silicosis is not often diagnosed until it's in its advanced stages. Approximately 350 Australians contract silicosis each year. But, of that, around 230 people are diagnosed with the advanced prognosis. The ABC report I mentioned earlier noted that a surveillance program in New South Wales missed over 200 workers. These statistics are emblematic of why the Australian government needs to continue to be proactive in preventing engineered stone coming to our country and putting workers at risk.

It's only a Labor government that will stand up for workers. It is in stark contrast to the opposition, with a leader that consistently votes against criminalising wage theft, promises free lunch to businesses and swans around on private jets funded by the richest CEOs. It shows that the coalition simply don't understand working Australians and the challenges they face. Here, our government, the Albanese Labor government, is building Australia's future. It shows that we see the issues and that we care about protecting workers.

I want to commend Liam O'Brien from the ACTU for taking the time to bring people out to meet me and to tell their stories—to hear their stories and hear firsthand what it means to suffer from something that you had no idea was in the air. It's through that work of the unions, through the ACTU, that stand up and say, 'We've got to get this fixed.' They came to us, they spoke to us and we immediately swung into action to get things done, because this government believes that, when you go to work in the morning, you should go to a safe workplace and you should be able to come back home safe. With that, I commend this bill to the House.

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