Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'll make a short contribution on the Customs Amendment (Expedited Seizure and Disposal of Engineered Stone) Bill 2024 because I believe it's very important legislation. For the past two decades, every year in November the Asbestos Victims Association of SA holds a remembrance service at Pitman Park in Salisbury in recognition of the people who have died from asbestos related illnesses over the years. Each year, white crosses are placed on the lawn area where the service is held, with the names of those people who have died, and each year the number of crosses continues to increase.

For all the deaths to date that we know of, there are, sadly, many more to come because asbestos diseases often take years to take effect. I've personally watched people who were affected by an asbestos disease, in their last months, in their struggle to survive, and the strain and the heartache it places not only on them but on their family members who are caring for them. It is truly devastating.

Disturbingly and incomprehensibly, asbestos is still legally used in some countries, even though the statistics and the evidence are now as clear as they can ever be. Just as sinister is the reality that the deadly nature of asbestos was known over a century ago, and yet its use was allowed to continue for the best part of the last century and, in particular, in the post World War II years, where it was used in just about every home throughout Australia and in so many other different applications. Human lives and the devastated families left were sacrificed for money and for profit.

There have, however, been some lessons learnt from society's use of asbestos—in particular, a much better understanding of dust related diseases, including the risk products, the health effects and the treatment options that are now available. Of course prevention is always better than cure. So, when the evidence was clear that engineered stone presented a serious health risk to workers within the industry, we needed to act. I'm proud to be member of a parliament that was not going to wait another hundred years, as we did with asbestos. It's a parliament that introduced a ban on the use, manufacture and supply of engineered stone on 1 July 2024. We were, I believe, the first country to do so. That ban took effect when new national work health and safety laws came into effect across the country, because it had to be done in conjunction with each of the states. That ban was strengthened with a ban on all imported finished engineered-stone products, coming into effect only on 1 January this year.

Engineered stone is quartz or a conglomerate stone that is crushed and then bound with a resin. The dust from engineered stone, when it is drilled, polished or cut, is deadly. Other colleagues have quoted estimates of the numbers of workers that have already being affected by silicon dust—or silicosis as it is often referred to with respect to some of the illnesses—but, in my view, we won't really know what the true effect of silicosis, or of engineered stone, on people's health has been until more years have passed, as was the case with asbestos. Whatever the statistics are—and I commend my colleagues who have quoted some of those statistics, which are based on sound research—the reality is that hundreds, if not thousands, of people will die because of their use of this product.

We banned it in Australia, and I believe that's an important first step. I would like to think that other countries might do the same. Quite frankly, my care is not only for the people of this country, when it comes to a known product that is deadly, but for all people that are forced to work with it. That brings me to this legislation. Put simply, anyone importing engineered-stone products must have a valid permit or an exemption. Without a valid permit or an exemption, any engineered stone that is detected will be seized and disposed of by our customs departments.

The seizure, holding and disposal of those products will come at a significant cost to government. This is why an expedited disposal process is in the public interest—and hence the need for this legislation. I note that the Department of Home Affairs will receive $32 million over the next two years of additional funding to cover the costs associated with the seizure, storage and disposal of any imported product. I don't know just how much it will cost.

What I also don't know is whether any of those costs will be recovered. I hope that we might be able to do so. But, as we know from past experiences, the reality is that recovering costs isn't always possible, so we need to act. Nor should we delay the disposal of the product whilst we look at whether we can recover the costs. To me, the fact is that the product needs to be disposed of. Dealing with it quickly saves costs in any event, so let's get on with it, and that's exactly what this legislation does. And it makes it clear that this government and we, in Australia, will not accept the continued use of this product.

I will make this observation. I recently spoke with someone who works with engineered stone, and the person said, 'Provided you work with it safely and abide by all the preconditions, it is really a product that you can continue to use.' I accept that, if you work with it safely, that might be the case. But the reality is, once it's in use in the community, there will be times when people will have to deal with it who don't know that they have to work with it safely and who don't know how to work with it safely, whether they're doing repairs or the like. It still presents an ongoing risk to people in the future. Therefore, I support the ban.

I also note that there are good alternatives to engineered stone, whether it is marble, natural stone, porcelain, terrazzo or even steel and timber products. They can now be used as an alternative. So there is no need to use a product that is deadly. We need to get our message out there loud and clear, and that's exactly what this legislation does.

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