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

Australians know asbestos kills. This parliament banned the deadly substance in 2003, and this year, in December, we will mark 20 years since asbestos was completely banned in Australia—no manufacturing, no sale, no importing, no exporting. But the ban wasn't the end of the Australia's asbestos story, as we know and are reminded each and every year. It's estimated that 4,000 Australians die each year of asbestos related diseases—more than triple the annual road toll. Sadly, the numbers are increasing.

Approximately 700 people annually die from the aggressive cancer known as mesothelioma, which is caused by exposure to asbestos. It takes, on average, 20 to 40 years for it to develop into this deadly cancer. Despite banning asbestos 20 years ago, cases of this cancer and asbestos related diseases continue to increase. Australia has one of the highest measured incidences of asbestos related diseases in the world. I say 'highest measured' because I do acknowledge we are one of the only countries that properly tests, properly diagnoses and tries to properly support people with asbestos related disease and cancer.

It occurs through exposure to the built environment. While we still have asbestos almost everywhere, this legacy and this effect will continue. Australia's long history with asbestos dates back to the 1920s, when the mineral was first mined and used extensively in construction and manufacturing. Today it is estimated that still one in three homes in Australia contains asbestos. If your home was built before the 1990s, like so many of our homes were, it's more likely than not to contain this toxic material. This is where the challenge lies, in what we call the third wave. The current third wave of asbestos exposure and disease affects almost all in society, as people are exposed to asbestos in the built environment through DIY—the moment we try to renovate and get friends or neighbours or uncles or aunts to help out and undertake repairs to improve our homes, not knowing or realising that they may have exposed themselves to asbestos in the process. The simple, 'Don't worry; I'll sand it and paint it,' has occurred over and over again.

The extent of exposure in the more recent period is something we also really need to be aware of. The increase in home prices, the COVID-19 pandemic and the focus on home renovation programs really did supercharge people wanting to do their own work. It's estimated that Australia's interest in DIY projects boomed by 800 per cent in the first year of the COVID pandemic. Bunnings reported a 63 per cent growth in DIY online content year on year. That kind of tells you how many of them were aware that their home could have been one with asbestos when they did their work. Asbestos was in an estimated 3,000 products that were being used before 1990. Many of these products were used in residential construction and fit-out. It's hard not to think that this product, this building, this wall or this tile may not have had it. An estimated 6,000 tonnes of asbestos is illegally dumped every year. That is another problem. How do we clean it up? How do we manage the ongoing legacy? One in five DIYers encountered asbestos in a previous project, but only half sought professional help to deal with it. DIYers thought it was important to manage asbestos risks, but only half felt confident in identifying and managing the risk. These aren't made-up statistics. These are statistics of the Australian government's Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency.

We are fortunate in this country that in 2013, post the ban, the Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency was created. The National Strategic Plan for Asbestos Awareness and Management aims to eliminate asbestos related diseases by preventing exposure to asbestos fibres. We are through the first phase of the plan, from 2014 to 2018, and we're now into second phase of the plan. I acknowledge the leadership of the Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency and the partnership that it has with many organisations—everyone from the ACTU to health organisation research facilities and many of the support groups that are on the ground each and every day supporting people who have been diagnosed with deadly diseases related to asbestos exposure.

The challenge is still great. Despite the work that we have got to do here, there is a bigger challenge internationally. The campaign 'Asbestos Not Here, Not Anywhere' continues but is struggling. In many countries in our region, thousands of tonnes of asbestos material are imported and used in everyday products like roof and wall sheeting. Over a million tonnes of asbestos is still exported annually to Asia, the world's biggest consumers, with most of the product coming from two producers, Russia and Pakistan. Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, all key trading partners with Australia, actively import asbestos and use it in many manufactured goods. This presents the risk to our country.

While the importation of goods containing asbestos is banned, the challenge for Border Force is great. A recent report found that a majority of imported consignments that were tested for asbestos came back positive. It is simply not practical to test every container and every product. That is why the campaign for the ban 'Asbestos Not Here, Not Anywhere' must continue, in the hope that our experience in Australia and our legacy can help see change in our region.

I acknowledge the work of APHEDA and its partner organisations, including International Ban Asbestos Secretariat and Asian Ban Asbestos Network, and their continued campaign for an asbestos free Australia. Earlier this month the international debate was focused on amending a proposal to amend the Rotterdam convention. The Rotterdam convention provides a mechanism for nations to decide whether to accept imports of hazardous chemicals listed on the convention and to communicate their decision to exporting parties. It sounds pretty simple, but it's not. The proposal being put to COP in May this year aims to create a pathway to list asbestos for the first time, asbestos being one of the chemicals that should be discussed more openly. The proposal required 75 per cent of parties to agree. Unfortunately, the proponents for the change, including Australia, fell short. Only 70 per cent agreed. Nations not supportive of the change included Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the USA. Therefore, the proposal was not adopted.

The international community in favour of the change will regroup and think about what to do next, but it does remind all of us that we've got a lot of work to do both locally and internationally. Australia still needs to be a leading voice on the banning of asbestos, just like people in this place did 20 years ago, and just like active members of our community did for many decades. While we still have asbestos in our buildings and our built environment and while very few people are aware of its effects, we have more work to do. The work the agency is doing is great, but anything we can do to help them achieve their plan will be welcome. The work that our international agencies and partners like APHEDA are doing is great, but, again, the more work we can do will help us achieve the goal of 'not here, not anywhere'. Ban asbestos.