Richard Di Natale (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Black lung disease, or pneumoconiosis, is a grave serious condition that leads to premature death. It is the result of unregulated workplaces where individuals are exposed to occupational hazards such as coal dust and silicosis. Let's be absolutely clear here: if there is a regime in place that involves appropriate screening, appropriate monitoring—things like spirometry—we can reduce the incidence of black lung disease and other lung diseases. What we have seen is systematic failure as a result of the lack of regulation imposed by state and federal governments, where individual workers are left to the whim of these large companies, which have no regard for the health of the workers. (Time expired)