Asbestos Awareness Month

Ms BEDFORD (Florey) (15:15): Last Friday saw two special ceremonies concluding a month of work around raising awareness of the dangers of asbestos and the care of victims of asbestos diseases. November also sees the work of the Asbestos Victims Association of South Australia (AVA) and the Asbestos Diseases Society of South Australia come into focus. The AVA holds a ceremony in Pitman Park, proudly sponsored by the City of Salisbury. Each year, the number of deaths rises. People who attend the ceremony lay flowers by a rock memorial, and those flowers are then sent on to hospitals in the area. President Terry Miller OAM and his volunteer staff do a fabulous job promoting reforms and supporting and advocating for victims of asbestos diseases and their families.

They run a 24-hour helpline, seminars and friendship groups. It has been my honour to be associated with them from their humble beginnings. Sadly, there is no end in sight for their work, as another wave has started in this epidemic. We see now home renovators and the importation of banned products presenting new dangers to workers and the public at large. Any building erected or renovated between 1940 and the late 1980s may contain asbestos material. It is in fibro, lagging, cement, carpet underlay, tiles and adhesives, to name just a few of the 3,000 plus products associated with asbestos. There is no safe asbestos, and you must take proper precautions or engage licensed removalists when removing it.

This ceremony follows on from the breakfast service usually held on the same day by the Asbestos Diseases Society of South Australia (ADSA) in Kilburn, supported by the City of Port Adelaide Enfield. Here, too, the number of memorials is growing. This time, we see engraved pavers going around the central elements of the main tribute at what is known as Jack Watkins Park. Jack Watkins worked in the construction industry and became an active union organiser and advocate for occupational health and safety issues and workers' rights and conditions. He campaigned against the dangers of asbestos in South Australia for many decades. In 1982, Jack was appointed to the state government asbestos advisory committee and remained a member until he died in October 2007.

With local residents, Jack fought both state and federal governments for the clean-up of the Islington railway site and its conversion to a public park. Due to their efforts, the site was finally cleared of toxic waste, including asbestos. It has been landscaped and named the Jack Watkins Memorial Park and stands as a tribute to workers who have died from any asbestos-related disease. Between 1982 and 1988, Jack was an organiser for the Builders Labourers Federation and then was picked up for work with the United Trades and Labor Council. In 2005, the Asbestos Diseases Society of South Australia was formed and Jack became its inaugural president.

Jack lived in the north-eastern suburbs and took more than a passing interest in the demolition of old Housing Trust stock in Gilles Plains, often calling me out to sites where asbestos was not being handled correctly. I believe he also infamously threw some talcum powder from the strangers' gallery here to highlight the dangers of not understanding the insidious nature of asbestos-related diseases when he felt that his activism was not being taken seriously. There are many asbestos diseases. There are pleural plaques, which are not cancers and do not cause cancer but are a thickening patch, known as fibrosis, on the lungs. The pleura are in two layers in the chest, covering the lungs. Plaques do not often cause any symptoms but are there.

There are also asbestos-related pleural diseases: asbestosis, mesothelioma and, of course, lung cancer itself. The ADSA provides a social worker, legal advice, a newsletter and educational services. Current president, Kevin Purse, gave a very informative and insightful speech before the service got underway. Even though November is almost over, I urge everyone to be aware and mindful of asbestos. It can affect anyone and take many years before it manifests. While there are some exciting developments and treatments, prevention is much better than cure.

Vale, Jack Watkins and all the victims of asbestos diseases, and thank you to the Asbestos Victims Association and the Asbestos Diseases Society of South Australia for all they do. Unfortunately, their work is going to become very much a part of the lives of too many people in South Australia. When you listen to the dreadfully sad family stories on these memorial days, you realise that it can happen to anyone, not only the worker in the factory but also the wife of the worker who washes his overalls.

I think it is a timely reminder for everyone in this day of do-it-yourself renovations to be mindful that there are children playing underneath the people working on ladders, who might not have any signs of disease until later in life when it is too late to help.