Asbestos Victims Memorial Day

The Hon. T.T. NGO (15:23): My question is to the Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector. Can the minister tell the council about the Asbestos Victims Memorial Day service held in November last year?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, Special Minister of State) (15:23): I thank the honourable member for his question. I note his interest in this matter and I have seen him on Asbestos Awareness Day at various services that have happened around South Australia in years gone by, so I know he has a deep commitment in this area.

I was privileged to be able to attend, along with a number of members from this chamber and from the other place, the annual Asbestos Victims Memorial Day service at the end of last year. It is held on the last Friday of November each year in Pitman Park and provides an important opportunity for people to come together and commemorate the many thousands of workers in South Australia and across the country who have died from asbestos-related diseases. This service was hosted by the Asbestos Victims Association, a not-for-profit organisation that supports people and their families living with asbestos-related disease. Their work includes running free seminars and educating the community about the dangers of asbestos exposure.

While Australia was one of the first countries to ban the use of asbestos, the fight is far from over. Even today, decades later, asbestos-related diseases continue to kill far too many people each year. The decades of widespread use means asbestos remains present in many homes, products and public spaces. As a result, the need to educate people about the danger of asbestos products still remains.

Last year, the government saw significant national action to prevent the spread of dust diseases caused by engineered stone benchtops and, knowing the grave damage that asbestos and asbestos-related diseases cause, governments responsible took no hesitation in banning the use of engineered stone benchtops, knowing that they cause very significant and similar lung diseases. Nevertheless, there is much more to be done and I thank all the individuals, particularly the organisations involved, for the work they do supporting victims of dust diseases and protecting the community.