Will Hodgman MP
Leader of the Opposition
Thursday 18 March, 2010

A Hodgman Liberal Government will provide $1 million to provide a whole of government approach to the management, identification and removal of asbestos in buildings.

The historic use of asbestos in building materials in Tasmania before the significant health consequences of ingesting fibres has created a situation which must be tackled in a systematic manner.

Dust diseases such as asbestosis, asbestos induced carcinoma and mesothelioma take years to develop in the human body, and then can lead to a devastating and prolonged decline, which is ultimately terminal.

In Tasmania, the health menace is twofold – it impacts upon those who worked with asbestos in factories or construction when the adverse health effects were not appreciated, and it can affect persons undertaking renovations or demolitions today.

We have persistently raised the plight of asbestos sufferers in Parliament, and in government we will act.

A Hodgman Liberal Government will:

• Provide additional resources to Workplace Standards Tasmania to establish an Asbestos Unit responsible for policy coordination across the government sector and to provide advice to the private sector
• Give the Asbestos Unit the task to develop a strategy for the long-term removal of asbestos containing materials.
• Fund qualified asbestos inspectors for the three regions of the State.
• Establish a statutory no-fault dust diseases workers’ compensation scheme.
• Improve the disclosure regime for vendors and landlords where asbestos is present in a building.
• Require inspections by properly qualified persons before buildings are demolished.
• Upgrade penalties for persons or corporations which remove or dispose of asbestos in an incorrect or careless manner.
• Include asbestos in Building Maintenance Certificates and amend the current law to ensure all workplaces publicly display an asbestos register.
• Require an audit by all State Government agencies of buildings in public ownership containing asbestos, and encourage Local Government councils to do the same for buildings in their control.

The State Government has had more than a decade to act in this area.  It was not until March 2009 that the Workplace Relations Minister set up a high level advisory committee to consider the adequacy of the current legislative and regulatory regime.

Liberal Members of Parliament have consistently raised the latent threat of asbestos in buildings in Parliament over the last several years.  A Hodgman Liberal Government will act to bring real change and a more robust approach, including incentives for building owners to remove asbestos and significant penalties for those who act carelessly or without regard to people who may be exposed.