Acknowledgements omitted
Thank you for your kind invitation to speak to you today.
We are all here for one reason.
Our shared ambition is a world free from asbestos disease.
A future where asbestos is nowhere except where it naturally occurs.
At its heart, this forum is about working together to reduce harm and prevent avoidable disease.
One of the fundamental principles of the Australian Government is its commitment to tripartism.
That is workers, their unions, employers and governments working together.
Alongside impacted communities and experts.
We share a determination to overcome this almost impossible challenge.
The ongoing challenge - What we already know
Australia is haunted by our embrace of asbestos between the 1950s and 1980s.
During those years, we were the highest per capita consumer of asbestos products in the world.
Australians embraced asbestos.
It divided quarter acre blocks.
We had a silent killer above our heads in our roof tiles.
And underneath our feet in our humble lino flooring.
Today, more than 4,000 Australians die every year from asbestos-related diseases.
That is about 20 times more than the number of people who lose their lives each year in workplace accidents.
And an estimated 6.2 million tonnes of asbestos containing materials remain in homes, business and workplaces.
Much of it is past its lifespan.
But sadly asbestos exposure does not just live in history books.
The future recipients of this diagnosis walk among us today.
They are our tradespeople.
Our veterans.
Our emergency responders.
Our renovating neighbours.
Ourselves.
Australian DIY renovations expose people in their homes every day.
And Australian Defence personnel deployed overseas—particularly to conflict or post conflict zones—can face elevated asbestos exposure risks.
Legacy asbestos lurks in local infrastructure, damaged buildings and host nation construction practices.
Asbestos can be disturbed during combat operations, military base construction or disaster response activities.
Reports from war affected regions show asbestos hazards can persist decades after hostilities cease, creating chronic low level exposure risks for deployed forces.
This includes a lack of controlled demolition processes typical in war zones, leading to widespread environmental contamination.
Research involving Australian veterans—especially naval personnel—has found a significant proportion of lung cancers in some cohorts.
And this research found that these cancers were attributable to asbestos exposure.
Australians are suffering because of poor conditions in the workplaces of their youth, their homes constructed long ago, or a deployment that is years in their past.
But around the world, many are still suffering because of poor conditions in the workplaces of today, and that is unacceptable.
Silica exposure – The unfolding horror
Sadly, the asbestos horror story has a sequel that none of us wanted.
Respirable crystalline silica (RCS) presents a parallel and equally serious challenge.
Australian workers exposed to this deadly dust will experience its effects for years to come.
A 2016 estimate tells us that some 584,000 workers had been exposed to RCS.
A study by Curtin University in 2022 said that exposure to silica at this rate could result in up to 103,000 silicosis cases and 10,000 lung cancers.
The Albanese Government led the world in banning respirable crystalline silica’s use, supply and manufacture.
We did that two years ago.
Then, in January 2025, we implemented a ban on importing engineered stone.
Australia is showing the world the way, by taking RCS seriously.
Living in the shadow but finding the light
I want to acknowledge some of those affected.
Like Joanna McNeill – member of the Silica Advisory Committee.
A committee joining us today.
After coming home from shifts at a Melbourne quarry in her twenties, Joanna would blow her nose and find dust coating the tissue.
It was the same dust that she could taste in her mouth during her shifts.
Day by day, shift by shift, she was exposed to this dust.
Joanna was not even in the quarry, she was in the administration building.
In 2019 she received her diagnosis of silicosis.
I do not need to explain to anyone in this room what that diagnosis means for a young parent.
But Joanna has turned her personal crisis into community advocacy.
Just like Vicki Hamilton, who joins us today.
Losing both her father and grandfather to asbestos-related diseases, you could forgive her for never wanting to think about asbestos again.
But for the last two decades, Vicki has been supporting asbestosis survivors and their families.
Today, she is Secretary of Asbestos Council of Victoria and continues to advocate for reform and protections for workers.
Both women with harrowing stories of their experience with asbestos and silica.
Both women with a determination to make sure something good comes from it.
Building a world free from asbestos and silica
Working in partnership is absolutely crucial to solving this problem.
That is why Safe Work Australia members have committed to the review of the asbestos regulations.
Unions, industry, regulators and all Australian governments, have committed to the review, with a discussion paper currently out for consultation.
This is one more step to make our vision of a world without asbestos disease a reality.
Not only is this a key deliverable of the Asbestos National Strategic Plan, but it will ensure the elimination of asbestos-related diseases.
Enabling the focus and impact of regulations to more comprehensively protect workers and the community.
The work ASSEA does is fundamental to our ambition as a government.
It is anchored in two important frameworks:
- the Asbestos National Strategic Plan, Phase Three, 2024-30 and
- the Silica National Strategic Plan 2024-2030.
Each plan has three aims: elimination of disease, supporting workers affected by disease and to be an international leader.
To be an international leader.
It is an ambitious goal.
But it is what Australia is already doing when it comes to tackling asbestos and silica.
We must keep the momentum going.
These plans provide strong strategic direction.
Our purpose today, is to give life to these aims.
This is where your expertise comes in.
ASSEA’s work is essential to deliver the leadership needed.
Conclusion
Minister Rishworth and I share a commitment to keep Australian workers safe.
This is core to the beliefs of the Albanese Government.
Protecting the fundamental right of all Australians to a safe and healthy environment, at home and at work.
Each of you in this room are helping to eradicate asbestos and silica-related diseases.
Not just in Australia, but across the world.
You are helping to make workplaces safer.
You are helping to lift the veil of asbestos and silica’s long shadow.
You are helping to build a world free from asbestos and silica-related diseases.
You are helping to transform lives.
And that impact is truly inextinguishable.
Thank you.