A national ban to be implemented on engineered stone

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Australia's workplace ministers have agreed to implement a national ban on engineered stone. The popular kitchen and bathroom benchtop product contains high levels of silica which has led to a health crisis amongst tradies who cut and install it. Australia is the first country to initiate a ban.

Transcript

00:00 This news is fantastic for all the young stonemasons out there and any future stonemasons coming

00:06 through. This is a decision that will save lives moving forward within that industry.

00:14 There's plenty of other products out there and natural stones that are just as good,

00:18 if not better. And this is a decision a long time in the making for myself and a bunch

00:25 of people that have been working behind the scenes. It's not only a good decision, it's

00:30 the only decision that the Labor government could come to in supporting workers the way

00:35 they have always done.

00:37 And how much of a role have you played in pushing for this?

00:42 Look, I've been part of a big team of amazing people working on this. It has taken a lot

00:51 of my time and energy being the face of the campaign for CFMEU and working alongside other

00:58 legal people and scientists. But I've worked very hard myself on this campaign and it's

01:05 good to get the result that we've been hoping for. It's really good to see the Labor government

01:12 standing with the unions as they've always done in the past and they're now doing again.

01:18 And how are you feeling about the timeline for this? I think we've only got news through

01:23 from Victoria so far on how long it's going to take for it to be actually stopped. Are

01:30 you aware of those and how you're feeling about that?

01:33 I am aware of some timelines being thrown around. I also understand that banning any

01:42 product isn't something you can do overnight. There's already contracts in place, there's

01:47 jobs half finished. We still need the industry to finish the things that are started so long

01:54 as they're doing them as safely as they can. And as this product is phased out, new things

02:01 will be used instead or going back to natural stone. But I think the timeframe that I've

02:07 heard is a good timeframe. Like I said, you can't do this overnight and it does take a

02:13 bit of time but it's really good news today. Really, really good news.

02:16 Looking back to when you first started, was there much at all said at the time about the

02:22 need to protect yourself against silica?

02:25 There was always talk of protecting yourself from dust in some way but it was never really

02:34 the focus wasn't on silica itself, it was just dust. So it wasn't really, to be honest,

02:44 until my diagnosis that I truly understood what silica dust can do to you.

02:49 And when did you realise you had an issue?

02:54 I was diagnosed after former colleagues and friends of mine were all getting diagnosed

03:01 and one of them in particular called me and said, "You should really get checked out because

03:06 we worked alongside each other." And I went to the doctor, I was having a CT scan very

03:15 soon after that and was diagnosed within a month.

03:19 And how does it affect you physically now?

03:24 I have shortness of breath, I have big bouts of coughing, whenever the weather's cold my

03:32 cough gets very bad. If I try to physically exert myself, it's not great. I'm out of breath

03:40 very, very easily and very, very quickly.

03:43 And have you been able to get workers' comp or other support to help you through all this?

03:53 There is support available and then obviously there are legal options that people can look

03:59 at as well. I was fortunate in the sense that I had already left the industry and was working

04:07 in something else, but I always had plans to go back to the industry. However, that

04:12 will no longer happen.

04:14 And you mentioned that you had mates who were getting sick. What's it been like for you

04:22 to go through this process of talking to your colleagues and realising people have got this

04:29 potentially fatal disease and have any of them passed away already?

04:34 Look, not a lot of the people that I know have passed away. I do know that people who

04:43 my friends know have been suffering very serious health complications and there has been some

04:50 death. But it's been very, very hard for not only myself, but all of my colleagues and

04:59 friends from the industry. You know, some with young families who find it hard to get

05:06 out of bed in the morning because they've been told they're going to die. You know,

05:09 it's a really, really tragic disease caused by this product that is happening to such

05:15 young men.

05:17 And Kyle, as I understand it, you've already proved some of the doctors wrong with how

05:22 long you were going to live.

05:25 Look, I don't know about proved them wrong. I was given between five and eight years to

05:32 live. Five years was up last month. So, you know, I like to stay positive and think they're

05:37 wrong. But it's always hanging over your head. You never know.

05:42 But you're looking pretty good. You're looking pretty good now. You're feeling good.

05:48 Look, I try to stay good mentally and as physically good as I can. It's all you can do. But I

05:57 definitely feel the effects of this lung disease getting worse and worse as time goes on. So,

06:04 you know, you just got to stay positive, as positive as you can with this sort of thing.

06:09 Yeah. And what are you what would you still like to get done with this? This is a huge

06:13 day for you with the national ban announced. Is there anything further you'd like to push

06:18 with this? And as I understand it, this is Australia's the first country in the world

06:22 that's done this.

06:23 Yeah, and rightfully so. We're a country that not too long ago dealt with the asbestosis

06:34 issue and recently celebrated the 20 year anniversary of the ban on asbestos. And so

06:42 I think it's good that we're leading the way, you know, and not just sitting on our hands

06:48 and letting this happen again and again. I mean, even though there is a generation of

06:52 disease, I think it's fantastic that Australia is leading the way in this. It's a huge day

06:56 and it's a fantastic day for young workers in this country.

07:00 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Category

Transcript

Recommended