Is Safe Work up to the task on silicosis? Government MP casts doubt on the agency

A Curtin University study last April, commissioned by the Australian Council of Trade Unions, estimated there were at that point about 584,000 Australian workers exposed to respirable crystalline silica in the workplace.

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Ananda-Rajah – who was an infectious diseases and general physician before entering parliament – said if any state or territory ministers were hesitant about a ban, “I urge them to sit in a room and listen to the people who are suffering from this disease, and look them in the eye.”

“I think that will concentrate the minds of everyone to sort this problem out.”

Dr Graeme Edwards, a dust diseases taskforce member who also raised the alarm over the silica epidemic in 2018, said Tuesday’s agreement amounted to “a public statement to do what they should’ve been doing all along”.

While a ban will only be considered, the ministers backed a national awareness campaign, stronger regulations that include training requirements, a requirement to conduct air monitoring and considering a national licensing scheme for products not subject to a ban.

Labor senator Tony Sheldon, one of the government’s loudest voices on industrial relations, said an awareness campaign was “not a solution that can save lives now”.

“Six months is far too long to wait. Six months only allows more time for people to be hit with death sentences,” Sheldon said. “Urgent action is required, not further delay on this critical matter of life and death.”

Labor MP Dr Mike Freelander, who represents the south-west Sydney seat of Macarthur, said a decision for Safe Work to report back within six months was too slow after he had called for an immediate ban on the product.

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Major engineered stone manufacturer Caesarstone this week joined competitor Cosentino in saying reducing the products’ silica content to 40 per cent or less could help combat silicosis, combined with tougher regulations, but Ananda-Rajah said she was sceptical of low-silica products.

“We don’t want to replace one problem with another,” she said.

Burke’s office has been contacted for comment.

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