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Engineered stone could be banned nationwide by next July if state and territory ministers sign off on a draft agreement in a high-stakes meeting on Wednesday as the Commonwealth faces renewed calls to ban imports of the product.
The agreement, circulated among ministers ahead of the meeting, says they accept the findings of a major report on the substance, which is linked to lung disease in tradies, and agree to prohibit its use under work health and safety laws by the second half of next year.
Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke will meet with his state and territory counterparts to agree on a deadline for the use of engineered stone.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
While all states and territories have declared their support for a ban on the material, ministers have so far stayed silent on their preferred timeline.
But Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union head Zach Smith suggested they would have “blood on their hands” if it wasn’t imposed by July.
“The road to this day has been paved with tragic stories of workers sentenced to death for simply doing their job,” Smith said.
“Anything less than a total ban on the asbestos of this generation would be a betrayal of all those families shattered by this killer stone.”
This week’s meeting comes nearly 10 months after Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke urged his state and territory counterparts to bring forward a decision on whether to prohibit the material, declaring “I’m not willing to wait” after the former national dust diseases taskforce recommended a ban be considered by July 2024.
Dr Deborah Yates, a thoracic physician who has been campaigning to ban engineered stone, which is commonly used in kitchen benchtops, said the deadline should be by the end of the year.
“January 1 is always a good time to start things,” she said.
“There’s no excuse for any delay. From what I’m hearing, voluntary bans are coming in already from large builders who seem to understand the topic better than politicians.”
Developers Lendlease and Mirvac have announced they will not use engineered stone in new projects while major retailers such as Bunnings and Ikea have said they will stop selling it.
A Safe Work Australia report was commissioned after an investigation by this masthead and 60 Minutes this year revealed a growing number of workers were being diagnosed with silicosis, acquired from inhaling dust from the cutting of engineered stone.
That report, which recommended a blanket ban, was handed to ministers in mid-August but not discussed or publicly released until late October.
Smith also repeated his demand that the federal government block the importation of engineered stone after comments by Burke in October cast doubt on whether a ban on bringing the slabs into Australia would be imposed.
A spokesperson for the West Australian government, which was the final state to announce support for a ban last month, said it would welcome the Commonwealth introducing an import ban.
The spokesperson, along with Queensland Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace and Tasmanian Workplace Safety Minister Madeleine Ogilvie, said a timeline for transition would be discussed on Wednesday.
South Australian Industrial Relations Minister Kyam Maher said he was seeking a ban “as soon as practicable, having regard to the significant health and safety issues identified in the Safe Work Australia report”.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said in early November that he would go it alone in announcing a ban if a national agreement could not be reached by the end of 2023.
Victorian WorkSafe Minister Danny Pearson has also backed total prohibition, saying just after the release of the Safe Work Australia report: “We look forward to working with the Commonwealth, states and territories to co-ordinate a national ban”.
Questions will also turn to a safety regime for tradespeople handling engineered stone products during renovations or demolitions of homes.
Burke’s office declined to comment on his position ahead of the meeting.
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