Unions call on Albanese to enact immediate ban on engineered stone

The country’s most powerful union bosses are pushing the government to impose an immediate ban on the engineered stone causing disease and death among Australian tradies as Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke flags ending importation before a ministerial gathering next week.

State ministers also backed a ban on the manufactured stone commonly used in kitchen benchtops, while members of the former taskforce on dust disease said government delays on stronger national regulations were costing lives.

A joint investigation between this masthead and 60 Minutes revealed that workers were battling the debilitating symptoms of the lung disease silicosis while state-based regulators failed to effectively police workplaces to guard against the dangers associated with ingesting dust from engineered stone.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government should respond “as quickly as we can”.

“But we want to work this through with state and territory governments, with the industry as well, to make sure there aren’t any unintended consequences,” he said.

ACTU Secretary Sally McManus called for an immediate ban on imports of engineered stone, saying its use should be prohibited “because it’s killing people”.

ACTU secretary Sally McManus is backing calls to ban engineered stone.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Zach Smith, incoming head of the national construction union, called on the federal government to ban the product “as soon as possible”, before a union-led ban on the use of the product by July 2024.

ACTU deputy secretary Liam O’Brien said the July 2024 deadline for a ban was proposed when authorities were only just beginning to gauge the severity of the problem. “This ship isn’t turning around, it’s getting worse,” he said. “We can’t twiddle our thumbs for the next 12 to 18 months … why wait?”

Burke committed the government to urgent action on combating exposure to silica dust in factories, tunnels and mines, before the meeting with state and territory workplace ministers on Tuesday, February 28.

“A potential ban on imported manufactured stone products containing silica is one of the options we will discuss, along with stronger regulations across all industries where workers are exposed to silica. I have met with injured workers. It’s clear we need to do more – urgently,” Burke said.

Queensland’s Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace also wanted a stop to imports. “I absolutely back a ban. The best way to manage a risk in the workplace is to remove it altogether if you can,” Grace said.

“I wrote to the then federal government back in 2018 asking them to coordinate a national approach to this issue and consider an import ban. Despite consistently calling on the Morrison Government to act, they never did.”

NSW Customer Services Minister Victor Dominello said: “At the very minimum this is clearly a dangerous product that causes death and a tighter regulatory regime should be established right across Australia”. State Premier Dominic Perrottet called for a national response to the crisis.

Victoria’s Deputy Premier Jacinta Allan said the Andrews government would “continue to work with unions and with the industry on what else can be done to support workers”.

ACT Industrial Relations Minister Mick Gentleman said he was looking forward to the discussion on the possibility of a ban, while his West Australian counterpart Bill Johnston said he wanted to see further action.

Safe Work Australia has prepared a regulatory impact statement with a range of actions for ministers at the meeting, including consulting on a ban.

The Australian Workers’ Union’s national secretary Daniel Walton said the conversation needed to extend to adequate protection of all workers facing the risk of silicosis, including those in tunnels and mines.

‘The speed of response, considering how clearly bad and tragic this is, has been disappointing and slow’

Dr Ryan Hoy, former taskforce member

Several former members of the national dust disease taskforce, which last year recommended the government consider banning engineered stone by mid-2024, said they welcomed the public conversation but other urgent actions they had recommended were long overdue.

Respiratory physician Dr Ryan Hoy, a former taskforce member who chaired the steering committee for a new national strategy, said there was not yet any proof from regulators or industry that the materials could be worked with safely.

“If there is a point to draw a line in the sand, now is the time to do it,” he said. “There is urgency in acting to protect workers and their health. The speed of response, considering how clearly bad and tragic this is, has been disappointing and slow.”

Health Minister Mark Butler on Monday said the federal government was open to a ban but also wanted to monitor its new response, which only launched this year and committed $3.95 million to research and educating the health worker community.

Credit: Matt Golding

However, Dr Graeme Edwards, a fellow with the Royal Australian College of Physicians who also sat on the taskforce, called for nationwide workplace reforms that require importers of engineered stone to be licensed and monitored, as well as a national occupational respiratory disease registry.

“We appear to be missing the political will ... The delays are costing people’s lives. The conversation about a ban needs to happen now, or the other actions won’t happen in time,” Edwards said.

“The taskforce deliberations clearly indicated that just doing industry awareness, education [and] enhanced regulations in the business-as-usual model was not going to protect Australian workers.”

Taskforce member Professor Christine Jenkins, head of the respiratory group at the George Institute for Global Health, said she still believed a 2024 deadline for a ban was most practical. “I don’t think it can practically be expedited,” she said.

“[However], it’s very reasonable to ask the regulators and companies to show us the evidence of where they’ve got to at this time. We do all fear it’s taken too long.”

There was also an urgent need for a national ban on dry-cutting silica-containing materials, she said. “There is no excuse for why we should have state-to-state differences on exposing workers to risk.”

A new national strategy and action plan being led by the Lung Foundation Australia on behalf of the federal government opened for public consultation on Monday and will report by June 30.

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