Western Australia lags in help for asbestos victims

People suffering from asbestos diseases in Western Australia are unable to claim a form of compensation ­offered in other states.

Robert Vojakovic says WA asbestos disease sufferers are being deprived from benefits available elsewhere. Picture: Ernie McLintock

People suffering from life-threatening asbestos diseases in Western Australia are unable to claim a form of compensation ­offered in all other states as their disease progresses, despite the state having the highest rates of the asbestos-caused cancer mesothelioma in the world.

It is the only Australian jurisdiction where people who suffer from the lesser disease of asbestosis and settle their damages claims cannot make future claims if their condition worsens.

Yet more than 330 people in Western Australia have tragically progressed to a mesothelioma diagnosis in the past four years, requiring costly medical and palliative care.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare says the ­national incidence rate of the cancer stands at 2.9 per 100,000, but Western Australia has a rate of 4.9 per 100,000 people.

Simon Millman, a former lawyer and Labor state MP, told the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia conference yesterday that the state’s asbestos victims were faced with an invidious choice. “They can settle a claim now and potentially risk incapacity to adequately provide for themselves in the event of the worst happening,’’ he said.

“Alternatively, they can wait until the worst happens and lose the opportunity to alleviate the economic and health costs of their disease.’’

Asbestos Diseases Society spokesman Robert Vojakovic said the delay by the West Australian parliament in fixing the problem was depriving sufferers from benefits available elsewhere.