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- 21 October 2004
Mr Nick Willey Mesothelioma Research Funding
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Page: 11863
Ms KATRINA HODGKINSON (Burrinjuck) [5.16 p.m.]: Over the past few weeks, following the release of the Jackson report, the Premier has been very vocal about the situation of asbestos victims. Last month barely a day went by when the Premier was not fulminating about James Hardie Industries and posturing himself as the champion of asbestos victims. In his public statements the Premier frequently used the phrase "fair dinkum". In the Daily Telegraph of 30 September the Premier said:
I want them to make a fair dinkum offer to pay every cent they morally owe.
For a while it was "fair dinkum" this and "fair dinkum" that from the Premier in relation to asbestos victims. But today I would like to talk about how fair dinkum the Carr Labor Government really is when it comes to supporting victims of asbestos poisoning and assisting attempts to fund-raise for asbestos research.
Ms Noreen Hay: Point of order: Members normally make private members' statements about issues relating to their electorates; they do not normally attack the Premier of New South Wales. I ask you to bring the honourable member back to the leave of the debate.
Madam ACTING-SPEAKER (Ms Marie Andrews): Order! I remind the honourable member for Burrinjuck that a private member's statements should be used to draw the attention of the House to events that occur within the member's electorate.
Ms KATRINA HODGKINSON: I was about to do so. Mr Gerald David Willey was an apprentice painter in the 1960s and during that time that he was exposed to asbestos. In later years Gerry Willey pursued a career in local government and for many years was town planner for Yass Shire Council. His wife, Carol, was a teacher at a local primary school and I attended the Yass school with his children. Mr Willey was diagnosed with mesothelioma in early 2001 and passed away some nine months later, more than 40 years after his only known exposure to asbestos. His grand-daughter, Alice Willey, was born only three weeks before he died.
Although Mr Willey's death was a very sad and devastating event for his family and friends, it galvanised one of his sons, Nick, to do something positive to raise funds for mesothelioma research. Mesothelioma is a particularly aggressive and unforgiving disease, and is almost always fatal. I note that just this week a new drug has become available that will ease the pain for mesothelioma sufferers, but there remains no cure. This highlights the need for more intensive research—research that is very costly and relies significantly on charity fundraising.
Nick is a passionate skier and has his sights set on breaking the Guinness Book of World Records downhill endurance skiing world record of 168 hours. His aim is to use this record attempt to raise $500,000 for the Asbestos Research Group to conduct much-needed research into this killer disease. As part of his preparation for this record attempt in 2005, Nick proposes to roller ski between Parliament House in Canberra and Darling Harbour. His fundraising trip will culminate with his arrival in Sydney when the Governor of New South Wales will welcome him during the official launch of Asbestos Awareness Week on 18 November 2004.
Nick Willey has obtained special approval from the special events co-ordinator of the Australian Capital Territory Road Transport Authority to use the Australian Capital Territory road system to head north to Sydney. He has a support team of four vehicles and 12 personnel to ensure safety considerations are addressed and that other road users are aware of his presence and will, therefore, have minimal inconvenience. This appears to be a well-planned, safety conscious, and very worthwhile fundraising event.
I draw the attention of the House to the fact that Australia has uniform road rules, which are enshrined in State and Territory legislation. The Australian Capital Territory is amenable to Nick's very worthwhile fundraising event. However, the attitude of the Carr Labor Government is completely at odds with the Premier's posturing about support for asbestos victims. The Minister for Roads has been approached to give approval for the New South Wales leg of this trip. The Minister stated that roller skis are considered to be a wheeled toy and his response to Nick Willey was a flat refusal. The Australian Defence Forces use roller skis in their training so I have some concerns about the definition of "toy".
However, putting aside that issue, I made representations to the Minister for Roads on behalf of Nick. I pointed out one aspect of the Minister's own legislation about which he appeared to be ignorant. Section 72 of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Act 1999 provides for the Roads and Traffic Authority to create regulations to exempt a person from the road rules. What was the Minister's answer? No such regulation currently exists! That begs the question: Why can neither the Minister nor his department bestir themselves to create the necessary regulation? This could easily be gazetted within a week, given a bit of effort.
Nick Willey is not asking the Minister to set a dangerous precedent. Just last year the Australian actor Samuel Johnson rode a unicycle between Sydney and Melbourne to raise funds for the charity Canteen. In the early 1980s Naomi Wollstonecroft rode a cow from Yass to Canberra along the Hume Highway, before Yass was bypassed, to raise funds for charity. The Australian road rules were designed to maximise safety for road users. The section the Minister is quoting was designed to stop young kids from dicing with death on public roads while wearing rollerblades. It was never intended to stop safe, well-planned charity fundraising events. The Minister must act to ensure that this charity event can go ahead, and I call on him to show some compassion and allow this charity fundraising event to proceed. [Time expired.]
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