Fed: Baryulgil people call on Hardie to finalise compensation

AAP General News (Australia)
08-19-2005
Fed: Baryulgil people call on Hardie to finalise compensation

By Samantha Baden, Industrial Reporter

SYDNEY, Aug 19 AAP - Boxing great Tony Mundine has led members of the Baryulgil Aboriginal
community in a protest against James Hardies Industries, saying asbestos mining has killed
many of his relatives.

About 30 members of the community today called on a James Hardie shareholders meeting
in Sydney to finalise its asbestos compensation deal.

The building products company operated an asbestos mine at Baryulgil, in northern NSW,
for three decades until 1979.

Mr Mundine, who grew up in Baryulgil, said many of his relatives had died due to asbestos-related
diseases.

His son Anthony, a well-known boxer and former rugby league footballer, joined today's protest.

"My family's from Baryulgil and a lot of my family members have been victims of asbestos,
a lot of them have passed away and a lot of them have cancer," Mr Mundine snr said.

"I'm here to support them and let James Hardie know that they knew back then what was
going on and what was wrong and now they should simply compensate the families and the
victims.

"The fight's not over."

Hundreds of former mine workers and descendants now suffer from lung-related diseases,
including asbestosis and mesothelioma, as a result of breathing in clouds of potentially
deadly asbestos.

The representatives from Baryulgil were joined by unionists when they protested outside
the meeting, calling on the company to finalise its compensation deal for victims.

The deal, worth as much as $4.5 billion over the next four decades, was agreed in principle
eight months ago, but has recently stalled.

The company has said the one issue holding up the agreement, expected to have been
completed by now, is whether or not its compensation payments will be tax deductible.

Members of the Baryulgil community were originally left out of the compensation deal,
but will also be covered by the agreement once its finalised if they can prove their cases.

Baryulgil community spokesman Ted Mundine said 30 members of the community travelled
eight hours in a bus to protest outside the meeting.

"We just want them to pay up and stop forgetting us," he said.

"It's like they are just waiting for us to die out, but we're not going to."

Asbestosis sufferer Bernie Banton, among those attending the meeting, said he would
ask shareholders not to approve salary increases for the company's directors until the
compensation agreement was finalised.

"How obnoxious is it that they've got their hand out for a money grab, more share options
and an increase in payment to directors when they can't sign off on this?" Mr Banton said.

"It's just typical of this company, this mob just lacks morality."

AAP smb/was/evt/sd C

KEYWORD: JAMES HARDIE PROTEST (PIX AVAILABLE)

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