Panorama House once stood on this now empty and fenced off site overlooking Townsville. The building ,with spectacular views, used for many functions over decades , contained asbestos and was demolished in 2011.
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Anybody aware that this is National Asbestos Week ? The recent ABC two- part series DEVIL’S DUST- about the James Hardie asbestos scandal-highlighted the part played by ABC journalist Matt Peacock in exposing the criminal cover up . The documentary attracted an audience of 723,000 each night . As Peacock had once worked in Darwin with the ABC , it would have been a golden opportunity for the ABC to really promote the show locally, do interviews , report on the asbestos situation in the Territory today. Recently Chief Minister Mills announced he had called for a report on asbestos in education facilities. In a really competitive media situation such as existed yesteryear there would have been an immediate in-depth follow up. But no . It is a fact that there are many houses in Darwin in which there is asbestos. Royal Darwin Hospital is full of it . Despite all the palaver about Occupational Health and Safety , tradesmen, without proper protective clothing, are sent in to do work in buildings containing asbestos. In Queensland, it was recently acknowledged that it has a massive problem with asbestos in many homes, commercial buildings, defence bases .
Staff at News Limited’s Townsville Bulletin office were moved to a temporary office when asbestos was discovered on the premises. The paper has spent more than $100,000 making parts of its Ogden St office safe. The total bill is expected to exceed $210,000. A multi million dollar program to remove asbestos from Australian Defence Force buildings has resulted in tonnes of the hazardous material being dumped over the past decade. A total of 1245sq m of asbestos was removed from three World War II-era buildings during heritage restoration at the Townsville RAAF base this year. What is the story with Darwin defence bases ? In the case of the asbestos dump at Nightcliff, dithered over by the Darwin City Council and politicians, it has slipped below the media radar , like so many other isssues, without any proper in-depth investigation. There is concern in North Queensland that the depressed economy and an increasing trend to do- it- yourself home renovations could be creating health hazards .
