National Asbestos Awareness Week
During National Asbestos Awareness Week 2024, a number of events were held to raise asbestos awareness including the Parliamentary Group on Asbestos Related Disease (PGARD) meeting and memorial services held by support groups from all over Australia.
The PGARD meeting hosted by Co-Chairs Lisa Chesters MP and Russell Broadbent MP at Parliament House in Canberra provided an opportunity to celebrate our collective achievements, consider our challenges and commemorate the thousands of lives lost due to asbestos-related disease. Guests included Senator the Hon Murray Watt, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Senator the Hon Donald Farrell, Minister for Trade and Tourism, and representatives from the Asbestos and Dust Diseases Research Institute and Union Aid Abroad – APHEDA.
We were also honoured to attend and speak at various Asbestos Victims Memorial Days held throughout the week by the Asbestos Diseases Society of South Australia Inc. (ADSSA), the Asbestos Victims Association (AVA SA) Annual Memorial Service and the Asbestos Awareness Day events hosted by ACV GARDS in Victoria. At these events we heard first-hand experiences of people with asbestos-related diseases and their families, emphasising the importance of the work that we all do. We acknowledge all the asbestos support groups for arranging these services across the country and their ongoing work each day in raising awareness and supporting those suffering from asbestos-related diseases and their families.
