Seriously consider asbestos warnings

AUSSIES are besotted with renovating. We’re infatuated with DIY lifestyle programs and the plethora of decorator products designed to excite the renovator in us.

But what happens when we ignore the risks and don’t take the warnings about asbestos seriously? We could be risking our lives and the lives of our loved ones if deadly asbestos fibres are inhaled.

Asbestos-related diseases are not a thing of the past.

Every 14 hours, one Australian loses their life to mesothelioma.

Every 13 hours another 13 families receive the tragic news that a loved one has the disease that will take their life, usually within months.

All too often I’ve heard people say that they don’t worry about the warnings, that they don’t think it will affect them, that they’re bullet-proof when it comes to asbestos.

Well, with one-in-every-three homes containing asbestos in some form or another, homeowners and tradies could be risking their lives and the lives of families (even their kids) if they don’t take the warnings seriously.

Asbestos could be lurking in any home built or renovated before 1987 including brick, weatherboard, clad and fibro homes.

Asbestos was used in the manufacture of hundreds of products and if these products are disturbed during renovations, that’s when fibres can be inhaled and can kill.

Death from asbestos is not a thing of the past. While we don’t know how many fibres it takes, what we do know is that the more fibres inhaled, the greater the risk to our health. Today, asbestos remains one of the greatest health threats to families and tradespeople who disturb asbestos during renovations and maintenance.

We must stop the ongoing tragic loss of Australian lives. Every Australian needs to know that when it comes to asbestos, they’ve got to go slow, because asbestos is a no go. Visit asbestosawareness.com.au to learn what you need to know. — JOHN JARRATT, Ambassador Asbestos Awareness Month Campaign

Sincere promises?

A WHOLE lot of problems that have been plaguing Queenslanders and particularly Toowoomba residents are now being addressed, after years and years of frustration.

I wonder why the pledges to fix those problems are suddenly being made now? Can we believe those promises and if we elect people to government because they made those promises and they do not deliver, can we have them thrown out of office because they lied to us?

Most of us grew up with honesty. What has happened and is it our fault because we allow this to happen? I am also confused as to where all the money is coming from.

A million dollars appears to be just something to throw out the window. — RON SMITH, Elizabeth St, Withcott