Help asbestos victims

I had the pleasure of being at a function last Monday at which ex-James Hardie employee, father, family man and now long-time sufferer of asbestosis, Mr Burnie Banton AM, spoke.

I was intrigued to hear this man's courageous story, but his story is the story of so many others and it was the size of this problem and the number of fellow Australians affected by this corporate neglect that really hit home with me.

These victims have been negotiating for many years now following assistance from the trade union movement and the State Government and, in December 2005, everyone thought they finally had an agreement to end the suffering of these victims.

This was only to be a short-lived oasis.

Enter the Australia Tax Office, a Commonwealth department that is now threatening this agreement and the billions of dollars in compensation for asbestos victims.

I call on my fellow Australians to pick up a pen and write to the Commissioner of Taxation, Mr Michael D'Ascenzo, GPO Box 9990, Sydney NSW 2000, and to our Prime Minister, Mr John Howard, PO Box 6022, Parliament House, Canberra ACT 2600, and help put an end to the suffering of these hard-working Australians.

This is about more than money or tax rates.

This is about being Australian and looking after one another.

Let's show that mateship is still alive and well.

Jim Macfadyen Killcare