Cross River rail: government must intervene to protect public safety

Asbestos Disease Support Society

The state government and regulators must act immediately on reports of asbestos contamination and inadequate removal and containment procedures at the Cross River Rail demolition site in Albert Street.

“We’ve got a situation here where contractors are playing with peoples’ lives – and not just those of construction workers, but also thousands of pedestrians and local residents,” Asbestos Disease Support Society general manager Trevor Torrens said.

“Asbestos kills more people in Australia each year than car accidents. It is not something to be trifled with; not something you can take a ‘she’ll be right’ approach with,” Mr Torrens said.

“What concerns me greatly is we have a lead contractor in here trying to do things on the cheap and cutting corners with public safety.”

“This is a $5.4 billion project being funded by the Queensland taxpayer and should be a model of the best possible workplace health and safety practices.”

“Clearly, given the repeated breaches and intervention by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, we have a real problem with this job site.”

“It has reached the stage where, in the interests of public safety, the government has no option other than to intervene,” Mr Torrens said.

/Public Release.