FED:Premier welcomes asbestos deal with feds

AAP General News (Australia)
12-07-2010
FED:Premier welcomes asbestos deal with feds

SYDNEY, Dec 7 AAP - NSW Premier Kristina Keneally says an agreement with the commonwealth
to cover a funding shortfall for asbestos victims will allow sick people to get their
money "on time and in full".

The commonwealth will lend the NSW government up to $160 million to ensure asbestos
victims and their families continue to be compensated.

"This agreement will provide certainty for asbestos victims and their families," Ms
Keneally said in a statement on Tuesday.

"(It) will ensure up to three years of compensation payments at current claim rates."

Under the agreement, the state government will contribute an equal amount in funding
to the Asbestos Injuries Compensation Fund (AICF) each time it draws down from the federal
loan.

The fund was established following a 2005 agreement between the NSW government and
James Hardie Industries to compensate people who have made legitimate asbestos-related
claims against the company in Australia.

Without the loan, Ms Keneally said it was projected the AICF would be exhausted within
twelve months.

She said the shortfall was created by the Global Financial Crisis and its impact on James Hardie.

"Our action will ensure sufferers of asbestos-related diseases continue to receive
compensation on time and in full," she said.

NSW Attorney-General John Hatzistergos said the agreement was about helping James Hardie
meet its "moral and legal" obligations to asbestos victims.

But Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the loan would not absolve James Hardie Industries
from liability.

"We wanted to ensure that victims had certainty that they would be able to make their
claims and there would be a sources of funds for those claims," Ms Gillard told reporters
in Canberra on Tuesday.

Without the loan agreement, the fund had advised that asbestos compensation claims
would have been rationed and paid in instalments, with some victims facing the prospect
of not living long enough to receive their full compensation.

Funds advanced to the NSW government are to be repaid to the commonwealth by June 30, 2020.

AAP tr/jsh

KEYWORD: ASBESTOS KENEALLY

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