 First edition cover | |
| Author | Matt Peacock |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Subject | James Hardie Industries use of asbestos |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Publisher | ABC Books |
Publication date | 2009 |
| Media type | Print, e-book |
| ISBN | 978-0733325809 |
Killer Company: James Hardie Exposed is a 2009 Australian book by journalist Matt Peacock.
The book documents how the use of harmful asbestos fibre in building materials produced by James Hardie Industries "led to the deaths of thousands of workers and customers, who were never informed of the dangers". [1] Working with asbestos products, such as "fibro", resulted in medical abnormalities, such as asbestosis. The book opens with the story of Bernie Banton, former James Hardie employee, who suffered from asbestos-induced fibrosis and later died. [1]
According to Peacock, James Hardie Industries circumvented the rules and regulations designed to protect the community from serious health hazards. [1] Peacock states that "Hardie embarked on a cold, calculated strategy to maximise profits, minimise compensation and conceal the culprits". [2]
Killer Company was a finalist for the Walkley non-fiction book of the year in 2009. [1] Devil's Dust , a docudrama based on Killer Company, was released in 2012, with Ewen Leslie portraying Peacock. [3]
The annual Walkley Awards are presented in Australia to recognise and reward excellence in journalism. They cover all media including print, television, documentary, radio, photographic and online media. The Gold Walkley is the highest prize and is chosen from all category winners. In 2023, Not all awards were open to male journalists. The awards are under the administration of the Walkley Foundation for Journalism.
James Hardie Industries plc is a global building materials company and the largest global manufacturer of fibre cement products. Headquartered in Ireland, it is a dual-listed company, being listed on the Australian and New York Stock Exchanges. Its management team currently sits in Chicago, Illinois, United States. James Hardie was plagued by several asbestos-related scandals in the 20th century.
Sir Llewellyn Roy Edwards, known as Llew Edwards, was an Australian politician. He was the Liberal Party leader for Queensland. He was Chair and CEO of Brisbane's World Expo '88.
Catherine Ellen Martin was a journalist for The West Australian newspaper from 1957, specialising in medical reporting. The winner of the inaugural Gold Walkley, Martin is known for her reporting the impact of asbestos–related diseases on the mining community in Wittenoom Gorge that led to the company James Hardie being found in the Supreme Court of New South Wales guilty of misleading conduct and failing to meet its obligations over its handling of asbestos compensation.
Paul James Barry is an English-born, Australian-based journalist, newsreader and television presenter, who has won many awards for his investigative reporting. He previously worked for the BBC on numerous programs, before emigrating to Australia.
Gideon Clifford Jeffrey Davidson Haigh is a British-born Australian journalist and non-fiction author who writes about sport, business and crime in Australia. He was born in London, was raised in Geelong, and lives in Melbourne.
Caroline Overington is an Australian journalist and author. Overington has written 13 books. She has twice won the Walkley Award for investigative journalism, as well as winning the Sir Keith Murdoch prize for journalism (2007), the Blake Dawson Waldron Prize (2008) and the Davitt Award for Crime Writing (2015).
Bernard Douglas Banton AM was an Australian builder and, later, social justice campaigner for asbestos-related diseases. He was the widely recognised face of the legal and political campaign to achieve compensation for the many sufferers of asbestos-related conditions, which they contracted after either working for the company James Hardie or being exposed to James Hardie Industries' products.
The Pascall Prize for Arts Criticism, formerly known as the Pascall Prize and then the Walkley-Pascall Award or Walkley-Pascall Award for Arts Criticism, is one of two annual Walkley Arts Journalism prizes awarded by the Walkley Foundation. The prize was established in 1988 in memory of Geraldine Pascall, an Australian journalist who died of a stroke at the age of 38.
The Western Australian Music Industry Awards are annual awards presented to the local contemporary music industry, put on by the Western Australian Music Industry Association Inc (WAM). The WAMi Awards are Western Australia Music's night of nights, bringing together local music fans and members of local, national and international industry to acknowledge and celebrate another year of achievements for Western Australia.
Australian Blue Asbestos Pty. Ltd. (ABA) was a company founded by Lang Hancock, operated between the years (1938–1966) responsible for the mining, bagging and distribution of blue asbestos or crocidolite, in Wittenoom, in northern Western Australia. The operation, purchased in 1943 by CSR Limited, was operated as a subsidiary until its closure in 1966. Due to litigation brought about by workers about the effects of inhalation of airborne fibres of blue asbestos, the company was forced to close. It was alleged that ABA was negligent in its behaviour in that, with respect to the workers, families and residents of Wittenoom, the company willingly knew that conditions were well below standard and that dust levels exceeded accepted levels of the day.
Griffith Review is a quarterly publication featuring essays, reportage, memoir, fiction, poetry and artwork from established and emerging writers and artists. The publication was founded in 2003 by Griffith University in Australia, and was initially published by ABC Books. In 2009, Text Publishing became the Review's publishing partner and distributor. Therefore, the magazine has bases in both Brisbane and Melbourne. Julianne Schultz was the founding editor and has been publisher since 2018, when Ashley Hay was appointed editor.
Estelle Blackburn is an Australian journalist who played a crucial role in the review of several controversial criminal cases in Western Australia.
Baryulgil is a rural locality in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. The locality is on the Clarence River in the Clarence Valley Council local government area.
The Telegraph was an evening newspaper published in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was first published on 1 October 1872 and its final edition appeared on 5 February 1988. In its day it was recognised as one of the best news pictorial newspapers in the country. Its Pink Sports edition was a particularly excellent production produced under tight deadlines. It included results and pictures of Brisbane's Saturday afternoon sports including the results of the last horse race of the day.
Linda Mary Buckfield is an Australian television producer, journalist and musician. Buckfield was the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist of the pop rock band Electric Pandas from 1983 to 1987. Buckfield's television work commenced in 1990, and she has since won five Walkley Awards.
Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere by abrasion and other processes. Inhalation of asbestos fibres can lead to various dangerous lung conditions, including mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer. As a result of these health effects, asbestos is considered a serious health and safety hazard.
Devil's Dust is a two-part Australian television docu-drama mini-series on the ABC which first screened in 2012. Based on journalist Matt Peacock's 2009 book Killer Company, Devil's Dust was researched and developed by producer Stephen Corvini for over two years prior to the series' production. Through the factual case of Bernie Banton, it recounts the tragedy of many Australian workers and their families afflicted with asbestosis and mesothelioma in the twentieth-century asbestos mining and processing industries. Though the extreme health risks of exposure to asbestos dust had been documented for many years, manufacturer James Hardie persisted in large-scale use of the material, aided by inadequate regulation by state health agencies.
The Bernie Banton Foundation was an Australian not-for-profit organisation founded in June 2009 by its CEO, Karen Banton, the widow of Bernie Banton AM. It was an Australian national mesothelioma cancer, and other asbestos related diseases victim support and patient related advocacy organisation, offering and providing support in all Australian states and territories.
Matthew Peacock is an Australian journalist and author who has worked for Australia's ABC News in television and radio since 1973, authoring a critically lauded book on the asbestos industry during that time, and becoming a staff-elected director of the network.
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