Killer Company: James Hardie Exposed

by Matt Peacock

THE SHOCKING STORY OF AUSTRALIA′S BIGGEST CORPORATE SCANDAL

ABC journalist Matt Peacock reveals how one of Australia′s most prestigious companies, James Hardie, covered up the hazards of its asbestos products and moved offshore, leaving behind thousands of victims from its former workforce and the general public.

This book, which inspired the ABC1 mini-series ′Devil′s Dust′, tells the inside story of how Matt and asbestos campaigner Bernie Banton brought the company to account, revealing the corporate tactics which allowed Hardie to conceal what is Australia′s greatest peacetime disaster.

Matt first warned the public about the dangers of Hardie′s asbestos empire in an award-winning radio series in 1977. He has followed the tragic trail for more than 30 years: from the company′s factories where workers had ′snowball′ fights, to the mine where Aboriginal children played in the tailings, and into the homes of tens of thousands of Australians still at risk from Hardie′s products, where asbestos lies in the walls, roofs and even under the carpets.

390 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 2009

About the author

Matt Peacock was an Australian television and radio journalist, correspondent and author who worked for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in their News and Current Affairs Department specialising in politics, environment and science. He later also served as a director on the ABC Board. He authored Killer Company, a critically lauded 2009 book on the asbestos industry during that time.

Reviews

[Kaetrin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I watched the Australian TV miniseries Devil's Dust recently and when I saw it was a dramatisation of this book, I was curious to read it to see what the differences were. There were many. It is always curious to me when an adaptation changes things to make them "more dramatic" when the truth is even more scandalous.

James Hardie's corporate mentality (which remains) of cover up, deny, hide, spin and lie is beyond appalling and asbestos is just plain scary. I expect we have all been exposed to it, whether we know it or not and it is so deadly. I'm feeling a bit paranoid now!

Given how dangerous it is, I was really surprised (in a bad way) to find out that the major asbestos mine in Canada only shut down in 2011 and as recently as 2012, it was going to be re-opened again, but Quebec had a change of government and the plan was quashed (via Wikipedia, not this book).

Asbestos is still used in developing countries and how this can be allowed is just beyond me. It is so deadly. There is NO safe exposure limit.

I found this book fascinating in a lot of ways and the truth was far more interesting to me than the dramatisation in the miniseries. I'm surprised the miniseries left out that there is still asbestos in driveways and paths and in dumps all over Australia - that people are still being affected by it now and will pay the price in 20 or 30 years.

There were a few typos in this book which was a bit of a surprise considering it's a re-print with an updated epilogue - I would have thought they'd have picked them up and corrected.

A fascinating look into a shameful chapter of Australia's corporate history.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well researched and written book about how James Hardie continued to produce and sell asbestos products, even after it became known how toxic and carcinogenic this mineral is. There are still many asbestos containing houses in Australia. Exposure to one fibre of asbestos can cause a horrible death from mesothelioma.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fucking excellent. Pretty fascinating look into corporate and political power in Australia. Well written, engaging, easy to read, etcetera. Definitely recommend - I pretty much wanna buy a copy for everyone I know.

[Stuart Hodge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Forensic and horrific account of a nasty, nasty corporate cover up.