“Safety and Eradication”: understanding how discourses about asbestos have shaped Commonwealth asbestos policy (2004 -2014)

The use of asbestos in Australia was prohibited in 2003, however the legacy of Australia’s past consumption of asbestos remains. Asbestos-containing materials continue to compromise the health and well-being of individuals and communities. Despite the policy implications of the asbestos legacy, there has been relatively little scholarly engagement with asbestos policy. In 2013 the Commonwealth Government, established the Asbestos Safety and Eradication Authority (the ASEA), a cross-cutting agency with responsibilities for the workplace, public health and the built environment. This thesis explores how the ASEA came into being and shows how a diverse coalition of non- traditional policy actors grappled with this complex policy issue.