Mr SHORTEN (Maribyrnong—Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation and Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) (14:27): I thank the member for Wentworth for his question. But I have to say, what a glass jaw this fellow has got. Yesterday, he ran an argument saying we were not doing enough and today, because he has opened the book on asbestos for the first time, he is saying, 'You shouldn't do this; you shouldn't do that.' Now we have a debate about duelling opinions on the best way to treat asbestos. What a glass jaw. Yesterday, we know what was raised about asbestos. I would love to have thought it was about the residents of Penrith. Mr Turnbull: Madam Speaker, on a point of order: could you remind the minister he is not in a North Carlton pie shop and he should return to the question. The SPEAKER: The member for Wentworth is abusing points of order and will leave the chamber under standing order 94(a). The continual abuse of points of order will not be tolerated. My sense is guided by the standing orders. The member for Wentworth then left the chamber. The SPEAKER: The minister has the call. Mr Tudge interjecting— The SPEAKER: The member for Aston will leave the chamber under standing order 94(a). The member for Canning can wave his arms all he likes or we can actually have appropriate behaviour in accordance with the standing orders. The member for Aston then left the chamber. Mr SHORTEN: Little did I know when I said 'glass jaw' that he would so quickly prove my statement. The SPEAKER: The minister will return to the question. Ms Julie Bishop interjecting— The SPEAKER: No, it is not okay, Deputy Leader of the Opposition. If, for once, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition was listening as opposed to talking, she may have heard that I was actually bringing the minister back to the question. Mr SHORTEN: I have been asked a question about competing methods for dealing with the threat of asbestos. I am pleased to answer that question because this government has got a proud record. This government, in fact, is a world leader. Nothing excuses Telstra's failure to deliver up to the promises and undertakings it has made to the community. Again, I wish to put on record that I recognise that the CEO of Telstra has shown leadership, as opposed to a small target, by indeed offering his acceptance of responsibility. But I have been asked about what the best way forward is in terms of dealing with asbestos. I do not resile from the view that the best way to deal with asbestos is not in the long term to leave it in the ground. But on this side we stand for the eventual eradication of asbestos. Asbestos kills people; it kills 700 people a year—it is a dreadful substance, and the people who have produced it over the years have done this in the full knowledge, in my opinion, of the risks it presented. But if you want to change health and safety, it does take time. There are a lot of people who need to be brought along the path of making Australia's workplaces safer. In my experience it is particularly difficult to change the health and safety direction of large corporations. It is slow and difficult; otherwise it would have happened many years ago. What you have to do is alert them—that is what this government has done—you have to identify the issues, you have to seed ideas into them and you have to put forward suggestions on what should be done. It needs to be done at the highest level. That is what this government has done. But, indeed, you not only need to challenge organisations—and they normally respond in my experience, as Telstra did: 'We've got it under control'. But then what has happened is that this government has initiated a review of asbestos, we have acted on the recommendations and we have set up the first agency to create a national approach. This government has done a lot, and I have to say that it is a sad day when otherwise respectable members of the opposition seek to tarnish their own reputations by turning this into a political issue. Asbestos should be a bipartisan issue, and even though he is not in the chamber I extend to the member for Wentworth the opportunity to work with us on how to make asbestos safe, because it does not matter how you take and challenge those pits that are there; under anyone's policy on telcos, if you open one of those pits in the wrong way you will hurt people and you will damage them, and that is what we must fight jointly. (Time expired)