Australian Asbestos Campaigner Dies

Bernie Banton, the Australian asbestos victim who led an international fight for compensation from building materials giant James Hardie Industries N.V., died Tuesday after a long battle with lung disease, his family said. He was 61.

Banton contracted asbestosis after working for a James Hardie subsidiary from 1968 to 1974. Workers at the factory were known as "snowmen" because they were regularly coated with the white asbestos powder that the company made into fire-repellant wallboard and other products.

He later became the public face of a lengthy political and legal battle that eventually persuaded the building company to set up a multibillion compensation fund for victims of its asbestos products.

The former machine operator launched his campaign against James Hardie _ once Australia's largest asbestos maker _ in 2001 after the company shifted its headquarters from Sydney to the Netherlands. The company said the move was for tax reasons; critics said it was designed to avoid a slew of asbestos-related lawsuits.

James Hardie initially established a compensation fund of 293 million Australian dollars, but it proved inadequate in the face of mounting claims. Banton's tireless campaign eventually forced the buildings giant to extend the fund by around 4 billion Australian dollars. After years of negotiations, the deal was approved by shareholders in February.

Banton himself won an undisclosed sum from James Hardie last week after he was diagnosed with terminal mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer, in August.

Known for his informal demeanor and the portable oxygen tank he relied on for much of his late life, Banton was praised by politicians and business leaders alike Tuesday.

Prime Minister-elect Kevin Rudd said the asbestos campaigner was a "mate" who would not be forgotten.

"Australia is going to be poorer for Bernie's passing," Rudd told reporters in Brisbane. "He became a symbol, a living symbol of what is right and decent and proper in the workplace relations of this country."

James Hardie sent its condolences to Banton's family in a statement Tuesday, saying he had made "a significant contribution" to awareness of asbestos-related diseases in Australia.

Banton, who will be honored by a state funeral in his home state of New South Wales, is survived by his wife, Karen, five children and 11 grandchildren.