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SYDNEY - Bernie Banton, the man who led the fight to force building products giant James Hardie to establish a A$4 billion ($5.31 billion) fund to compensate thousands of asbestos victims, has died. He was 61.
Mr Banton died at his Sydney home at 1am (AEDT) today, with his family by his bedside.
He had been diagnosed in August with peritoneal mesothelioma, a secondary abdominal cancer that experts say leaves victims with an average of 153 days to live.
"Bernie Banton died peacefully in his sleep this morning at around 1am (AEDT)," Phil Davey, a family friend, said in a statement.
"He was at home and was surrounded by his family.
"Bernie's family has asked me to thank the Australian community on their behalf for their support for Bernie."
Mr Davey said the family had asked for privacy.
Mr Banton was the public face of the six-year fight for the fund to compensate victims of asbestos-related diseases caused by products made by former James Hardie subsidiaries.
Mr Banton worked for six years, from 1968 to 1974, at what proved to be one of James Hardie's worst-affected plants, at Camellia in Sydney's western suburbs.
Of his 137 workmates at the plant at the time, only a handful are thought to be still alive.
Last Thursday Mr Banton won a confidential payout as compensation for his terminal mesothelioma, after he was awarded A$800,000 compensation for asbestosis in 2000.
Mr Banton's lawyer Tanya Segelov said then the case was a first for the A$4 billion James Hardie compensation fund.
"I think it does set a precedent in that he was the first person to come back for further damages," she said.
"I've many more cases on the same lines. Bernie received a lot of publicity because of who he was, but there are hundreds of people diagnosed with mesothelioma every year."
Last Saturday night, prime minister-elect Kevin Rudd used his victory speech to single out Mr Banton.
"Mate, you are not going to be forgotten in this place," Mr Rudd said.
"When so many were prepared to cast you to one side, Bernie Banton, you have been a beacon and clarion call for what is decent and necessary in life and I salute you."
Family had been by Mr Banton's bedside around the clock as his condition deteriorated rapidly. His sister arrived from Texas in the US to be at his bedside.
Ms Segelov said today Mr Banton had been a stubborn and inspirational fighter.
"He was a strong and stubborn man, but he was a great believer in justice and a great fighter," she told Sky News this morning.
She said he had held on as long as he could.
"He wanted to see his compensation case finished, which happened last week; he wanted to vote in the election which he did last week and see a change of government; he waited for his sister to be by his bedside," she said.
"He tried to keep going but he became so ill in the last few weeks.
- AAP
