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James O'Loghlin had only just reconnected with one of his best and oldest friends, Jum Wallner, when Jum received some terrible news. What began next was a high stakes race with a fatal deadline.
The two men had grown up in Canberra, where thousands of homes had been filled with asbestos, which was often carelessly installed and removed.
Jum himself had grown up in one of these so-called "Mr Fluffy" homes, named after the local company that had installed the carcinogenic insulation.
When Jum felt a pain in his side, it wasn't long before the father of two and husband was diagnosed with mesothelioma and given months to live.
Jum had discovered that if you got sick from being exposed to asbestos in your workplace you were entitled to compensation, but if it came from your home, you got nothing.
So Jum asked his old friend James for some help to petition the powers that be to help asbestos victims like himself and their families.
James began a race against time, trying to convince both the ACT and Federal governments to help Jum and others, in the middle of a pandemic, before it was too late.
Along the way, James and Jum reconnected deeply as friends who desperately wished they had more time together.
The Missing Piece is published by Echo Publishing.
More information about the Loose-Fill Asbestos Disease Support Scheme can be found at the ACT Government's website.
This episode of Conversations was produced by Meggie Morris. Executive Producer is Nicola Harrison.
It explores friendship, male friendship, university days, terminal disease, James Hardie, cancer, terminal diagnosis, how to grieve a friend, activism, petition governments, Covid, pandemic, Greg Hunt, Angus Taylor, compensation, accidental activist, dying friends, mourning, funerals, Andrew Barr, ALP, Labor party, Liberals, bipartisan, Albanese, politics, Auspol, burnout, diagnosis.
To binge even more great episodes of the Conversations podcast with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski go the ABC listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts. There you’ll find hundreds of the best thought-provoking interviews with authors, writers, artists, politicians, psychologists, musicians, and celebrities.
