Canberra's Mr Fluffy crisis has touched the highest office in the land, with Australia's 22nd governor-general, Sir William Deane, expressing sympathy for homeowners affected by loose asbestos and also some sadness that his childhood home faces demolition.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Sir William recognised immediately the home he grew up in on La Perouse Street in Griffith, when it was featured on the front page of The Canberra Times last fortnight as a Mr Fluffy house.
Sir William moved to Canberra with his family in 1933, when he was just two. He lived in the home while he went to St Christopher's Convent and Parish School in Manuka.
The 1926 heritage-listed home is slated for demolition, having been identified as one of 1021 homes containing the potentially deadly loose asbestos insulation which was installed in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
When approached to comment on the situation by The Canberra Times, Sir William said his father had sold the home in 1955, more than a decade before Mr Fluffy operator Dirk Jansen began pumping the carcinogenic insulation into local roof spaces.
Sir William said his family had been spared the trauma of exposure to the asbestos.
But he extended his heartfelt sympathy to families grappling with the issue today.
"I can … fully appreciate and understand the devastation of the members of the many fellow Canberra families who were and are the innocent victims. They all have Helen's and my great sympathy."
Canberra's normally iron-clad heritage regulations will be waived in order for the home to be demolished, along with an estimated 20 heritage listed homes in established suburbs to be bulldozed.
