By AIDAN KNIGHT
VICKI Hamilton OAM, current chief executive/secretary of Gippsland Asbestos Related Disease Support (GARDS), attended last week’s Latrobe City Council meeting as a public speaker.
Ms Hamilton was representing her organisation on item 10.4 of the agenda – the request for a commemorative statue on council land.
This relates specifically to the history of asbestos-related diseases within Gippsland, an area more affected by the problem than any other region in the state. GARDS approached council prior to the meeting at Kernot Hall on November 24. GARDS sought council support to install a memorial sculpture in honour of those who have suffered and died due to this long-standing issue, on council-owned land.
The specific site proposed was the Moe Botanic Gardens.
Ms Hamilton told council she was looking only for support, without funding, for “a statue for all the power workers who produced the energy for the whole of the state”, who were unknowingly exposed to asbestos in the process. This struck a chord with Morwell River Ward Councillor Tracie Lund, who tragically lost her husband Simon to asbestos-related cancer in May.
GARDS has already secured more than $40k in footings and in-kind support, support of all three existing power stations, and seven foundations. The organisation had also engaged a grant writer in preparation for future funding rounds, should council give its blessing.
“We received an apology from the state government in 2008, but that is only an apology,” Ms Hamilton said. “We need something that reminds future generations of what occurred in this Valley”.
Ms Hamilton told of the roughly 140,000 workers the sculpture would represent, “that went through the power stations between the 1920-1980s.”
Newborough Ward Cr Sharon Gibson made a motion supporting Ms Hamilton’s request later in the night, stating that she could not agree more strongly, and that it had been a long time coming. She went on to emphasise the importance of having a permanent fixture where people can go with their grief, shared by so many families, rather than simply attending individual gravesites.
“To have a central spot that is all about the disease that has taken so many, I think is a worthwhile memorial to have. It’s so needed, I wish that it wasn’t, but it is.”
Yallourn Ward Cr Steph Morgan especially endorsed the location and shared personal details about her late grandfather’s passing when she was only five-years-old, due to his work as a mechanic in the Latrobe Valley, which exposed him to asbestos.
“It’s time that we get on with it,” she said after her reflection, “and allow our land to be used for such an important memorial.”
Even more poignant was Cr Lund’s contribution.
“This isn’t some distant issue for Latrobe City, it’s about our story – not in a way that anyone would ever choose. Too many families know this pain personally,” she said.
“Too many families’ lives have been changed forever.
“We don’t have a neat policy that fits this request, not everything important fits into a neat policy,” she continued, saying the decision was about acknowledging reality.
“For me it’s about honouring the people behind the statistics, the families who carried the grief quietly, and the advocates who have fought so hard for recognition and support.”
It was at this point that Cr Lund, visibly emotional, cut short her speech before offering her recommendation. The motion was then put to a vote, in which it passed unanimously, before the Morwell Rivers councillor took a moment to leave the room and regain composure, to which council compassionately called a recess.
This offered all present a dignified moment of reflection, in a topic grounded in the profound human loss many others like Cr Lund have, and will continue for up to another 100 years to come (as projected by the Asbestos and Silica Safety and Education Agency).
Council officers recognised the proposed location as an appropriate place for the memorial, as a calm, reflective space.
Latrobe City Council may also explore additional funding for the project in the new year, within the 2026 budget.
The GARDS plan for a memorial was formulated on October 13, 2025, and an artist’s impression and construction details were compiled into a document titled Memorial Sculpture & Mural Request Funding, which was obtained by the Express at the November meeting.
It was planned to be built from a silicon mould into a bronze casting, with fine metal finishing and patina, resting on concrete footings.
Asbestos Council of Victoria (ACV) and GARDs commissioned sculptor Lis Johnson to undertake the project, pending council permittance, whose notable works include the statue of Rod Laver at his arena, the Illawarra Coal Mining Memorial in Wollongong, the Avenue of Legends at the MCG, and a multitude of Australian MPs.
