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Oamaru cancer victim Ken Hurley is taking on a corporate giant.
He claims he was exposed to asbestos products made by James Hardie Industries in the 1970s.
Last year James Hardie agreed to pay $3.5 billion to Australian victims of asbestos related diseases and in a landmark claim Hurley is seeking around $300,000 of that payout.
If successful, he will pave the way for other Kiwi compensation payments.
Hurley was diagnosed as having cancer of the lung lining last year and he blames the deadly condition on the asbestos made by James Hardie's New South Wales plants which was imported into New Zealand.
It can take up to 40 years before such illnesses are detected and Hurley believes he was exposed while working as a carpenter for a local firm, de Geest's, in the early 1970s.
The firm built pre-fabricated homes for the Ministry of Works to house hydro workers. He doesn't blame the company as they were required to use asbestos products.
"There was dust everywhere - we'd just brush it out of your hair and carry on," he says.
The Ministry of Works specification for the contract included a clause that stated asbestos must be used.
A 2004 report into asbestos use in New Zealand found that the use of the product peaked in the 1960s and 1970s and 20% to 40% of all adult men were likely to have had some exposure to it during their working life.
In New Zealand only workers exposed to asbestos after April 2002 are eligible for lump-sum payments. Otherwise they get just $67 a week from ACC.
But Hurley's case is different because he plans to sue in Australia for products used here. His former supervisor Colin Dorsey backs him
"That's where all the James Hardie products came direct from - Australia into New Zealand and by rail down to us," says Dorsey.
He helped gather evidence for another de Geest worker who reached an out-of-court settlement with James Hardie Australia a decade ago.
Hurley wants a share of the $2 billion fund set up in Australia for asbestos victims.
"I would like something to take care of the wife and the mortgage."
A New Zealander has already been awarded compensation for using imported James Hardie products, but his payment is in dispute while the decision is appealed.
"If the outcome's positive for him, i'm sure the outlook for my problem would be enhanced," says Hurley
His lawyer Hazel Armstrong is posting a list of asbestos products formerly made by James Hardie Australia on the Council of Trade Union's website, to help other people who may be ill due to asbestos.
"People are essentially going to have to cast their minds back to the products they used and they are going to have to have some proof that they used it," says Armstrong.
The Council of Trade Unions launched a campaign in April seeking fair compensation for the victims of asbestos-related diseases in New Zealand.
Armstrong, who has long been fighting for compensation for asbestos victims, estimated last year that about 150 New Zealanders are expected to die each year from exposure to asbestos.
