SUNDAY 11 NOVEMBER & MONDAY 12 NOVEMBER 8.

30PM

INTRODUCTION:
An intensely personal drama based on one of Australias most shocking corporate scandals, Devils Dust tells the story of ordinary Australians caught in a web of deception in the James Hardie asbestos saga.

EXPOSED TO POISON. EXPOSING THE TRUTH.

This two-part series follows four people led by everyday hero and ex-Hardies employee Bernie Banton (Anthony Hayes) thrown together by a tragedy that becomes a high-stakes battle through the corridors of corporate, political and media power. Spanning four decades, Devils Dust shows industrial manufacturer James Hardie first cover up its knowledge of the dangers of its asbestos mining and products and then threaten compensation plans by moving the company overseas. But it is not just a story of court cases and corporate legalese. Devils Dust depicts Australians

from all walks of life whose lives are ripped apart by a deadly dust that looks so innocent, yet is so lethal. In the 1970s, Bernie Banton works on the James Hardie BI factory floor in Parramatta where asbestos dust is piled like snowdrifts. Little does he realise the impact the dust will have on him, his family and his colleagues and that he will inspire a nation with his determination to hold his former employer to account. Young and tenacious ABC journalist Matt Peacock (Ewen Leslie) uncovers the dramatic gap between the dangers of asbestos known

to international scientists and the public position of James Hardie and its allies. When Matt meets Bernie during an interview for The 7.30 Report he anoints him the unofficial spokesperson for the asbestos compensation campaign. As the two become fixated on pursuing James Hardie, its up to Bernies wife, Karen (Alexandra Schepisi), to pick up the pieces at home. Karen helps Bernie handle the emotional burden of fighting for victims of asbestosis and mesothelioma, the cancer caused by asbestos and to face his own asbestos fate.

The fictional character of James Hardie spin doctor Adam Bourke (Don Hany) is Matt and Bernies nemesis as he works hard to protect the interests of the companys shareholders. But far from being ruthless and uncaring, Adam experiences terrible moral dilemmas when he realises that the health and survival of thousands of Australians is jeopardised by the materials his company manufactured. Based on interviews with those who have survived and the stories of those who have died, Devils Dust is inspired by the work of Matt Peacock, author of the book Killer Company.

The legacy of asbestos will continue for decades to come. By 2030, asbestosrelated illnesses are expected to have killed more than 60,000 Australians, more than our countrys death toll in WW1.

Production credits: 2 x 90 minutes. Writer: Kris Mrksa. ABC Executive Producers: Carole Sklan and Christopher Gist. Executive Producer: Jason Stephens. Producers: Antonia Barnard and Stephen Corvini. Director: Jessica Hobbs. A FremantleMedia Australia production made in association with Bravado Productions for ABC1; financed with the support of Screen Australia and Screen NSW.

EPISODE 1
SUNDAY 11 NOVEMBER 8.30PM ON ABC1
As Bernie Banton jokes with his workmates on the James Hardie BI factory floor in the 1970s, he and his colleagues are covered head-to-toe in dust. Asbestos dust. Management says the dust is harmless, and why would anyone doubt them? A phone rings in the ABC Radio Science Unit, and journalist Matt Peacock answers. A PR firm representing James Hardie wants to use his recent story on asbestos, despite there being no mention of Hardie in the piece. He immediately smells a rat. For every journalist hunting a story, theres a spin doctor protecting a brand. Adam Bourke is working in advertising but sees public relations as the future. Hardie Chairman John Reid likes his understanding of brand awareness, and gives him a job. Bernies brother Ted, a Hardie factory supervisor, asks the workers to clean the factory because a site inspection is imminent. NSW Department of Health inspector Eva Francis queries why workers arent wearing regulatory dust masks a comment that grabs Bernies attention. Why would a health inspector worry when workers get regular x-rays by the company doctor? Yet none of the workers actually know what the results of the x-rays are, and the Health Department doesnt keep them Bernie is suspicious. He and his mate Jock prank call Eva, telling her to do a snap inspection. Meanwhile, Matt interviews an American asbestos expert who says they have been unable to identify any safe level of exposure to asbestos dust. Eva turns up for her surprise inspection and is shocked to see asbestos dust spewing onto workers. As the union rep, Bernie calls a strike. But Adam proves his worth and convinces the union state secretary to call it off. Bernie is incensed that a pay-rise prevails over dangerous working conditions and quits bad timing for his family, considering he has a baby on the way. With little work, Bernie falls into a pit of despair and his wife leaves him. Matt continues to file asbestos stories and

on a visit to the mining town Baryulgil, he discovers none of the locals know about the dangers of the dust. Matt feels he may have missed his chance to hold Hardie accountable and accepts a job with the ABC in London. Bernies life changes when he meets a wonderful woman called Karen. Ten years later Bernie is now a funeral director and faces one of the toughest days of his life when he finds the dust has claimed his friend Jocks life. Matt returns from London and picks up the asbestos story. Adam is still protecting Hardie but something has changed in him; hes developed a certain cynicism. Hes told Hardie wants to separate itself from its

asbestos liabilities by moving its headquarters offshore and setting up the Medical Research Compensation Fund (MRCF) in Australia. Hes assured there is enough money to cover all future compensation claims against Hardie. At the funds announcement, Matt makes eye contact with his nemesis Adam. Both men know this story is far from over. Meanwhile, more asbestos victims than ever are suffering. Bernie is diagnosed with asbestosis and, as his brother Ted dies from mesothelioma, he calls his old colleagues from the Hardie years. But nothing can prepare him for just what that dust has done to his mates so many are already dead. That dust. Asbestos dust. That damned devils dust.

EPISODE 2
MONDAY 12 NOVEMBER 8.30PM ON ABC1
Bernie sits in a meeting at the Asbestos Diseases Foundation of Australia with Karen by his side. He cant listen to what he regards as platitudes any longer and lets rip at the foundations president Barry Robson. How can people all these dying souls around him be so nave and believe anything Hardie tells them? Hardie has applied to the Supreme Court to move its headquarters to the Netherlands. Matt tries to convince his old ABC colleague Bob Debus now the NSW Attorney General to do something, but the court gives Hardie the go-ahead to move overseas. Bernie channels his anger by visiting dying asbestos victims in hospital. But his newfound purpose cant stave off his own deteriorating health and his specialist tells him hell need to use oxygen full time. In the Hardie boardroom, things are heating up. Hostilities emerge between Hardie management and the compensation fund (MRCF) it set up. Adam orchestrates a meeting between Hardie and the MRCF, but any semblance of goodwill is quickly dashed. The fund reveals it is close to running out of money and needs $700 million. Hardie boss Peter MacDonald flatly refuses and says the company is now under Dutch law. Even hardened company man Adam is shocked. When the funding shortfall becomes public, Hardie faces a formidable weapon as Matt meets Bernie for the first time. Matt sees the passion in Bernies eyes and likes his no-nonsense turn of phrase. Interviewing Bernie for The 7.30 Report, Matt kick-starts the rise of a local hero. Bernies emotional interview strikes a chord with talkback radio listeners, and NSW Premier Bob Carr announces a commission into the set-up of the MRCF. Matt tells Bernie that his influence and straighttalking could make him the perfect spokesperson for the cause. The Jackson Special Commission of Inquiry begins and things do not look good for Hardie, especially for CEO Peter MacDonald. As a less than

convincing witness on the stand, MacDonald now has to contend with Bernie, who is stepping up his media commitments. Adam discreetly makes Hardie patriarch John Reid aware that Hardies greatest liability is MacDonald. MacDonald is soon replaced with Meredith Hellicar. Adam finds work weighing on his conscience and asks his wife Rebecca what kind of a man he is. He doesnt get the answer he is searching for: Youre a PR man Adam, thats what you do. At the Hardie AGM, Bernie and others rally noisily outside and cause chaos for Meredith Hellicar on stage. Bernies speech also inspires Bob Carr to call him, asking to meet other victims. Profoundly moved,

Carr holds a press conference demanding that James Hardie pay up. He asks the Prime Minister to use the full force of Federal law to ensure the Hardie board is held to account. Bernies last roll of the dice is the Dust Diseases Tribunal, which agrees to accept Bernies case for exemplary damages. As his death approaches, his lawyer Tanya Segelov finds the last piece of the puzzle in a stray file. Hardie settles just before Bernie dies, and he is awarded a state funeral.

BERNIE BANTON
Folk hero, tireless campaigner and a thorn in the side of a corporation ducking for cover is how Bernie Banton will be remembered. The former James Hardie factory worker shows determination to bring the company to justice and becomes the media icon for the asbestos compensation cause. Bernie has black and white views and is not easily swayed. He is intuitive, stubborn and sometimes belligerent, but also a lovable, knockabout bloke with a soft side. I would describe Bernie as an ordinary Australian who is elevated to an extraordinary folk hero, says Anthony Hayes. When Bernie starts working at James Hardies Camellia factory (then known as Hardie BI) in 1968 as a lathe operator, he and his colleagues look like snowmen, always covered from head to toe in white asbestos dust. Its this exposure that eventually leads to Bernie being diagnosed with asbestosis in 1998 and to an early death from mesothelioma in 2007, aged 61. A man often tortured by the injustices of his predicament, Bernie has a burning desire to seize the opportunity of taking on James Hardie to seek justice for all asbestos victims and to also make up for a wayward past which he seemingly considers wasted. When youre facing your own mortality you start looking at your life and want to be

played by Anthony Hayes

someone, says much as Bernie cause, it seems to be someone lasting legacy.

Anthony. As fights for the he also wants that leaves a

Bernies sense of fairness and ability to orate passionately for the cause is born from his church upbringing, and witnessing the illness and death of not only his brother Ted but also his best mate and so many of his colleagues.

MATT PEACOCK
Driven, determined and unwavering in his passion to help make the plight of James Hardie workers lead the news agenda, Matt Peacock is on the scent of what will eventually become one of Australias most prominent news stories when we first meet him in the late 1970s. A smart, pugnacious journalist for ABC radio and television, Matt first reports on James Hardie and the hazards of asbestos in the workplace in 1977 in a radio program Work as a Health Hazard for ABC Radio National. Its something he believes in very much and he is very driven, says Ewen Leslie. In some ways and I dont know whether this is true to life this is about someone who was chasing a story and

played by Ewen Leslie

wanting to get it out there, and is then thrown into a very human, personal element of it. He finds himself in scenarios where he has to break the news to people who have worked with asbestos that it can cause death. As he works from a desk piled high with papers, stationery and dirty cups, the story piques his interest, and Matt stays the path, operating under the maxim without fear or favour. After interviewing Bernie Banton for The 7.30 Report, Matt anoints Bernie as the face of asbestos compensation. Matt forms a close bond with Bernie, speaking to him almost daily and advising him how he can keep the heat on Hardie in the media.

What starts as just an interview turns into an extraordinary friendship, says Ewen. They become good mates and Matt is with Bernie right until the end.

ADAM BOURKE
Adam Bourke, a fictional character, is a loving father and husband of humble working class origins who climbs the corporate ladder to become a spin doctor extraordinaire. He starts his career in advertising before using his father-in-laws connections with a mid-level Hardie executive to land the role of in-house public relations at James Hardie. The conservative and deeply career driven executive is, without a doubt, Matt Peacocks antagonist, with the two playing a cat and mouse game for decades. Theres almost a mutual respect in a strange way, with both of them having a desire to share the story, says Don Hany. Adam believes he can work

played by Don Hany

with Matt to make it a win-win outcome for what they are both after. Adams strength is his brilliance at turning a negative into a positive, allowing James Hardie to continue to promote their brand despite their strong association with deadly asbestos. I dont think Adam sleeps comfortably at night, says Don. Hes a product of a certain type of corporate culture of the time, and during the course of the story he becomes the vehicle for showing how widespread the cost of such a culture can be. But he becomes conflicted about what he believes and it gives him plenty of sleepless nights.

Away from the boardroom and courtroom, Adam draws strength from his marriage to Rebecca, who stands by her husband through the rough and tumble decades of one of the most testing corporate jobs in the country.

KAREN BANTON
Karen is a recent widow with an infant son Dean when she first meets Bernie at his brother Bruce Bantons Foursquare Church in 1991. The couple fall in love almost immediately and Bernie quickly proposes. A kind and gentle soul, Karen believes it was destiny that brought her and Bernie together. Karen is incredibly loving to Bernie, says Alexandra Schepisi. She loves him unconditionally and is extremely supportive and her strength builds throughout her time with Bernie as she fights beside him and for him. A fervently religious woman, Karen seems more conciliatory than her husband and seeks to show Bernie another viewpoint, but she doesnt always succeed. She is, however, unwavering in her love and support for Bernie and, despite him becoming consumed with bringing James Hardie to justice, Karens determination to help him in his battle becomes more resolute as the years go on. Shes a very supportive, strong, kind and calm person, explains Alexandra. She took on the bigger picture mainly to support him, more so about raising awareness of the health side of things as opposed to the legal battle. Karen is very staunch; a quiet achiever and where Bernie is celebrated very prominently, Karen is right next to him supporting him all the way.

played by Alexandra Schepisi

CAST
ANTHONY HAYES
An actor since the age of nine, critically-acclaimed Anthony Hayes has appeared on film and television screens for over 20 years, with credits including The Slap, Beaconsfield, Animal Kingdom, Beneath Hill 60, Rabbit Proof Fence, Ned Kelly, Bootmen, Bastard Boys and Changi. Anthonys performance in the acclaimed Australian feature film The Boys alongside Toni Collette and David Wenham earned him AFI and Film Critics Circle of Australian nominations as Best Supporting Actor in 1998. He went on to win an AFI award in 2005 for Best Supporting Actor for Look Both Ways, and followed with another win in 2006 for Suburban Mayhem. Other nominations include AFI and FCCA Best Supporting Actor nominations for his role in Nash Edgertons The Square. Anthony has also developed a career in writing and directing. His debut feature film Ten Empty had its world premiere at the Sydney Film Festival in 2008 and received nominations for Best Screenplay at the Victorian and the Queensland Premiers Literary Awards in 2008 and 2007 respectively. Devils Dust is an amazing story, says Anthony. A role like this doesnt come along very often. Its a challenge, and its great doing something out of my comfort zone. When I read the script I immediately thought [the role] frightened the hell out of me and, as an actor, thats an excellent place to start from. role of Senior Constable Theo Rahme on Channel Tens White Collar Blue and has been a regular face on Australian television screens since the late 90s. Most recently, Don appeared in the ABC telemovie Jack Irish alongside Guy Pearce. He also starred in the drama series Offspring and played the lead role in East West 101. His television credits include leading guest roles on Rake, Tangle, Chandon Pictures, Dirt Game, Underbelly, Rush, Legend Of The Seeker, All Saints, Water Rats, Home & Away, Heroes Mountain and Breakers. He has also played the villain opposite Dougray Scott in the 2-part miniseries False Witness. Dons film credits include the multi-award winning US telemovie Winning The Peace,

DON HANY
Award-winning actor Don Hany began his TV career with the

for which Don won Best Actor at the 2005 Methodfest awards, as well as US films Big Top, The TV Set and California. His Australian film credits include Lucky Miles and the ABC telemovie The Last Confession Of Alexander Pearce. Don was nominated for AFIs in 2008 and 2009 for Best Lead Actor in a TV Drama and in 2010 won the TV Week Silver Logie for Most Outstanding Actor for his role in East West 101. In 2011, Don was nominated for the TV Week Silver Logie for Most Popular Actor for his roles in Tangle and Offspring. In 2012, Don was nominated for the AACTA for Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama (Offspring). What drew me into Devils Dust was the chance to work with such a strong cast and tell such an important story with a director like Jessica Hobbs, says Don.

EWEN LESLIE
Ewen Leslie graduated from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in 2000. His theatre credits include Hamlet and Richard III for the Melbourne Theatre Company, The Wild Duck and The Promise for Company B and The Trial for the Malthouse Theatre Company. Ewen was a member of the STCs Actors Company in 2008 and performed in The War Of The Roses, Gallipoli and The Serpents Teeth. Other theatre credits include Paul (Company B), Riflemind (STC), Dead Caesar (STCPush Production), Shakespearealism (The Naked Theatre Co.), Cross Sections (Tamarama Rock Surfers Co.) and This Blasted Earth (Old Fitzroy Theatre). Ewens film credits include Sleeping Beauty, Three Blind

Mice, Katoomba, Kokoda and Jewboy. He will next be seen in Tony Krawitzs Dead Europe. Ewens television credits include Mabo, Lockie Leonard, season 2 of Love My Way, The Junction Boys, All Saints, The Road From Coorain, Wild Cat, Bush Patrol, The Gift and Ship To Shore Series 1 & 2. In 2010 he received the Helpmann Award and the Green Room Award for Best Actor for Richard III and a Sydney Theatre Award and Helpmann Award for his performance in The War Of The Roses in 2009. Ewen has also received an AFI nomination for his performance in Jewboy in 2005. Beyond the story being very compelling its also a story that is absolutely worth telling, says Ewen. Im incredibly happy and excited that something like this is being made in this country.

ALEXANDRA SCHEPISI
Alexandra Schepisi has had an extensive career in film, theatre and television since graduating from the prestigious Victorian College of the Arts. She has appeared in many successful Australian and international films, most notably in The Eye of the Storm, directed by Fred Schepisi, in the Scott Hicks directed The Boys are Back In Town featuring Clive Owen, and also Matching Jack, directed by Nadia Tass. In 2012 she won the Film Critics Circle of Australia award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and nominated for an AACTA award in the same category. Alexandra has worked on many great Australian dramas including the ground breaking Underbelly (Season 1), awardwinning ABC childrens period

drama My Place, ABC telemovie Jack Irish with Guy Pearce, City Homicide, Last Man Standing, Blue Heelers and a regular role in the critically acclaimed The Secret Life of Us. She has performed with all of Melbournes major theatre companies including in Rays Tempest and A Dolls House for Melbourne Theatre Company, A View Of Concrete for Malthouse Theatre, The Call for Playbox Theatre and Stitching and Babel Towers for Theatre at Risk. Later this year Alexandra will appear in the role of Cordelia in the MTC production of Queen Lear with Robin Nevin. Alexandra has also begun making films. Her first short film One Night had success around the world, including being a finalist in the Sydney Film Festivals Dendy Awards. She has just completed her second short

film Lois starring Jacki Weaver. Devils Dust is an incredibly important story, says Alexandra. Although I knew about the story through the news, seeing it unfold chronologically through fact and dramatisation is moving and alarming.

CREATIVE TEAM
JASON STEPHENS EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Jason Stephens has had an illustrious career in television. He began by writing sketch comedy for The Comedy Company, The Gerry Connolly Show and then became a member of legendary comedy troupe The D-Generation team, writing and performing with them for five years. During this time he was a member of the D-Gens radio breakfast show for two years; wrote and performed a sketch comedy series; and helped write, direct, perform and produce two seasons of The Late Show for ABC TV. In 2004 he accepted the position of Head of Development for Crackerjack. In 2007 he was made Director of Development for FremantleMedia Australia and in that year was producer/coexecutive producer of AFI awardwinning tele-feature The King, about the life of Graham Kennedy. He was also the creator of the Logie award-winning ABC series Choir of Hard Knocks, and executive producer and cocreator of Newstopia. In 2010 Jason was appointed Creative Director of FremantleMedia Australia and established a joint venture with the company to produce scripted drama. The award-winning miniseries Killing Time was produced in 2010. worked in Australia, the UK and Europe. He began his career with the ABC, working in a range of drama and factual producer and director roles including producing the drama series Mercury starring Geoffrey Rush and Correlli starring Hugh Jackman. Stephen has worked for Italian television and for the London office of NHK Japan. In 2000 he left London for Reykjavik, Iceland, to be a producer on the awardwinning feature film Ikingut before returning to Australia and going on to produce with Grundy, Essential Media and Burberry Productions with which company he shared a development and production partnership. In 2005 he became Film Victorias Investment Manager handling all production investment for the screen agency as well as having an active hand in the post production process of Australian feature films, television dramas, animations and documentaries. He followed this with roles including Project Manager for the Film Finance Corporation and Development Producer for Resolution Independent and Ruby Entertainment where he also produced the narrative comedy series Whatever Happened to That Guy? Stephen joined FremantleMedia Australia as a drama development producer in late 2009. alongside Share Stallings, Larry Malkin and Gary Hamilton in 2011. She line-produced Jonathan Teplitzkys Burning Man starring Matthew Goode, Bojana Novakovic, Essie Davis, Rachel Griffiths and Kerry Fox, having previously line-produced The Tree, a French/Australian coproduction directed by Julie Bertuccelli. In 2009 she produced, with Nicholas Cole, Last Ride. Written by Mac Gudgeon and directed by Glendyn Ivin, the film starred Hugo Weaving and Tom Russell, and premiered in the Discovery Series at the Toronto Film Festival in 2009. In 2005 she co-produced The Painted Veil starring Edward Norton and Naomi Watts. Produced in China, the film was directed by John Curran. She has previously worked in Hong Kong and China on the Sony picture Ultraviolet. In 1996 Antonia co-produced Stephan Elliotts Welcome To Woop Woop, before coproducing the Dein Perry Tapdog bio-feature Bootmen with Hilary Linstead. In 2001 Antonia lineproduced Phillip Noyces The Quiet American with producers William Horberg, Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella.

JESSICA HOBBS DIRECTOR

Jessica Hobbs is one of Australias top television drama directors and her recent credits include the award-winning TV series for ABC television The Slap (based on the book by Christos Tsiolkas). Her groundbreaking work on Love My Way in 2004 led to the

STEPHEN CORVINI PRODUCER

Stephen Corvini is an internationally experienced producer, having lived and

ANTONIA BARNARD PRODUCER

A producer with numerous impressive credits to her name, Antonia Barnard produced Stephan Elliotts A Few Best Men

outstanding and hugely popular TV series Spirited and Tangle for Southern Star, followed by Rake and My Place for ABC. Jessica has won Australian Film Institute awards for Answered by Fire (2006), a Canadian/ Australian co-production miniseries set during the violent East Timorese independence referendum of 1999, and for Love My Way (2005). Jessica also directed Curtin a telemovie about the life of Australian Prime Minister John Curtin in the 1940s. Curtin screened in competition at BANFF in 2007.

AWGIES and the prestigious Foxtel Fellowship. He has written for many prime time TV series including The Secret Life of Us, Packed to the Rafters, Rush, Carla Cametti PD and the critically-acclaimed East West 101. Kris was involved in adapting Christos Tsiolkass bestselling novel The Slap for television, writing two episodes of the series, and was nominated for an ACCTA award for his work. He was also a key part of the team that developed and wrote the hit TV series Underbelly 2: A Tale of Two Cities and Underbelly 3: The Golden Mile, and was the script editor on both seasons of the comedy series Wilfred. Beginning his writing career in childrens television, Kris co-wrote the critically acclaimed telemovie

The King, based on the life of Graham Kennedy, in 2006, which won three AFIs and a Logie.

KRIS MRKSA WRITER

In his 12-year career as a writer and script editor Kris Mrksa has won numerous prizes and awards including two AFI awards, two

Contact details:
Rachel Fergus ABC TV Publicity p. 02 8333 5085 m. 0416 263 194 e. fergus.rachel@abc.net.au