Peter Leonard & asbestos ?

Media’s keeping quiet on this until WIN makes it official. This is the first time it’s been mentioned in the public arena, but this rumour has been circulating around in the industry for a while now, as V8 said. Wish I could say it was just gossip, but for now the media will respect the privacy of Peter and his family.

Ah, so it’s not PS gossip it’s restaurant gossip. I agree, this thread is distasteful and should be nuked.

If the consensus is so, then I would request that the admins remove this thread.

Sad if it’s true.

Gotta agree with VicePope though, it’s not really any of our business.

P.S. discussion took place in a prominent Canberra restaurant at lunchtime. Not sure how many people outside our group heard it but I considered it to enter the public domain at that point.

I urge people to treat my post as speculation and to respect the privacy of Peter and Gwen and their family and friends whether or not this speculation is indeed true.

I just wanted to say that I spent a while pondering over whether to post this or not. It is rumor, hearsay if you will. In the end, I decided that given the number of people present when the person spoke of his condition while I was present, and the likely hood they may have and/or may still tell other people. Given I believe several RiotACT users have media backgrounds, I though this would be an appropriate place to confirm the rumour (and appeal to people to leave it at that) or confirm it’s untrue, therefore having the truth available to all.
Besides, my moral opinions do not decide what is posted on here, that’s for moderators to decide.

Do you have a publically accessible source abc to backup your assertion? or is this private information you base it on?

Can you confirm his doctor has advised him of only a further 3 months?

Meanwhile…

This is a true shame… Peter has always been a very friendly, polished, and generous man. I have many great memories of watching Peter on WIN News, and listening to him on Keynote Speakers. Wishing him all the very best for a speedy recovery.

the story, as you put it, is sadly 100% correct…. it is not speculation

If PL has it, that’s terribly sad – he appears to be a quiet and decent man. But it’s his business if he wants to share it with anybody, including relatives, friends, colleagues or the public at large. The fact that he used to be in the media does not make his health a matter of public interest.

Speculative stuff like this thread is damaging to his privacy.

Of course, if he doesn’t have it, that’s (a) an entirely good thing and (b) an indication that this kind of speculation is worse than stupid.

Ok. Just wondering about the “public service gossip”bit.Nothing to do with the public service, I’m not a PS nor was the person who told of the news.

Sheesh! Do I have to spell things out? The fact is that this story has not been confirmed by the mainstream media, either WIN, the ABC, The Canberra Times or Peter himself and until that happens we should treat this as pure speculation.

don’t knowwhat our on about scumdorg.

The sad thing is even only a small amount of fibre can cause serious health issues. There are concerns for DIYers, students at schools where asbestos was removed in the 70s, installers and tradesman who may be exposed to this day. I know what my house is built of. I would caution those with older houses who may not know to be cautious, try to find out if they have asbestos and to take care when working if in doubt.

This sounds very much like public srevice gossip to me, the type of thing we used to talk about around the tea urn in Treasury years ago. I wouldn’t take it seriously until I’ve heard it straight from the horse’s mouth.

Does anyone know how much renovating he did over the years, and to what extent? I assume he must have handled fibroboard at some time as that’s the main source of asbestos in a residential house. Having only recently retired I assume he was a weekend type DIY renovator like many of us are. That’s quite frightening if he got this from just a casual contact, albeit possibility over a long time.

It was only in the last 5 years that the ACT Government has put out the word to the public to avoid via handling fibroboard via brochures, etc. With so many ex govies in Canberra using fibroboard I’ve seen plenty of DIYers drilling into the stuff, sanding it, tearing it up and throwing it on a heap out on the front lawn with the kids jumping all over it. This could be a ticking time bomb in years to come.

Sadly. it’s correct… Same kind that got bernie banton.

I do so very hope this is not true.

Please can someone confirm this is wrong!