from news.com.au
CHILDREN at a remote Aboriginal community have reportedly used pieces of asbestos to make drawings.
The Federa; Government is believed to have known about the health risk to the Areyonga community, southwest of Alice Springs, since June last year when concerns were raised in an intervention report.
But elders say there have been no efforts made to remove the material, which comes from demolished houses.
"Because of our remoteness, you know, we can be ignored," resident Craig Woods said on ABC Radio.
"If this situation happened in a main city like Canberra, Sydney or Melbourne, this problem would have been dealt with within 24 hours.
"The Government knows about this problem and yet they're not dealing with it."
Although the community is now aware of the dangers of asbestos - which can cause cancer and breathing problems - Mr Wood said children had in the past played with the material.
"There's a few forms of asbestos and one of them definitely looks like a chalk," he said.
"Kids like to draw with things so asbestos looked like a chalk to them and they did their drawings and played with the asbestos not knowing that it was a poison."
Comment was being sought from the Federal and Northern Territory governments.
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