Fed: Don't forget our shareholders: James Hardie chair

AAP General News (Australia)
08-17-2004
Fed: Don't forget our shareholders: James Hardie chair

SYDNEY, Aug 17 AAP - The new chairwoman of James Hardie Industries has highlighted
the company's responsibilities to its shareholders as she faces criticism the group has
failed its moral obligations to asbestos victims.

Meredith Hellicar, appointed to the position last week, said James Hardie's legal and
fiduciary obligations had been forgotten in an inquiry into a funding shortfall for an
asbestos compensation scheme.

"The fact of the matter is that we can't wish away our legal and fiduciary responsibilities
as much as we would like to in many respects," Ms Hellicar told ABC radio.

"At the end of the day we are custodians on behalf the shareholders. We have obligations
to our shareholders and I think that perhaps that's been forgotten in all of this."

James Hardie Industries announced on Friday that it would provide full compensation
to all present and future asbestos victims through a statutory scheme.

The proposal came on the last day of hearings at the Jackson inquiry, set up by the
NSW government to examine the creation of a foundation by James Hardie to fund the claims
of asbestos victims.

Concerns were raised that the building supplier would not meet its future liabilities
after its parent company relocated to The Netherlands.

Ms Hellicar said she was sorry the company failed to adequately fund the foundation
set up to compensate asbestos victims.

"We are very, very sorry that our initial funding of the foundation proves to be insufficient
and we sincerely regret the anxiety and concern that this outcome has caused," she said.

The chairwoman said she had full confidence in the company's chief executive Peter
McDonald, who faced allegations of fraud and serious company law breaches during the inquiry.

But she refused to say if executives would lose their jobs if there were adverse findings
in the inquiry report.

And asked if she conceded that James Hardie had a sorry record, she said "it's not
a sorry record".

"I'm not going to stand by and talk about the past," she said.

Ms Hellicar said lawyers would not benefit under the new scheme.

"We're looking to cut lawyers out of the process," she said.

"Because we are paying beyond our legal responsibility we want to make sure that we're
focused on providing for claimants. We do not feel one scintilla of obligation to lawyers."

AAP tam/rgr/bwl

KEYWORD: JAMES HARDIE HELLICAR LEAD

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