Big business is a hard country. Matt Peacock tells the story of the James Hardie company and its venality as the manufacturer of fibro cement products in Australia. The fibro shack has been as iconic a domestic symbol as the Hills hoist, and Australia used more fibro per head than any other developed nation. However, the fibre in fibro for much of the twentieth century was asbestos, exposure to which is lethal.

Asbestos was first associated with lung disease before World War II. Postwar, the evidence accumulated rapidly. James Hardie’s culpability lies in its dissimulation and obfuscation in relation to these facts. Peacock demonstrates how well informed James Hardie’s management was from the outset. However, it was not until 1980 that asbestos began to be phased out. If the real reasons were known, there might have been panic or government intervention. The last asbestos was produced in 1987, a generation after management became fully aware of its repercussions.