Triumph and tragedy: the campaign to help ‘Mr Fluffy’ victims. In memory of James ‘Jum’ Wallner

In this very special episode, friends Bruce Wallner and James O’Loghlin catch up to remember Bruce’s younger brother and James’ dear friend James ‘Jum’ Wallner and the community campaign they ran together in the months leading to his passing in May 2021, to secure assistance (financial and medical) for victims of the notorious ‘Mr Fluffy’ homes in the ACT.

Jum Wallner contracted mesothelioma after growing up in a home sold by the company that became known as 'Mr Fluffy'. The Wallner family was one of more than a thousand families in the ACT that used loose-fill asbestos for insulation. During this conversation, Bruce recalls how he and his three younger brothers played in the pile of loose-fill asbestos that had been stored in their garage during renovations. Jum was three years old; 50 years later in July 2020 he was diagnosed with mesothelioma.

What they then discovered was that if you contracted an asbestos disease from work you were eligible for compensation, however, if you got it from living in a ‘Mr Fluffy’ home – you weren’t. Jum, with the support of Bruce and James set out to remedy that. Faced with the unthinkable position of foregoing treatment so as not to leave his family destitute, they galvanised a community campaign to lobby the ACT government and then the Federal Government – in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic – for assistance, not only for Jum, but for any future victims.

As Bruce and James recall they had never run a community campaign – and it was like playing a game where everyone else knew the rules. They combined their skills and Jum became the face of the all-consuming ten-month campaign that galvanised media and amassed the support of a broader group of allies. They asked everyone they knew who could help.

In the last few weeks, as Jum became sicker, and his life expectancy went rapidly from months to weeks to days, Bruce and James continued to update government ministers daily. On 5 May 2021, the ACT and Australian Governments jointly announced an agreement to establish an asbestos diseases support scheme, to be administered by the ACT Government. Jum passed away two days later at 54 years of age.

The establishment of this scheme will provide much-needed services and financial support to future victims who contract an asbestos disease due to living in a ‘Mr Fluffy’ home in the ACT.

For Bruce and James, the campaign was initially a way of processing and deferring grief and handling the sense of bitterness at the injustice. Three years after Jum’s passing, they recall the pain and privilege of working together to create something solid that will benefit people in the future – and that serves as a long-lasting legacy to their brother and friend James ‘Jum’ Wallner.

You can read more about James Wallner and the Loose-Fill Asbestos Disease Support Scheme here.

Visit ADDRI and access support here: https://addri.org.au

Thank you to our Podcast Interviewer and host James O’Loghlin and Producer Rod Morri from Sydney Podcast Studios.

If you have any questions or comments, please email info@addri.org.au