Ideally the tax payer shouldn't be asked to fork out but the most important consideration is that the workers actually get compensation. If James Hardie simply doesn't have the money (?) then there doesn't seem to be much option other than for tax payers to pay the bill. Not ideal but maybe the only option.
Both private enterprise and government knew of the dangers of asbestos well before most of it was mined / processed in this country. They went ahead and used it for everything from cable pits in the ground (those white concrete-looking Telstra pits are made of asbestos as are many others) to roofing material and thermal / fire protection lagging in commercial and industrial buildings (power stations are full of it, so are shopping centres). I even found an asbestos planter box at my mothers house (thankfully always kept outside and not handled). If you're in Adelaide then there's plenty of houses with upside down boxes covering water (or gas?) meters that are made of asbestos sitting bare in the middle of the front lawn. And that's just scratching the surface - odds are that you've been in at least one building virtually full of asbestos today. And don't even mention the brake dust from underground trains, bakealite products, household switchboards, interior walls in bathrooms and kitchens, car brakes, fibre reinforced concrete, house insulation (mostly around Canberra), heater door seals, common general purpose putty (the grey stuff sold in brown paper packets many years ago), "brick board" panneling on houses... And of course that's without even mentioning "fibro", the polite term for "asbestos cement sheeting".
If your house is old enough to need renovating then it probably contains asbestos. It really is dangerous stuff even for the DIY'er so if in ANY doubt then get a PROFESSIONAL to check it. Your life and that of your children / partner is well worth spending a few $ on a proper inspection.