Also can damage clothes made of natural fibres when you lean against it as it is seeks out the moisture

I've never heard of that as an issue!

I hadn’t till I boroughs a new top last week and was warned at the store

I'm thinking of going silestone due to the staining issue I think it wld bother me and my kitchen is a huge investment .
Does cost a lot more in Nz I think a extra 4K for me to use the hybrid version

I haven't heard of Silestone but will look into it. My designer feels the stains are part of the beauty of a natural product but as a bit of a neat freak I think it may annoy me.

Yes wld annoy me too ! Def check silestone

There are so many brands of quartz engineered stone on the market, caesarstone, silestone, dekton, smart stone, Cosentino , quantum, essastone. This is an article from Cosentino which may be helpful. Your budget will also come into the choice.

https://www.cosentino.com/en-au/news/quartz-vs-marble-vanity-countertops/

Thank you. I will have a read.

Look at porcelain slabs. This is the future

This is EXACTLY the sort of feedback I have been looking for so thank you. I have also been concerned about silicosis for the manufacturer of man made (but was hoping their work practices had improved). I have now left an enquiry with a Sydney company. Thank you. I'd love a photo of your kitchen bench if not inconvenient.

Have a look on worksafe vic website. They are introducing Working with engineered stone plans and licences, to help minimise risks.
I expect engineered stone will be phased out in around 5 years if safety don’t improve. Not sure what is happening in nSw. But this can help you check if you have a good supplier

This is something worth me doing. My aesthetic isn't worth anyone's life!

Hi Kate - my kitchen doesn’t get exist as the renovation starts early in the New Year. The attached link has some pictures of my parent’s kitchen. They used Neolith Statuario in the Silk finish - it is greyer and has a more dramatic vein than the Calacatta (which is also a bit browner and then the Calacatta gold is browner again). https://designerkitchensvictoria.com.au/gallery/item/137-coffey
The photos do not do their kitchen justice - it is lovely in real life.
There are quite a few different porcelain brands in Australia now - Dekton (as mentioned above) is another option and there are others. The different companies also do various different marble looks. You could have a look and decide what style of marble look that you prefer. They can then provide you with pictures of projects using that style of stone (Neolith has pictures on its website). There are also a lot pf photos on Pinterest and Houzz.
Neolith gave me a really generous size chip (about 1/2 the size of an A4 sheet of paper) - that has been really handy for selecting other finish colours (eg paint for the 2 PAC and walls and trims and the Polytec laminate and tiles for the bathroom and laundry - if you do decide on Neolith, I could give you the Haynes paint and polytec colours that I am using if it helps).
Porcelain is more expensive than Quartz (both in raw material and in installation costs), but then so is marble. I am using a lot of Neolith in my house, so I shopped around to find a stone cutter who was crafty with maximising the use of each sheet of Neolith (to avoid wastage and minimise the number of sheets needed). It made a huge difference. My house was also designed around the sheet size - Neolith sheets are 3.2 metres long (so you can have a 3.2 metre benchtop or island without needing a join).
You need to use 12mm (or thicker) sheets for benchtops. (Splashbacks and showers use 6mm thick porcelain sheets - Neolith does 2 different matching sheets for each marble design, so you can bookmark and pattern match the splashback).
Also be aware that the marble pattern is only printed on the top of all of the brands of porcelain. If you want to continue the pattern on the “lips” of your benches, this needs to be a beveled edge (which you also need to do with quartz or marble if you want any thickness of “lip” to your benchtop). So you also have to factor in the stone cuts needed to create the benchtop “lips” when calculating sheet cutting and usage.
I am not having edging on my benctops and am instead going for the slim European look of “floating” benchtops. I am not worried that the 1.2 cm edge all the way around the benches will be plain white.
On the marble etching and staining - at my brother’s house it is everything that has been a problem - from wooden chopping boards, tea cups, wine glasses, metal cans, citrus, vinegar, tomato, water (yep even water marks marble!), oil, certain plastics, berries, juice, even some metal cans…. I understand what you designer is saying about the beauty of natural marble and how it has been used and loved for hundreds of years in European houses - but frankly the modern day types of stains (where the toddler smeared their blue playdough, the round marks of tins, the outline of wine bottles, coffee and tea cups and tins etc) are just not pretty!

Marble requires a bit more maintenance than engineered stone as well as being careful of what you put on it. Staining can add to the character for example brass with patina. If you aren't into the weathered look then you might look into any of the companies who manufacture engineered stone. If staining is an issue, there is dekton or evostone which can be buffed out. Wood, Laminate, concrete, stainless steel.

Hello sc42355 I am not sure where you have got your information from regarding your statement that "Porcelain is also more environmentally friendly than quartz (eg Caesarstone etc) and does not have the silicosis risk to the stonemason like quartz does." as this is not correct where you (and others) should be aware that Porcelain tops do have the same risks of Silicosis to stonemasons as Quartz, who dry cut. Having said this though, there are strict OHS workplace guidelines in place for both these materials types that regulate the safe production of these types of bench tops.