Madeleine King (Brand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In my first speech in this parliament on 11 October, I mentioned an offbeat theory which postulated that David Bowie was the glue that held the universe together. Given the significant electoral event in the US yesterday, I am reaching the conclusion that this theory has some merit.

Tomorrow is Remembrance Day; the 78th anniversary of the World War I armistice and a day when we as a nation reflect on the sacrifice and bravery shown by our service women and men in all the wars and armed conflicts around the world where they have served Australia's cause. Standing, as I will, at the Rockingham cenotaph observing the RSL's Remembrance Day service, I, alongside many others, will take a minute's silence to remember those who have died or suffered in the service of our country. The Remembrance Day service in Rockingham will resonate with many people because of the critical role the community that I represent plays in the defence of our nation.

With the Royal Australian Navy's largest base, Fleet Base West, at HMAS Stirling on Garden Island, just off the coast of Rockingham in the heart of the Brand electorate, the local community is acutely aware of the sacrifice of our Defence personnel. The strong military presence means our serving men and women live not only on the base but also in our local communities. They are our neighbours and they are our friends. The 2,300 service men and women stationed at HMAS Stirling, the 600 Defence civilian employees and the 500 long-term contractors all make Rockingham a Navy town. These are dedicated people; dedicated to the service of our nation.

We now know that HMAS Stirlingon Garden Island is one of the many Defence sites around the country that has tested positive for legacy firefighting foam contamination, and HMAS Stirlinghas recorded one of the highest levels of contamination rates in the nation. It appears these tests have been carried out since 2013 and that risks have been known for three years. Recent testing concluded four months ago, and we only heard this week the results of these tests, which show that there are dangerous levels of contamination on the land that hosts thousands of service personnel.

Following repeated calls by Labor for the release of these results, they have finally been made public. The government's code of silence on this contamination issue is unacceptable, utterly disrespectful and shows a total disregard for those committed people that serve the nation from HMAS Stirlingin Rockingham. It is unacceptable for the government to keep them and their families in the dark about the potential harm in their workplace. With three government defence ministers, surely one of them could have taken the time to communicate with my community about what is happening on Garden Island.

This is an important issue that must not be hidden or ignored, and the community must be kept informed. I call on the government to urgently engage with the defence community of Brand, to do the right thing by the service personnel across Rockingham—and across the nation, for that matter—and deal with this dangerous contamination that is hitting all of our service bases.