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

Tomorrow on Remembrance Day the Rockingham community will welcome home the 192 service women and men who have spent the last months on deployment aboard HMAS Perth in the Middle East. On Sunday I will stand with the families and work mates of the personnel of HMAS Arunta who will be departing Fleet Base West at Garden Island on their long deployment. We extend our gratitude for their service.

These service men and women do their duty to our country. It is shameful that the government, in its decision to keep the results of the preliminary sampling program of the impact of legacy firefighting foam contaminants under wraps, has not treated them with the same respect. It is shameful that, instead of informing people about potential contaminants in their workplace, the government has chosen to keep them in the dark. It is shameful that, instead of making the community aware of the positive test results on HMAS Stirling, which has recorded one of the highest levels in the country, the government has chosen to keep quiet. It is especially shameful that, even now with the results known, the government is still keeping quiet on when exactly it will get around to starting the detailed environmental testing at defence sites around the country.

There are 2,300 service women and men, 600 defence civilian employees and 500 long-term contractors stationed at HMAS Stirling on Garden Island in Rockingham. With three government defence ministers surely one could have taken the time to talk with the community about what is happening on Garden Island. Surely one government defence minister could tell the truth to our dedicated service personnel.