Warren Snowdon (Lingiari, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for External Territories) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, this afternoon you have heard from the members for Herbert, Brand, Solomon, Paterson and now me, the member for Lingiari, about the contamination from the legacy of aqueous film forming foam contamination, PFAS. What we know in this place is that the government has failed to respond to legitimate inquiries and expectations of communities to have their concerns addressed properly and appropriately by the Minister for Defence. This is an issue which goes beyond the politics of this place. This is an issue about people's quality of life, where they are living, how they live, the places they live on, the values of their property and the health of their children and their communities, yet we are hearing nothing from the government. There is no process for consultation, no process for engagement, no process for liaison and no process for answering the responsible questions of these communities.

In my own electorate of Lingiari, Tindal is affected by this. There is one property already where contamination has been identified and the drinking water has been so contaminated that it cannot be used. There has been no discussion about what the future holds for the person who owns that property in terms of how any costs incurred will be addressed, if the property can be rehabilitated, what science is going to be used in future testing, and when the future testing will start. When will the legitimate answers to the questions from these communities be given by you the government? Prime Minister, could you request and direct your Minister for Defence to do the right thing by these communities? (Time expired)