Ross Hart (Bass, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd like to talk about a small town called Pioneer in north-eastern Tasmania. We heard earlier today the presentation of a report dealing with PFAS contamination, which of course affects the right of citizens of Australia to receive clean drinking water. Everybody obviously has a reasonable expectation of clean drinking water. Much work has been done within Tasmania by the organisation TasWater in order to ensure that our remote small communities are receiving clean and safe drinking water. But a study was done in 2012 which indicated that there was lead contamination at Pioneer. A health alert was issued. There was lead in the water source and soil materials. A service replacement program was initiated. Ninety per cent of the town of Pioneer supported this service replacement program. The program was to install tanks and infrastructure to enable the collection of clean, safe rainwater. Existing roofs were to be tested, in particular, for lead contamination, and here's the rub: unfortunately, by whatever means, there's been a breakdown in communication and in the delivery of service to this community. Residents have the concern that their lead-contaminated roofs have not been tested. TasWater needs to come and own up to exactly what is happening with the clean water which is supposed to be delivered to this community. Every community deserves clean water.