Natasha Griggs (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Parliamentary Secretary, just over the harbour from my beautiful electorate of Solomon is the Cox Peninsula. I am sure that you are aware that parts of the Cox Peninsula are subject to a land claim by the Larakia people. The claim, known as the Kenbi land claim, was lodged in 1979 and to this date, some 36 years later, remains unresolved.

One of the major sticking points in this claim has been a section of land used by the federal government. Some 4,750 hectares of the Cox Peninsula was used as a maritime defence communications base. One legacy of this facility is contamination of some areas, including with PCBs, pesticides, heavy metals and asbestos. It is a matter of public record that there was a previous effort to remove contamination from this site, but that effort fell well short of what was required. The Commonwealth has obligations, both legal and ethical, to provide remediation of the site. I would therefore like to ask the following questions: can you, Parliamentary Secretary, provide an update on the Cox Peninsula Remediation Project, and could you also explain why the Cox Peninsula Remediation Project is important and what are the particular benefits to the local communities?

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