Cathy O'Toole (Herbert, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome the inquiry into the management of PFAS contamination in and around Defence bases. The report certainly has been long awaited and welcomed by my community. My community, like others in the country, has recorded levels of substances linked to PFAS legacy firefighting foams containing PFOS and PFOA. Those are the active ingredients in the firefighting foam that was once used extensively worldwide and in Australia, including on Defence bases, due to their effectiveness in fighting liquid-fuel fires. In Townsville, this has impacted on Lavarack Barracks, the area around Lavarack Barracks, RAAF Base Townsville and the communities around the RAAF base. PFAS contains a group of chemicals that have actually been used for decades in firefighting. It is highly effective, but we now need to do something about the impact that this may have on communities.

In 2004, Defence commenced phasing out its use of legacy firefighting foam containing PFOS and PFOA as active ingredients and transitioned to a more environmentally safe and friendly product. The release of PFAS into the environment has become a concern because we have learned that these chemicals can persist in humans, animals, the environment and water. In my electorate of Herbert, it does not appear that we have PFOS contamination in our drinking water, which is a very positive outcome for our community. That is not to say that PFOS will not be found in bores and houses around the bases.

In March 2017, the Department of Defence commenced a detailed environmental investigation into the prevalence of PFAS at and in the vicinity of RAAF Base Townsville. In October 2017, Defence extended their detailed environmental investigation into the prevalence of PFAS at and in the vicinity of Lavarack Barracks. Labor welcomes these investigations as the results from the investigations will be provided around the same time, which will reduce the possibility of uncertainty for residents in my community. The objective of these environmental investigations is to identify the nature and extent of PFAS in the local environment as a result of the use of this legacy firefighting foam at both of those bases in my community. There were three stages to these investigations, which included a preliminary site investigation, a detailed site investigation and a human health and ecological risk assessment. The final stage in my community will be conducted pending the findings of the detailed site investigation.

Townsville is the largest garrison city in the nation. My community values the social and economic contribution that our current and ex-serving members, our veterans and their families make in our community and in the broader region. I am very well aware of the numerous community consultation briefings that the Department of Defence has held in my community. I have attended as many of these consultation meetings as possible and, where I have not been able to attend, I've ensured that someone from my office has been there to listen to the issues raised by community members. I thank the people in my community who took time out to attend these hearings and express their views. The ongoing effort of the Department of Defence to keep the residents of Townsville updated must be commended, and I thank the first assistant secretary for infrastructure, Chris Birrer, for his involvement with these walk-in sessions.

I've listened to members of my community who are widely concerned about the impacts of PFAS. In 2016 and 2017, I joined Townsville resident Norm on a PFAS tour around identified areas of concern. Norm has called Townsville his home for many years, and he is an avid and keen birdwatcher. He has conducted his own research in the local environment and on the potential impacts on our birdlife and other natural assets. He told me, from his years of birdwatching, that the number of birds has fallen and that there have been significant changes to the environment. The people in my community are well-connected to our natural environment and resources. Like any close community, we are concerned about the impact of PFAS on our natural resources. Norm's local knowledge and diligence has been most helpful, not only to me and my office but also to the Department of Defence, and his submission to the joint standing committee clearly demonstrated his knowledge in this area.

The Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade report on the management of PFAS contaminations around Defence bases was released yesterday, and I'm eagerly awaiting the government's response to how the recommendations listed in this report will be addressed. Labor has led the way when it comes to standing up for communities affected by PFAS contamination, and it was Labor that pushed the government to establish this inquiry. I note the committee's comments in their report that highlight the importance of developing and implementing a national environmental management plan. Importantly, this will provide nationally consistent standards to guide the ongoing development of policies across a range of agencies at all levels of government.

The committee's report is comprehensive and makes a number of recommendations, which Labor will review and consider further after the assistant defence minister briefs the shadow defence minister. I have followed this investigation closely to ensure that my community is kept aware of the situation regarding PFAS. This is an issue that the federal government must continue to take seriously in order to ensure that we achieve the very best outcomes for all affected regions in our community. The federal government must take action to implement the recommendations of this report for the benefit of all people in our community—and, across communities in this country, the impact is quite different and diverse.

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