Malarndirri McCarthy (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, I present the report of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade's inquiry into the management of PFAS contamination in and around Defence bases, together with the minutes of proceedings of the committee and the transcript of evidence.

Ordered that the report be printed.

by leave—I move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

I would like to firstly thank those families, organisations and individuals for attending our hearings in Katherine, Oakey and Williamtown. And I'd like to say to those families: your patience and perseverance in explaining and sharing your story to committee members—yet again, for many of you—your experiences with the chemical PFAS, the contamination of PFAS and its impact on you and your lives is deeply appreciated. Some of you spoke quite personally about the troubling health concerns you have while others spoke passionately about the financial impact you're experiencing as a result of a drop in property values, and your inability to have the option to move from your contaminated location. Some of you gave evidence that you do not wish to move at all but would appreciate the financial ability to stay.

The committee heard evidence on the anxiety around a lack of coordination, particularly between government agencies both at a state and federal level. It's why the committee has strongly recommended the establishment of a coordinator-general role—in order to do exactly that. The role should include providing ongoing monitoring of PFAS levels in all management areas using a range of sampling methods and publish the results as soon as practical in a publicly accessible format. The coordinator-general role should provide leadership to drive effective, transparent and consistent responses to PFAS contamination at sites across the country. The role should identify gaps and priorities for investigation and remediation based on the extent of contamination and risk to human and environmental health in each area. The role should also work across portfolios and with state, territory and local governments, to overcome barriers to cooperation, to coordinate actions, to clearly communicate outcomes and advice to the public, and to provide a national point of contact and accountability for the government's response to the PFAS issue, including annual reporting to the parliament.

Consistently we heard in each of those three locations—Oakey, Williamtown and Katherine—the concerns around coordination. In the Katherine region in particular, there was major distrust with Defence in relation to coordination across all three areas. The committee took evidence that that lack of trust was largely due to the fact that Defence is seen as the contaminator in terms of the product, PFAS, emanating from Defence-owned land on to properties and water in surrounding areas. So, as a result, we've highly recommended coordination. We recognise that Defence can't be seen to do everything yet it must do a consistent amount. However, there has to be an even higher level of accountability in having this particular role recommended in our report.

I take this moment, as well, to mention the role of my fellow Labor colleagues on the committee—Meryl Swanson MP, Sharon Claydon MP, and Senator Claire Moore. Personally, as deputy chair of this subcommittee, I appreciated their expertise and advice in those respective areas where we went to gather evidence and to listen. I also take the time to acknowledge the chair, Andrew Laming, who I worked with very closely throughout our seven or eight months working on this.

It was incredibly difficult to listen to the stories of families who were deeply traumatised, in some cases, and deeply affected by the impact of this chemical on them. I note very strongly, here in the Senate—to all senators—that it does not matter how much you hear about the contaminant PFAS, know this: it is a very real and impacting problem in terms of the lives of those families across all those regions—not to mention, really, all of those who we were unable to get to. I certainly appreciated that we received around 80 submissions to the committee. Of course, it is still an unknown concern that still needs to be explored more broadly across the country.

In recommendation 5, we recommended:

… that the Australian Government assist property owners and businesses in affected areas for demonstrated, quantifiable financial losses associated with PFAS contamination that has emanated from Defence bases. This is a challenge Priority for compensation, including the possibility of buy backs, should in the first instance be given to the most seriously affected residents …

This is a challenge put down to the government to act immediately—to make sure that not another Christmas goes by when these families are filled with uncertainty about their future. I think it is critical that we acknowledge there are serious issues here that need to be dealt with.

In terms of the other recommendations in the report, recommendation 6 is:

… that the Australian Government make available free, individualised case management and financial counselling services to those affected by PFAS contamination.

And we also went on to recommend:

… implement legislation and policies to:

We also urged the Australian government to:

… urgently ratify the listing of PFOS under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.

Further, the Committee recommends that the Government expedite the process for ratification of PFOA and PFHxS in the event that they are listed under the Stockholm Convention in the future.

We made a total of 10 recommendations. I urge senators here to read them, please, and to take heed of the concerns of families who we listened to across the jurisdictions of Queensland, New South Wales and the Northern Territory. We urge that senators push their respective leaders as best they can in regard to these recommendations.

I also just want to take the time to say thank you personally especially to my constituents in the Northern Territory, to the people who gave evidence. It was a very difficult time, certainly, for all concerned—not just for the families but also for Defence. I do commend the work of Steve Grzeskowiak and acknowledge the tremendous amount that he carries in all of this, along with his team. But, at the end of the day, the people out there expect greater leadership from this parliament. They see that coordination is not happening in the way that it could; we could be better at what we do in this regard. That's why there is the urgency in the coordinator-general role.

I would like to finish by thanking the secretariat for their work. It's always wonderful to work with them—people who put so much time into the logistics of that kind of work: the travel across the country and the many witnesses who come forward. It was an incredibly important time for our parliament to listen to those concerns across the country. I say a very special thank you to all the staff in the secretariat: thank you very much for your patience and your diligence in getting us through this report.