An inquiry chaired by Victorian Senator Lidia Thorpe has heard members of an Aboriginal community in New South Wales are the victims of a "cancer cluster" due to PFAS contamination caused by the Department of Defence.
A parliamentary inquiry into Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS), known as "forever chemicals," saw dozens of people from Wreck Bay Village, north of Nowra, give evidence into the extent and management of the chemicals.
The hearings come after the Commonwealth agreed to pay $22 million to people living in Wreck Bay after toxic foam used at nearby defence sites leaked into sacred waterways.
The settlement of the civil action, which was brought by the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council, was approved by the Federal Court in 2023.
The chemicals are found in firefighting foams which have been used on the neighbouring naval base HMAS Creswell, as well as the Jervis Bay Range Facility since the 1970s.
The hearings heard at one point, defence had unwittingly sprayed the foam to entertain children, which Shine Lawyers' Craig Allsop - who worked on the civil action - said anecdotal evidence highlighted some defence staff made snow fields out of the foam during a holiday celebration.
Furthermore, workers also sprayed the foam to farewell a colleague.
"I don't think there's any doubt that this land is contaminated," he told the hearing.
David Goldberg worked as a GP in the community for eight years until 2008. He said there was a lack of political will to acknowledge the harm which was continuing to put lives at risk in Wreck Bay.
"We know a cancer cluster when we see one, even though we can't statistically prove it," he told the hearings.
Mr Goldberg argued it was difficult for the community to reduce exposure to the chemicals when cultural practices for many involved living off the land.
"It's highly likely people are dying from this," Dr Goldberg said.
In response to a question from Senator Thorpe who was vocal in her calls for more Commonwealth responsibility on the long-term impacts of PFAS, Dr Goldberg said if he had a blank cheque he "would move the village", but acknowledged the cultural connection to the land and water made this traumatic.
The Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council chairperson, Annette Brown, told the hearing both the government and chemical manufacturer, 3M, continued to "evade" responsibility for the contamination.
"They've all remained silent," she said. "I think the lid's got to get lifted off their silence."
Noting the talk around 3M facing litigation, she added: "Maybe it's the Commonwealth that gets sued for their lack of action to deal openly and transparently with the contamination that's affecting our community."
Senator Thorpe told the Wreck Bay community at the conclusion of the hearing the entire committee was "indebted" to their work and struggle, noting they were "dedicated to doing something about this situation".
Earlier, she, along with Senators Varun Ghosh, Peter Whish-Wilson and Perin Davey visited members of the Wreck Bay community for a meeting and a walk-through Country to see the impacts of PFAS on the environment and community, as well as on families' health.
Welcomed on to Country by a smoking ceremony from Matt Simms, they met with local rangers and visited bushlands, waterways and cultural sites impacted by PFAS.
- with AAP
