The federal government's pursuit of chemical giant 3M in an attempt to recoup some of the hundreds of millions of dollars it has spent cleaning up forever chemicals in Australia has been applauded by many.
But among those who hope the government loses its $2 billion claim is Williamtown red zone resident Kim Leanne King.
As a member of the 2020 Williamtown class action that sued the government for losses to property values caused by per-and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) contamination, Ms King remembers how hard residents had to fight to achieve something that resembled justice.
The irony that the government is now making claims about PFAS similar to those that it previously rejected from residents isn't lost on Ms King and her neighbours.
"They made us fight for nearly five years; we had to pay a huge amount of our compensation [41 per cent] in lawyers' fees, because we were fighting our government," she said.
"They were arguing that there were no known health effects and it was safe to leave it in the environment. Now, the shoe is on the other foot and they are going around talking about how dangerous it is and they need to get it out of the environment."
Like many who have lived in the red zone, Ms King has lost family, friends and animals to illnesses that have long been suspected of being caused by PFAS.
She is scathing of the government's ongoing refusal to accept responsibility for health impacts caused by exposure to the chemical.
That is despite many overseas countries now openly acknowledging the dangers caused by exposure.
"I'm so angry and disgusted, because the people who have been affected are not going to be compensated or receive any remuneration whatsoever," she said.
"What about all the firefighters who are dying of bladder cancer and other different cancers?
"What about all the people that worked on the RAAF bases that were exposed to it every day?
"What about my five dead horses?"
Despite spending millions of dollars to remediate 27 defence sites across Australia, which has included the installation of groundwater treatment plants, private landowners have not received any assistance to decontaminate their land.
"The government is suing 3M because they want to get their money back for the water treatment plants they have shoved into the base. Well, no one's remediated my property," Ms King said.
"No one from Defence or the government has ever contacted or been through my gate. It's an absolute disgrace."
Ms King said she was furious that the Australian government had never acknowledged what it knew about the risks of PFAS when it agreed to purchase vast quantities of the chemical for use in defence firefighting training over several decades.
"Australia was the dumping ground for this garbage, and they bought it up because it was going cheap," she said.
"[Defence] knew how dangerous it was. Why were they sneaking around doing all of those tests in the drains surrounding the base? Why did they move all of the married quarters off the RAAF base years ago?"
The government has alleged in the Federal Court that 3M withheld environmental testing data that showed there were significant adverse environmental effects associated with its PFAS-based products.
It is the largest legal claim ever brought by the Commonwealth.
Paterson MP Meryl Swanson said she understood there remained a lot of trauma and frustration in the community about the impact of PFAS contamination.
"But this is a tale of two governments," she said.
"While we can't change how the former government handled this issue - we are taking a very different approach."
Ms Swanson said the government's pursuit of 3M demonstrated that it was standing up for the interests of Australian communities impacted by PFAS.
"This government is taking on a multinational company who we believe did the wrong thing, because Australian's expect big corporations to be held accountable. Protecting Australians, including PFAS affected local communities, First Nations peoples, our defence personnel and our veterans is this government's number one priority," she said.
"Let's not forget the taxpayer has forked out over $1.3 billion on responding to PFAS in communities near 28 Defence bases across Australia, they deserve to see action being taken."
Ms Swanson said Williamtown continued to play a critical role in the government's approach to working with communities impacted by PFAS contamination.
"The Albanese government established the very first PFAS community working group who are presently working on a range of solutions such as improved drainage, PFAS monitoring, and other practical measures," she said.
"We established the National Coordinating Body so we can continue to work with state and local governments, and other agencies, who have direct involvement in delivering outcomes."
"I have been on this journey with our community for over a decade and I will continue to fight for them."
In its submission to a 2018 Senate inquiry, 3M said it had been an industry leader assisting PFAS regulation and was an expert at removing the chemicals.
