The federal government has for the first time publicly apologised to the Jervis Bay community about the impact PFAS contamination of their land has had on their lives.
Speaking at a community meeting in the PFAS-contaminated town of Jervis Bay, Assistant Defence Minister Matt Thistlethwaite said he understood the Jervis Bay community, which is predominantly Aboriginal, had different issues to other communities in terms of the cultural impact caused by PFAS.
"I'm here to apologise for the PFAS contamination emanating from the defence base here in Jervis Bay has caused to the lives of locals," he said.
"That's why defence has put together a remediation action plan that involves treating some of the groundwater and purifying it before it's returned to the environment."
Resident Kylie McLeod welcomed the apology and said she hoped to work with Mr Thistlethwaite and the federal government to preserve some of Jervis Bay's culture for future generations.
"I can't let my kids do the things I was doing as a kid because I'm worried about the PFAS," she said.
"I just wanted to meet with him [Mr Thistlethwaite] or have our community have access to him to try to figure out ways to try to preserve our culture in some way if possible.
"It may not happen but it's a start to ask I suppose."
Mr Thistlethwaite committed to assisting with cultural preservation, and to getting the Minister for Indigenous Affairs Linda Burney involved.
Department of Defence identified PFAS-contaminated areas around Jervis Bay in 2016.
PFAS chemicals are found in firefighting foams that had been used on neighbouring naval base HMAS Creswell and the Jervis Bay Range Facility for more than three decades since the 1970s.
Environmental reports published in 2017 and 2018 showed the synthetic chemicals had contaminated waterways and subsequently aquatic life.
Residents were warned to limit their intake of shellfish from some waterways in the area, however, the department of defence maintains drinking water in the Jervis Bay Territory is safe.
This advice remains current.
Defence attempting to remediate the land
The head of the national PFAS investigation and management program for Defence, Alison Clifton, also attended the forum last night and told the community that Defence was in the process of trying to remediate the site.
She said a temporary treatment plant was in place to treat surface water, however, there was a detailed design almost completed for a longer-term solution.
"We intend to remove as much PFAS as possible," Ms Clifton said.
"Detailed design for a longer-term treatment plant is almost complete and then we'll put that in place.
"We're hoping over time all these things will demonstrate improvement."
The Department of Defence was not able to say how long remediation of the land would take.
