THE SQUIZ
The Commonwealth Government will pay 30,000 Aussie landowners a share of $132.7 million after their properties were contaminated with PFAS chemicals most commonly found in firefighting foam. The properties affected are near 7 Royal Australian Air Force bases that used the foam through to the early 2000s – Richmond and Wagga Wagga (NSW), Bullsbrook (WA), Darwin, Edinburgh (SA), Townsville (QLD) and Wodonga (VIC). It’s a win for the landowners after they lodged a class action – the biggest in Aussie history – back in 2019.

WHAT IS PFAS?
Good question… If you’re not familiar with PFAS (which stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, they are widely known as ‘forever chemicals’ because they accumulate in soil, water and humans and don’t break down. And it’s not one chemical – it’s a group of about 4,700 chemicals used in many products but commonly linked to the fire/heat/oil retardants extensively used by firefighters and on military bases between the 1970s and 2000s. PFAS is a concern primarily because of the number of health concerns it’s thought to be linked to, including cancers, birth defects and diseases. The landholders involved in this legal action accused the Commonwealth of not adequately preventing toxic chemicals in the foam from escaping the military bases, contaminating their soil/water, and causing their property values to drop.

HOW DID IT GO DOWN, AND WHAT’S NEXT?
Yesterday’s settlement was reached at 12:10am, hours before things were set to kick off in the Federal Court… The government didn’t admit liability in the settlement, but Shine Lawyers’ Craig Allsopp, who represented the class action, said once the payout gets final approval from a Federal Court judge, the money will “go some way to compensate the 7 communities”. Speaking yesterday, PM Anthony Albanese said his biggest concern about PFAS “isn’t, of course, a financial one – it is the health outcomes of people who are affected by it”. “It’s another example of where we have to get occupational health and safety right,” he said. The settlement follows another paid to 3 regional communities in NSW, the NT and QLD in 2020. Another case involving the Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council on NSW’s South Coast has been adjourned until 29 May.