The inquiry had a day-long hearing in Katherine in July.

The inquiry’s deputy chair, NT Senator Malarndirri McCarthy made a successful application in the Senate today to extend the inquiry’s reporting date until December 3.

There was some hope earlier this week that the Senate report would be available next week.

The inquiry was set up after Senators claimed to have been unhappy with the Federal Government’s handling of the PFAS contamination issue.

The inquiry has already caused a bombshell or two with the NSW Government saying the Commonwealth should compensate people hit by contamination issues if they cannot fix the problem.

Many Katherine residents have joined a class action against the government over lost property values.

Defence and health officials were roundly criticised by Katherine residents at an update forum in June.

The inquiry into PFAS contamination around defence bases is under the banner of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade.

The lobby group which claims to represented affected communities at Katherine, Williamtown and Oakey – Coalition Against PFAS, offered free bottled water to Australia’s top doctor earlier in the week.

Australia’s Chief Medical Officer is being offered free bottled water from communities whose land and water supply has been contaminated PFAS chemicals, after the group claimed he downplayed any associated health risks.

Professor Brendan Murphy told a Parliamentary Inquiry into PFAS that when it came to health risks from exposure to the chemical that is leaching off over 90 Government, commercial and industrial sites around Australia, “the evidence base in this area is generally weak and inconsistent.”

“We’re simply staggered that one of the nation’s leading health officials can dismiss a growing wave of highly regarded international studies linking PFAS to cancers, developmental, reproductive, thyroid and liver disease, immune system toxicity, and other health effects,” said Coalition Against PFAS president Lindsay Clout.

“In communities such as Williamtown, Katherine and Oakey people are told they can’t drink water or eat food from their land and have PFAS levels in their bloodstream that are up to 10 times the recommended national level – yet Professor Murphy has adopted a ‘nothing to see here’ approach.”

“Well if that’s the case we’re sure he’ll have no issue in accepting our offer of free bottled water for six months from one of the PFAS contaminated bores at numerous sites around Australia. We’d welcome him to undergo blood testing at the end of that period and, whatever the result, publicly state to thousands of people living this nightmare that they should not be worried,”  Mr Clout said.

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