WILLIAMTOWN residents are questioning why they continue to be ignored after it was revealed today the Federal Government has settled a legal claim brought by a Queensland man for PFAS groundwater contamination.
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Eric Donaldson, a retired military doctor who lives next door to the Oakey Army Aviation Base, is one of the first people in Australia to reach a confidential settlement with the government for a claim over contamination from toxic firefighting foam chemicals.
A handful of Katherine residents are known to have to agreements with Defence after making individual claims.
The Department of Defence is dealing with 41 individual claims for compensation over PFAS contamination, including several for Katherine.
Today's case was negotiated by Dr Donaldson's son, Adair Donaldson, the director of Toowoomba law firm, Donaldson Law.
It's understood there was no admission of liability by the government and the terms of the settlement are confidential.
The case is separate to ongoing class action lawsuits bought by residents living in Williamtown, Katherine and Oakey.
In all three towns, land and drinking water has been tainted with toxic per- and poly-fluoroalkyl chemicals (PFAS), manufactured historically by chemical giant 3M and used for decades in fire retardants at Australian military bases and fire stations.
Coalition Against PFAS president Lindsay Clout congratulated Dr Donaldson on Wednesday, but demanded to know why other residents hadn't been compensated.
Mr Clout, who is from one of about 750 households caught in a plume of contamination from the Williamtown RAAF base, said everyone impacted by the pollution scandal deserved a "fair go".
"Why is it that for four years the government has ignored the people of Williamtown, Oakey and Katherine every time they have proposed an out-of-court framework," he said.
"But now, with a Federal Court trial and a Federal Court election looming, a solution is suddenly found, but for only one person?"
Federal Member for Groom John McVeigh said Defence Legal has received 45 non-litigated claims and two claims had been resolved under existing departmental policy initiatives.
Mr Clout said "secret handshakes" do nothing to promote community confidence in the government's handling of the environmental crisis, and "everything to undermine it".
He called on the Morrison government to clean up the pollution, compensate residents and be transparent.
- with Newcastle Herald
