Blue Mountains Water Contamination - Question Without Notice
My question is directed to the Minister for Water. On 11 March a story in The Sydney Morning Herald about PFAS being discovered in the garden soil of some homes in Medlow Bath in the Blue Mountains stated that WaterNSW had begun a second phase of its investigation into the source of the PFAS contamination. When asked about the expected 12-month time frame for this investigation, WaterNSW referred questions to the Premier's Department. Why could WaterNSW not answer questions about this time frame?
The Hon. ROSE JACKSON (Minister for Water, Minister for Housing, Minister for Homelessness, Minister for Mental Health, and Minister for Youth) (11:27): The reason is that the work is being done as part of a multi-agency response being coordinated by the Premier's Department. I think that is entirely appropriate. This is an issue that affects a number of government agencies. Absolutely, WaterNSW is one of those. It is an active participant and a lead agency in that piece of work. But it also involves the Environment Protection Authority [EPA] and Roads and Maritime Services. It also involves the Rural Fire Service, as often RFS assets have potential PFAS contamination associated with them. Because multiple agencies of the New South Wales government are involved, the Premier's Department, as the central agency, is playing a coordinating role. That is not to say that WaterNSW is not taking this seriously and ensuring there are community updates. It does not mean that WaterNSW is not trying to respond to community concerns about questions. I know the EPA has been doing that too. It has been very proactive. All the different parts of government are trying to lean in to communicate with the Blue Mountains community.
But on behalf of WaterNSW and all the agencies, I make no apologies for taking this really seriously and ensuring there is a thorough investigation. This is not something we can do in a slapdash way. The community would not accept cut corners or assumptions made without being thoroughly tested. All of that serious investigatory work needs to happen. The likely source of the PFAS contamination was potentially from decades ago. A lot of work has to be done to identify where the PFAS trails came from, where they lead and where the concentration of PFAS is. All of that work takes time and needs to be done seriously. It involves multiple New South Wales government agencies. If we want real and proper answers on which to base policy going forward, then we must do a real multiagency investigation, and that takes time.
Ms CATE FAEHRMANN (11:29): I acknowledge the Minister's attempt at explaining why the Premier's Department has suddenly got a grip over this PFAS contamination scandal. Frankly, the response does not cut it. WaterNSW could very easily coordinate a government-wide approach; the Environment Protection Authority could very easily coordinate a government-wide approach. It is now almost two years after The Sydney Morning Herald first revealed the contamination. The second phase of this investigation is now being handled or controlled by the master of spin himself, Premier Chris Minns, and his department because they do not want another scandal. They do not want to solve it; they just want to get it off the headlines. That is a disgrace.
The Hon. ROSE JACKSON (Minister for Water, Minister for Housing, Minister for Homelessness, Minister for Mental Health, and Minister for Youth) (11:30): I could not more utterly reject that assertion. WaterNSW is a river operator. Its day-to-day core business is to operate dams, weirs, regulators and inlets. That is what WaterNSW does. It is involved in this investigation because it operates water sources in the Blue Mountains, absolutely. It is not the core business of WaterNSW to coordinate multiagency investigatory responses. As a State owned corporation, I do not even have direct agency control over WaterNSW. It answers to a board and to a CEO. WaterNSW is actively engaged, but it is not true to say that it can direct the engagement of the EPA, RFS or Transport for NSW. That is not accurate. The Premier's Department—not the Premier himself—and the dedicated public servants who work in that central agency are coordinating across government, as is their job.