Defence did not have all answers

THE Department of Defence’s deputy secretary for estate and infrastructure Steve Grzeskowiak has admitted the department did not know all the answers around PFAS following revelations in December 2012 the Oakey Army Aviation Centre was contaminated.

“We understand it is difficult as we don’t know all the answers,” Mr Grzeskowiak told a hearing at Oakey yesterday.

“We believe we are part of the community. The base will be here for a long time and we have long term plans on how we monitor what’s happening in the ground.”

Mr Grzeskowiak said the department did not know what impact PFAS contamination had on land valuations in the Oakey community.

After submissions from a number of residents about land values going down, Mr Grzeskowiak said it wasn’t appropriate for the department “to seek information on people’s personal circumstances”.

“These are often quite small communities with low turnover of property,” Mr Grzeskowiak said.

“To (track land values) would require seeking information of people’s personal circumstances and I don’t think that’s appropriate.”

First assistant secretary for infrastructure Chris Birrer told the inquiry the department now had a precautionary measure surrounding PFAS contamination and, while disease hadn’t been proven by the expert panel report released earlier this year, people should still avoid PFAS contaminated water.

Mr Grzeskowiak said water in the aquifer underneath the aviation centre was currently being treated to remove PFAS.