US activist Erin Brockovich joins fight against Defence Department over firefighting foam

Updated

American legal activist Erin Brockovich has arrived in Australia to support a class action lawsuit against the Department of Defence over widespread PFAS contamination, saying there are "eerie" similarities to the 1993 US case that made her famous.

PFAS was a chemical used in firefighting foam on Defence bases until 2010, and it has since been revealed the chemical seeped into waterways and soil at a number of sites.

Shine Lawyers has launched lawsuits against the Defence Department in Katherine in the Northern Territory and Oakey in Queensland, and Ms Brockovich said they were investigating sites in Victoria and Western Australia.

"I'm a foot soldier and I like to be down on the ground with the people," Ms Brockovich said.

"It is the largest emerging contaminant in the United States right now and it is happening here as well."

Ms Brockovich's arrival comes as Defence prepares to hold a walk-in community session at Robertson Barracks in the NT on Wednesday to discuss the issue.

The health impacts of the chemical have been hotly debated, with an independent panel advising the Australian Government that while there was limited or no evidence to link exposure to PFAS chemicals with human disease, health effects could not be ruled out.

Ms Brockovich rose to prominence in the early 1990s for her investigative and legal work taking on US company Pacific Gas and Electric for water contamination in the small town of Hinkley, California.

She is now a paid ambassador of Shine Lawyers and has worked with them on a number of cases in Australia over the years.

This is her 35th visit to Australia, and while she has previously met residents of Oakey, she will not visit Katherine on this trip.

Ms Brockovich said the PFAS issue in Australia had some "almost identical" elements to her famous Hinkley case, which was later turned into a major film starring Julia Roberts.

"There is a conflicting message going on that this can't harm you, yet you cannot drink the water," she said.

"The pushback from a company or a government, 'What's happening to you isn't really happening to you' … is exactly what they did in Hinkley.

"I worry about that conflicting message when this is an emerging issue for this country.

Concern over PFAS chemicals in water supplies prompted the Northern Territory Government to implement water restrictions.

'I'm not going away'

The lawsuit Shine Lawyers lodged against the Department of Defence in Katherine is known as "open class", meaning every resident of the town is included.

The move caught the town's mayor, Fay Miller, by surprise and has been met with resistance by some residents, who have since been told they would be able to opt out.

"They've come to my town and I think they would have done the courtesy of at least contacting us and making an appointment to explain what it was they're going to do," Ms Miller ABC Radio earlier this month.

Ms Brockovich said she was a "big advocate" for the judicial process and would see this fight through.

"I'm very concerned," she said.

"I said the other day I'm not going anywhere and I'm going to keep speaking about this.

"Even if you get mad at me, I'm coming back."

Topics: law-crime-and-justice, australia

First posted