[Gobbledock]

Thorny,

I reckon old mate Iggins from The Australian could have a field day running articles about Bankstowns shennanigans every Sunday for the next 10 years and there would still be material left over!! Crooks, shonks, Pollies, stand over men, threats, fat brown paper bags, fallguys, scapegoats, promotions, foreclosures, pineapples, and underground toxicity levels that are probably equal to Fukishima and Bronny Bishops underpants combined!!

She was a good airport Bankstown, but alas no more. Oh well, at least you don't have to wear a hi-vis vest airside or replace the RWY lights, there is enough shit etching through to provide a permanent glow!

"Safe phosphorus glowing for all"

[thorn bird]

Well well well
The blot thickens,
Slowly and surely Murkey and BAL's plans for the destruction
of Bankstown airport begin to become apparent.

Seems like the NSW government Super fund is now the owner of the head lease for Bankstown airport.
Please correct me if I'm wrong but I thought the Airport Act precluded a trust from owner an Airport.
But since when has the law got in the way when Murky Mandarins are there to give a nudge huge wink wink.

Rumours are that a lot of pressure is being placed on CAsA to ignore safety issues, as they did with the closure of the only North South runway in the Sydney basin.

The State Guv'mint apparently wants to build an industrial building on the helicopter training ground which will require the removal of a windsock. Of course aircraft don't need a windsock, if they need to know what the wind is they can ask the tower, of course the night freighters outside tower hours will just have to guess. Someone very high up the food chain in CAsA has ordained that nobody at the coal face is to talk about it.

Always wondered why the NSW government ignored the stamp duty issue on the original head lease, I mean, with penalties that could have been over 60 million $$$ into the state coffers, obviously a hell of a lot more than that is in the pipeline. I'm told this is just the start of the industrialisation of the entire northern side of the airport.

Also heard on the grape vine that some four story apartment blocks, exclusively for Muslims and an Islamic prayer hall are to be built in the Georges hall shopping centre. Bit close to the airport perimeter thinks me, then who cares about runway splays or cherokees through someones front window?

A bloke could perhaps be forgiven for imagining this is all part of a diabolical plot to destroy an industry for short term fiscal gain. Pricing the industry off its airports, regulating it into oblivion, aint Australia become a grand place, corruption ignored or condoned, laws made to be broken, environment ignored.

[Gobbledock]

Knock knock. Who's there? Iggins. Iggins who? Iggins and Bingers from The Australian!

Beautiful work Thorny. Nice bit of ground work and some quality sniffing below the 'glowing' surface. Well done sir.

'T' said;

"Please correct me if I'm wrong but I thought the Airport Act precluded a trust or trust from owner an Airport".

That's how I read the legalese contained within the Act. Perhaps my understanding of what I have understood from over the past decades has been incorrect? Can anybody help me and shed some light on this particular airport mystique?

'T' said;

"But since when has the law got in the way when Murky Mandarins are there to give a nudge huge wink wink".

Indeed. Stay tuned. The Murky mandarins have changed many laws over the years. It doesn't actually take much - a few strokes of the pen here and there, rush (sneak) it through parliament during a late sitting, pop it on the Guv'mint website at 2359 on a Friday night or during a long weekend and hey presto! Law changed and everyone else is still asleep!

'T' said;

"Rumours are that a lot of pressure is being placed on CAsA to ignore safety issues, as they did with the closure of the only North South runway in the Sydney basin".

No? Surely not? The Governments precious income above safety? Surely you are mistaken?

'T' said;

"The State Guv'mint apparently wants to build an industrial building on the helicopter training ground which will require the removal of a windsock. Of course aircraft don't need a windsock, if they need to know what the wind is they can ask the tower, of course the night freighters outside tower hours will just have to guess. Someone very high up the food chain in CAsA has ordained that nobody at the coal face is to talk about it".

Well I always thought windsocks were a bit overrated anyway! But surely they can't move the windsock Thorny? It would then be non-compliant with MOS. And CAsA don't like issuing exemptions, particularly if the requested exemption serves no intrinsic 'safety' value. And why the 'hush hush'? If all is above board and transparent then what has anybody got to worry about? Are the Mandarins worried that the two headed fish and pus weeping crustaceans in the Georges River are going to tell somebody what's going on?

'T' said;

"Also heard on the grape vine that some four story apartment blocks, exclusively for Muslims and an Islamic prayer hall are to be built in the Georges hall shopping centre. Bit close to the airport perimeter thinks me, then who cares about runway splays or cherokees through someones front window?"

Aeroplanes and the worlds most peaceful religion have always fit together rather well don't you think? So who would've thought - a Muslim enclave just a grenade throw away from a NSW airport. Well there you go ey, learn something every day.

The world of airports gets murkier by the month. Better be careful Murky, somebody might make pumpkin soup out of you yet!!

TICK TOCK immaculate Darren. Time to set up a 'correct the record' page on your website isn't it?

[Peetwo]

TICK TOCK goes the glow in the dark clock -

Senator Burston (NSW - One Nation) Senate Hansard Thursday 13th October 2016:
 

Senator BURSTON (New South Wales) (16:30): I move:
That the Senate—

(a) supports the efforts of the Department of Defence and other Commonwealth and state government agencies responding to environmental and health issues arising out of firefighting foam contamination at RAAF Base Williamtown in New South Wales and Army Aviation Centre Oakey in Queensland, including engaging the University of Newcastle Family Action Centre (UNFAC) to develop and deliver mental health awareness and stress management activities in the Williamtown area;

(b) notes that:

   (i) some landholders in the immediate vicinity of Williamtown Air Base and Oakey Army Aviation Centre are reporting difficulties accessing equity, property value impacts and difficulty selling their land,
   (ii) the Department of Defence has met with a number of lending institutions and the Australian Property Institute to discuss property lending policies and practices and how valuations are conducted in the Williamtown area, and
   (iii) the Department of Defence has committed to review the issue of property acquisition once detailed environmental investigations at RAAF Base Williamtown and Army Aviation Centre Oakey have been concluded; and

© calls on the Government to expedite environmental investigations of the impact of firefighting foam contamination at Williamtown and Oakey to enable landholders to address the dilemma of land remediation or relocation, and move on with their lives and deal with issues of mental health and stress management.

During the 2016 election campaign, I was approached by the Salt Ash Community First group, through my twin brother, Graham, who was a One Nation candidate for the seat of Paterson. I attended a meeting at a private residence in Salt Ash to be briefed on contamination of residents in an investigation zone that the local residents call 'the red zone', allegedly from the RAAF base at Williamtown. The contamination is caused by leaching of contaminated carcinogenic firefighting chemicals from the base to surrounding areas. These chemicals are in the form of firefighting foam known as aqueous film-forming foam, AFFF, and are used primarily to control fires involving flammable liquids such as fuel and oil. The foam suppresses fire by producing a film over the fuel and oil that effectively starves the fire of oxygen. Defence used this foam across many of its facilities in fire control systems, in the testing and maintenance of those systems and in firefighting training.

The acronyms for the contaminants contained within AFFF are PFOS and PFOA. These contaminants were a common ingredient in household products not so long ago. You might remember Scotchgard. They can still be found in non-stick frypans. The contamination is not confined to the RAAF base at Williamtown but can be found locally at another 16 Defence bases around Australia. Possible federal government liability extends to a further 20 privately owned airfields, being a total of 36 bases Australia wide.

The major concern of the contamination is that it cannot be neutralised and has a cumulative effect over time in the human body. The chemicals are known to be associated with testicular cancer, kidney cancer, liver disease, thyroid disease, immune suppression, reduced fertility and hypertension. More than 650 homes as well as a primary school are caught up in the red zone. This may well involve 2,500 to 3,000 men, women and children at Salt Ash alone. Advice to residents throughout the red zone includes warnings not to drink water from dams, ponds or bores or to drink milk from cows or goats or to eat eggs or fish produced in the red zone. Commercial and recreational fishing in the Tilligerry Creek and Fullerton Cove has been suspended, with compensation being provided by the government. The fishing ban has since been partially lifted, about two weeks ago, although the ban on the consumption of flathead fish is still in place.

The Department of Defence has identified contamination in Moors Drain, which carries stormwater from the base and discharges into Tilligerry Creek. During heavy rain, flash flooding occurs on properties adjacent to Moors Drain. The defence department refers to the drain as an off-site mitigation pathway for the chemicals. The Salt Ash area has a very high water table and, during heavy rain, contaminated surface water rises and lies in many drains and gutters, where foaming is clearly visible. You can just imagine the effect this has on the residents. I have also witnessed this foaming, particularly along the main road through Salt Ash. The chemicals can also be transmitted through the atmosphere and humidity.

Health risks are not the only impact on residents. Residential and business properties are deemed worthless, with banks not willing to provide loans against equity that would allow affected residents to relocate or carry out their own mitigation works. Valuers are not willing to put a valuation on any property in the red zone because of the contamination, and therefore the property owners have lost all their equity. As a result, the residents feel trapped in their own homes, unable to carry out any remediation work or to relocate to a safer environment.

During a briefing about three weeks ago from the Minister for Health and Aged Care and the Minister for Defence, I put a suggestion that the government consider meeting with major banks and the Real Estate Institute to implement a scheme to allow affected properties to retain their values, and as such restore the equity that existed prior to the contamination being publicly known. Defence Minister Payne agreed with that request and has kindly responded as in the motion. Towards the end of the briefing, and following concerns I raised in relation to mental health issues that I consider will soon arise, the health minister indicated to me that the University of Newcastle family action strategy was about to be announced by the government. The plan is to alert local practitioners of the human health programs in place to deal with any medical conditions that may be linked to the PFOS and PFOA contamination.

A Senate inquiry in May was very critical of Defence's response to the contamination as 'slow and reactive' and 'seemingly focused on limiting its liability rather than addressing the needs of residents'. This is borne out in a confidential report commissioned by Defence in 2003—yes, 2003, 13 years ago—when this contamination was first investigated. At the end of the executive summary of that report, it states:

In addition to environmental harm, such obvious pollution incidents have the potential to seriously damage Defence's reputation as an environmental manager and good corporate citizen.

It is apparent that Defence has covered up the contamination issue since 2003 and has not acted on any of the report's recommendations.

I will highlight the key findings and recommendations to make the point. Some key findings of the report were:

Defence currently uses—

aqueous film forming foam—

AFFF product that contains non-biodegradable … (PFOS/PFOA) that are environmentally persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic to animals and humans.

PFOS is acutely toxic to frogs and honey bees. Both PFOS and PFOA have been implicated with a variety of cancers and toxic health effects in humans that have had long term exposure to products containing PFOS/PFOA.

In 2002 the US EPA forced products containing PFOS/PFOA off the market.

The repeated uncontrolled or poorly managed use of AFFF products that contain PFOS/PFOA is cause for major environmental and health concern. There is the risk that poor AFFF management practices across some of Defence’s facilities may have resulted in PFOS/PFOA contaminating of soil, surface water and groundwater, both on and off base.

Furthermore, the biodegradable part of AFFF consumes a lot of oxygen as it breaks down.

The consumption of oxygen may influence the biological/chemical/geological conditions of groundwater and surface waters by driving anaerobic systems and causing the asphyxiation of aquatic fauna.
…   …   …   
The main issues associated with fire fighting foam waste-water management are based around how it is collected, contained and disposed of…. there are no regulatory actions that specifically encompass the use and disposal of products containing PFOS/PFOA.
…   …   …   
Most reports distinctly state that fire fighting foam waste-water should not be disposed of into watercourses, soils, or foul stormwater drains …
…   …   …   
Best management practice for AFFF waste-water, as indicated by reports and literature, include the appropriate collection and containment of AFFF waste-water, and disposal via a sewage treatment plant or by incineration.

There has been some issues with AFFF waste-water affecting the oil separation process, with many separators requiring constant repairs or replacement.
…   …   …   
In many cases across Defence the AFFF waste-water is being released into the environment … with the potential of AFFF pollutants … contaminating soil and groundwater on Defence bases as well as contaminating surrounding farm land and surface waters.

The recommendations of the report were:

Defence should consider undertaking site testing … to determine if its facilities are contaminated by PFOS/PFOA and the extent of the contamination, and also consider establishing monitoring wells in areas where AFFF is repeatedly used and released …
Defence should consider restricting the use of AFFF across its facilities in accordance to NICNAS recommendations.

Defence should consider facilitating industry partnerships into researching the behaviour of AFFF mixtures and waste-water as they may occur in the Australian environment.
AFFF waste-water management system should be designed to contain the most probable worst case AFFF discharge, to minimise the risk of any AFFF waste-water reaching watercourses, soil, or stormwater drains.

The management of AFFF across Defence should meet the best practice methods used by others, as indicated in reports (manufacturer recommendations, US Defense, UK Defence, consultants’ reports) and in scientific literature.

If open ponds are used to store AFFF waste-water they should be managed to restrict access by fauna (e.g. using netting or synthetic liners).

It is imperative to contact the local waste authority to determine suitable waste disposal methods and if any pre-treatment or dilution is required.

At a recent briefing I had with a defence spokesman, he admitted the existence of the report and stated that it was the catalyst for the actions that are taking place now—some 13 years later. This contradicts the information I received at another briefing in Newcastle, just after the election, by the then acting CEO of Hunter Water, Mr Jeromy Bath. He stated that Hunter Water knew of the foam contamination several years ago and had reported it to all of the appropriate authorities, believing they would immediately act on it. However, it was not acted on until about 18 months ago—well after authorities were alerted by Hunter Water. Mr Bath said that Hunter Water was very remorseful in not making the contamination issue public themselves when they first became aware of it.

Further, Hunter Water has received $3.5 million to provide reticulated water to affected properties within the red zone. This work should be completed by April 2017 and under budget. In the meantime, bottled water is being provided at no cost. An issue that has arisen is that, when the houses of residents are connected to the reticulated water, some houses may not withstand the increased water pressure and the plumbing will need to be renewed to current standards. These supplementary works should also be part of any compensation package.

Prior to the election, the Prime Minister promised $55 million Australia-wide for blood testing, which is voluntary, and an epidemiology study. The Defence Minister confirmed that commitment in an answer to a question I asked in the Senate recently.

Unfortunately, the minister also confirmed in that answer that any compensation package or buyback will not be forthcoming until the results of that study are known. This could take several years. I have firmly suggested to the minister that this time frame is far too long and that, if the government does not act sooner, it may have another asbestos-type crisis on its hands in 20 years.

More recently, enHealth has released new safety guidelines for PFOS and PFOA levels.

The new tolerable daily intake levels for PFOS are 0.15 micrograms per kilogram per day, and 1.5 micrograms per kilogram per day for PFOA. These are 78 times higher than the levels deemed safe by the US EPA. EnHealth's drinking water guidelines are 0.5 micrograms per litre for PFOS and five micrograms per litre for PFOA—excessively above the 0.07 micrograms per litre adopted by the US EPA. EnHealth's recommendations of these acceptable levels were endorsed by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, made up of chief health officers and a Department of Defence representative on 15 June this year. This commission is made up of members that held defence contracts worth many millions of dollars, and obviously there is a perceived conflict of interest. I am not suggesting in this chamber that there are any illegalities in the process.

This decision reversed Australia's practice of adopting standards in line with those set by the US EPA. The US EPA drastically toughened its PFOS and PFOA guidelines, with stronger health warnings just three weeks before the Australian decision. This has raised suspicions in the community that the weaker safety standards are designed to reduce the number of people who will be eligible to be compensated and the quantum of payout.

Which prompted this response from Senator X:

Senator XENOPHON (South Australia) (17:46): by leave—There was some confusion as to the order of speaking and I was caught unaware, so thank you very much to my colleagues for this opportunity to speak very briefly on this important issue. I commend Senator Burston for raising the groundwater contamination issue with his motion.

Many hundreds of people have felt abandoned by our defence forces because there has not been an adequate system or adequate processes to assess the issue of groundwater contamination arising out of firefighting foam contamination at RAAF Base Williamtown in New South Wales and the Oakey Army Aviation Centre in Queensland. Indeed, there are rising concerns over groundwater contamination in Adelaide's north at the RAAF Base Edinburgh.

Back in May of this year I visited Oakey in Queensland along with the candidate for the NXT for the seat of Groom, Josie Townsend, who put up a terrific fight for that seat, as well as the Senate candidates for NXT in Queensland, Dr Suzanne Grant and Daniel Crow.

There were very serious concerns in Oakey. We were talking to residents—people whose property values had plummeted and people whose properties were virtually worthless and unsaleable because of the concerns about groundwater contamination.

Clearly, the work of the Senate committee in relation to this in the previous parliament was absolutely critical. I commend those who worked on that, including, I note, Senator Gallacher from my home state of South Australia. They did valuable work in relation to that committee.

All I think needs to be said at this stage is that there must be expedited environmental investigations into the impact of this firefighting foam, there must be an opportunity for people to be allowed to have blood tests without any cost to themselves in relation to this, there must be soil testing—not just the surface soil but deeper than that—and there also must be testing in relation to the groundwater on a regular basis so that there can be some longitudinal tests with respect to this. I think it is important that we also look at the issue of land remediation and relocation, because the stress of the people that I spoke to in Oakey and the concerns we have in the north of Adelaide are very real.

I am not blaming Defence in this regard; the risks involved with this firefighting foam were obviously not known to Defence at the time. I presume they were not known, but we now know that this firefighting foam can be carcinogenic, can cause contamination of land and water, and above all poses a real and significant risk to human health. That is why there is an obligation on the part of Defence to ensure that there is ongoing monitoring of this; that, if there is evidence of contamination of land, either remediation is offered or, more importantly, compensation for the loss of the value of that land, or indeed if that land is no longer able to be sold because of that contamination; and, above all, ongoing monitoring of the risk to human health, particularly to young children. A number of residents of Oakey spoke to me and are concerned about the impact on the health of their children and their families because of the contamination by these toxins. I understand in the United States there have been significant class actions launched with respect to these contaminants.

This is an important motion moved by Senator Burston. I am very happy to work with Senator Burston on this issue because these people deserve certainty rather than the real concerns they have about this. There needs to be an approach by Defence that is comprehensive rather than piecemeal so that we can address these very significant issues. If we do not, the health of individuals will continue to be affected in an emotional and psychological sense. More importantly, there must be a proper assessment of their physical wellbeing. It is something that Defence will need to deal with for many years because the leaching of these toxins into groundwater a fair distance from the original source—from ground zero, if you like—needs to be monitored in a very responsible way.

This is an issue that I presume Senator Burston will take up in Senate estimates next week, so I look forward to joining him at that time so that we can get answers, not just for the residents of Oakey and Williamtown but also for those near the Edinburgh Air Force base in South Australia. Thank you very much for your indulgence.

TICK...TOCK miniscule (NFI) DDD Dickhead how long before this falls into your in-tray; yourself, ASA, Electric Blue & Sir Angus are in the gun barrel for millions on this...TICK..TOCK miniscule -  
MTF...P2

[Gobbledock]

Sir Anus Houston, glow in the dark babies and the cockroaches are scampering

Uh oh, look whose name pops up yet again smack bang in the middle of some sneaky, gutless, obsfucation;

"A Senate inquiry in May was very critical of Defence's response to the contamination as 'slow and reactive' and 'seemingly focused on limiting its liability rather than addressing the needs of residents'. This is borne out in a confidential report commissioned by Defence in 2003—yes, 2003, 13 years ago—when this contamination was first investigated".[b]

Well well well, and who was Chief of Defence during that 2003 'let's be sneaky and hide the investigation report' period of time? You guessed it - Sir An(g)us. Yes, the 'knighted one' once again proving loyal to his puppet masters and preferring to limit liability rather than care for people, the human element, and compensating them fairly. Nothing much changes with this lanky numpty does it? He had held high positions during the above episode, during the Collins submarines debacle, during Defence Force sexual abuse inquiries, and during ongoing ASA scandals. Just seems to get promoted higher and higher as a reward for endless fuckups.

Personally somebody should grab a container of PFOS and ram it down his throat. Pathetic, gutless individual. How many more of his pathetic actions need to be uncovered before the guy is finally pensioned off into another realm once and for all, please?

Watch out Joe Public, Malcolm's murky Mandarin will be circling the law books and looking for a way to deny you justice and save the Guvmint lots of money, money that is needed to fund their outrageous salaries, superannuation and post-retirement lifelong perks!

TICK TOCK CHESTER AND ASSOCIATES

[Kharon]

More from the Sir An(g)us and Electric Blue PFOS diaries as reported today.

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-08...rt/8006952

The Department of Defence has released a report into the water quality of 12 sites around Australia located near contaminated Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) bases.


It is the second major round of investigations into the impact of the chemicals used in fire retardant at the Air Force bases.

It comes long after residents in two Queensland and NSW towns were alerted to significant contamination of their groundwater.

It examines 12 RAAF sites around Australia where the toxins perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) used on the bases have potentially seeped into the groundwater.

Opposition assistant spokeswoman for defence Gai Brodtmann slammed the timing of the report.

"This report was finished four months ago and it was released to state and government agencies and local councils, and the local communities were kept completely in the dark.

"We've been calling on the Turnbull Government to release it, to provide the communities that live around these 12 Defence sites with some certainty.

"They've been very concerned about the impact on their homes, on their businesses and their health."
The preliminary sampling report looks at whether the residential groundwater and surface water at those sites contain the potentially hazardous chemicals at levels exceeding safe environmental guidelines.

The report shows groundwater — or drinking water — at the bases in Townsville, Garden Island off the Western Australian coast, and Tindal near Katherine do exceed those levels.

Scientists critical of report's methodology
However, scientists question Defence's methodology, arguing it has made up its own guidelines.

Dr Mariann Lloyd Smith from the National Toxins Network said that means it is not in line with international safe drinking water standards.

She also pointed to a new report released by the New Jersey Drinking Water Quality Institute today that sets limits for safe drinking water in the US state.

She said it is of great concern here since Australia has set a safe drinking water level 78 times higher than the US Environmental Protection Agency.

"They have said that the US EPA's figure of the 70 parts per trillion … is far from protective enough and they are particularly concerned about the most sensitive populations.

"They have gone on to set a much lower figure, one of 14 parts per trillion, which is decidedly lower than the US EPA's one."

"I really do think we need to again to review Australia's standard as a matter of urgency."
Contamination fallout being 'managed' by Defence
The release of the Defence Department report on Tuesday comes after Northern Territory federal Labor representatives lobbied Defence to inform Darwin and Katherine residents about potential contamination.

In NSW, a Nationals senator has teamed up with federal Labor members in calling on Defence to take action over the Williamtown RAAF base contamination.

In Queensland, Greens Senator Larissa Waters today provided a statement accusing Defence of being sluggish on the issue.

But the federal LNP member for Groom, John McVeigh, said Defence has been thorough.

"It's a painstaking process to work out the potential impact of PFAS (PFOA and PFOS) chemicals," said Mr McVeigh.

"I want to see it finished just as soon as possible, but given that it is so complex and despite the fact that some locals are frustrated with progress, I'm confident that we're getting to the bottom of it in the coming weeks or months."

More than 400 residents near the Williamtown RAAF base at Newcastle have launched a class action against Defence because of declining property values.

And residents in the town of Oakey in Queensland's Darling Downs are planning to do the same.

The residents' lawyer, Peter Shannon, said Defence's approach with this most recent report is markedly different to how they dealt with Oakey more than 12 months ago.

"I think Oakey were the guinea pigs, you might say," said Mr Shannon.

"It went so badly there, and I think that's something acknowledged by Defence about how badly it was handled.

But Mr Shannon said this shows Defence is now developing a management plan often employed by corporates.

"The Commonwealth now have a PFAS investigation and management branch specifically," he said.

"It also has a PFAS inter-departmental committee and program governance board.

"I mean, this is being managed."

Oh my, I hope Sir Anus and Electric Blue have a decent compensation fund put aside? Tick Tock you muppets.

[Peetwo]

More from the Sir An(g)us and Electric Blue PFOS diaries as reported today.

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-08...rt/8006952

The Department of Defence has released a report into the water quality of 12 sites around Australia located near contaminated Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) bases.


It is the second major round of investigations into the impact of the chemicals used in fire retardant at the Air Force bases.

It comes long after residents in two Queensland and NSW towns were alerted to significant contamination of their groundwater.

It examines 12 RAAF sites around Australia where the toxins perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) used on the bases have potentially seeped into the groundwater.

Opposition assistant spokeswoman for defence Gai Brodtmann slammed the timing of the report.

"This report was finished four months ago and it was released to state and government agencies and local councils, and the local communities were kept completely in the dark.

"We've been calling on the Turnbull Government to release it, to provide the communities that live around these 12 Defence sites with some certainty.

"They've been very concerned about the impact on their homes, on their businesses and their health."
The preliminary sampling report looks at whether the residential groundwater and surface water at those sites contain the potentially hazardous chemicals at levels exceeding safe environmental guidelines.

The report shows groundwater — or drinking water — at the bases in Townsville, Garden Island off the Western Australian coast, and Tindal near Katherine do exceed those levels.

Scientists critical of report's methodology
However, scientists question Defence's methodology, arguing it has made up its own guidelines.

Dr Mariann Lloyd Smith from the National Toxins Network said that means it is not in line with international safe drinking water standards.

She also pointed to a new report released by the New Jersey Drinking Water Quality Institute today that sets limits for safe drinking water in the US state.

She said it is of great concern here since Australia has set a safe drinking water level 78 times higher than the US Environmental Protection Agency.

"They have said that the US EPA's figure of the 70 parts per trillion … is far from protective enough and they are particularly concerned about the most sensitive populations.

"They have gone on to set a much lower figure, one of 14 parts per trillion, which is decidedly lower than the US EPA's one."

"I really do think we need to again to review Australia's standard as a matter of urgency."
Contamination fallout being 'managed' by Defence
The release of the Defence Department report on Tuesday comes after Northern Territory federal Labor representatives lobbied Defence to inform Darwin and Katherine residents about potential contamination.

In NSW, a Nationals senator has teamed up with federal Labor members in calling on Defence to take action over the Williamtown RAAF base contamination.

In Queensland, Greens Senator Larissa Waters today provided a statement accusing Defence of being sluggish on the issue.

But the federal LNP member for Groom, John McVeigh, said Defence has been thorough.

"It's a painstaking process to work out the potential impact of PFAS (PFOA and PFOS) chemicals," said Mr McVeigh.

"I want to see it finished just as soon as possible, but given that it is so complex and despite the fact that some locals are frustrated with progress, I'm confident that we're getting to the bottom of it in the coming weeks or months."

More than 400 residents near the Williamtown RAAF base at Newcastle have launched a class action against Defence because of declining property values.

And residents in the town of Oakey in Queensland's Darling Downs are planning to do the same.

The residents' lawyer, Peter Shannon, said Defence's approach with this most recent report is markedly different to how they dealt with Oakey more than 12 months ago.

"I think Oakey were the guinea pigs, you might say," said Mr Shannon.

"It went so badly there, and I think that's something acknowledged by Defence about how badly it was handled.

But Mr Shannon said this shows Defence is now developing a management plan often employed by corporates.

"The Commonwealth now have a PFAS investigation and management branch specifically," he said.

"It also has a PFAS inter-departmental committee and program governance board.

"I mean, this is being managed."

Oh my, I hope Sir Anus and Electric Blue have a decent compensation fund put aside? Tick Tock you muppets.

Another day, another PFOS issue.

"Katherine landholders have been offered alternate drinking water by the Department of Defence as investigations into possible water contamination from firefighting foam at Territory military bases continue".

http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern-t...b09657f973

TICK TOCK Defence, TICK TOCK Sir Anus and Harfwit

[Peetwo]

More from the Sir An(g)us and Electric Blue PFOS diaries as reported today.

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-08...rt/8006952

Another day, another PFOS issue.

"Katherine landholders have been offered alternate drinking water by the Department of Defence as investigations into possible water contamination from firefighting foam at Territory military bases continue".

http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern-t...b09657f973

TICK TOCK Defence, TICK TOCK Sir Anus and Harfwit

Tick..tick..tick..tick goes 4D Chester's PFOS clock -   

For our bureaucratic footstool (see HERE or HERE)..



 ..& NFI miniscule responsible for aviation Dazzling Dazza the following headline (courtesy of Fairfax media via the Liverpool Champion) yesterday, ordinarily should be cause for much alarm...

'National crisis': Toxins detected at 300 times the safe level in Defence sites

Michael Koziol
9 Nov 2016, 8:20 a.m.
[/url][url=http://twitter.com/share?url=http://www.liverpoolchampion.com.au/story/4281250/toxins-300-times-above-safe-levels-at-defence-sites/&text=Toxins 300 times above safe levels at Defence]
Toxins have been detected at more than 300 times the maximum safe levels in ground and surface water at numerous defence sites around Australia.

Perth's HMAS Stirling navy base.

Toxins have been detected at more than 300 times the recommended safe levels in ground and surface water at numerous Defence sites across Australia, prompting warnings of a "national crisis" requiring intervention from the Turnbull government.
Potentially hazardous levels of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) were detected at Townsville RAAF Base, HMAS Stirling at Perth's Garden Island and in other isolated cases, preliminary testing by the Department of Defence revealed.

The testing was conducted as part of a long-running investigation into water contamination in the proximity of several Defence sites, including the RAAF base in Williamtown, near Newcastle, and the Army Aviation Centre at Oakey, in Queensland.

The department will begin an investigation of the 12 sites next year, and will supply "alternative sources of drinking water" to any nearby residents who source their water from a bore, and to other residents in "exceptional circumstances".

The department also urged caution, reminding concerned residents that according to the Environmental Health Standing Committee (enHealth), "there is currently no consistent evidence that exposure to PFAS causes adverse human health effects".

On-site tests at the Townsville base found chemical levels in groundwater as high as 61.4 micrograms a litre, or 300 times the safe level. No off-site tests were conducted. Similar levels were reported near Perth's Garden Island, based on historical data.

Slightly excessive levels of PFAS were also detected on isolated occasions near the RAAF base in Darwin, HMAS Cerberus on the Mornington Peninsula, HMAS Creswell in Jervis Bay and around the Albury Wodonga Military Area at Bandiana.

The screening levels used by Defence are more conservative than those used by Australian health authorities, but higher than those considered safe in the US.

The suspected carcinogens arise from the historic use of firefighting material called aqueous film-forming foam, which Defence began to phase out in 2004. The chemicals can also be found in waterproofing agents, food packaging and non-stick cookware.

Mariann Lloyd-Smith, senior adviser at the National Toxics Network, said the levels detected at Townsville were "incredibly high". She called on Defence to return to the sites "instantaneously" and conduct off-site water monitoring.

"I'm delighted I'm not living anywhere near the Townsville base, because those levels are shocking," she said. "At HMAS Stirling the figures are just as bad. It is now time for some independent body to be established, because you cannot have the polluter investigating their own our pollution. It is just unacceptable."

Defence released the preliminary report online on Tuesday afternoon and did not respond to Fairfax Media's request for an interview. In statements posted online, the department said the purpose of the tests was "to get an initial snapshot only" and subsequent investigation and consultation would inform its future actions.

Williamtown and Oakey were Australia's first proven cases of high-level PFAS contamination. Last week, a group of more than 400 Williamtown residents launched a class action against the Defence Department, citing mental anguish and loss of property value. Oakey residents are also understood to be pursuing a class action.

Greens senator Lee Rhiannon, who sat on a related Senate committee, told Fairfax Media: "There can be no more denying that contamination associated with Defence operations is a national crisis deserving of an immediate response from the Turnbull government."

In its online statement, the Department of Defence said it took environmental investigations "very seriously", and acknowledged it was not a health authority, urging residents to respond with measure and caution.

"Most people living in developed nations will have levels of PFAS in their body as these compounds have also been used in common household and industrial applications," the department said. "However, because these compounds persist in humans and the environment, enHealth recommends that human exposure is minimised as a precaution."

The story Toxins 300 times above safe levels at Defence sites first appeared on The Sydney Morning Herald.

This reference to Townsville is truly troubling...

..Mariann Lloyd-Smith, senior adviser at the National Toxics Network, said the levels detected at Townsville were "incredibly high". She called on Defence to return to the sites "instantaneously" and conduct off-site water monitoring.

"I'm delighted I'm not living anywhere near the Townsville base, because those levels are shocking," she said...

It is my understanding that, much like Williamtown, Townsville is a joint Civil-Defence airport and as such also falls under a 'joint responsibility' agreement of Defence & Airservices Australia.

This would appear to be confirmed in the ASA Senate Inquiry (Part B) submission at page 24 of Appendix D. (NB: Appendix D lists the 36 identified contaminated sites/airports that the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development & Transport are supposedly liable for)



MTF...P2

Ps Meanwhile back in Can'tberra 'Malcolm in the middle', Barnbaby & 4D Chester are showing all the symptoms of AIOS ("acquired institutionalised ostrichitis syndrome"): 

[Gobbledock]

Wagga Wagga contamination coverup?

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-10...fmredir=sm

The list of contaminated airports grows daily. Sick residents, unusable land, house prices crashing and some areas having water shipped in for use! Murky and his Defence friends must be working overtime to change the laws so as to prevent compensatory payments. But be careful Murky, one wrong move could see your Minister mates 'cop a Clinton' next election! Just putting it out there.....  

And the human side to this (which the Government couldn't give a shit about).
An Oakey resident is about to lose his house because the Banks won't lend money to locals;

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-09...fmredir=sm

The banks are just as slimey as our politicians, Realestate agents, car salesmen, pedo priests..

TICK TOCK indeed

[Gobbledock]

Awwww shucks, contaminated oysters from Tindal airbase NT. Ironic how the problem affects ASA (currently Anus Houston) and Defence (formerly Anus Houston)

NT govt warns against contaminated seafood
LUCY HUGHES JONES
Australian Associated Press3:43PM November 4, 2016

Territorians are being urged not to eat seafood from two Darwin creeks near a defence base, after toxic chemicals were found in shellfish.

The Defence department is under fire for secrecy relating to contamination testing in Top End waterways after firefighting foams leached into ground and surface water near RAAF sites.

The federal government has already offered alternative drinking water to Katherine landowners while it tests their properties for pollutants from the nearby Tindal RAAF base, as well as the RAAF Base and Robertson Barracks in Darwin.

The NT government on Friday confirmed chemical runoff from historical use of the foam at Darwin's airport and defence base was detected in the Rapid and Ludmilla creeks after water samples were taken in February.

Health Minister Natasha Fyles said pollutants were found in sediments and some shellfish, including long bums and periwinkles, but at low levels.

"We ask that people don't eat fish, crabs and prawns in these creeks until further testing is complete," Ms Fyles said.

A preliminary sampling program has been undertaken at 12 defence sites across Australia, including bases in Victoria, Queensland and NSW.

More than 400 residents north of Newcastle launched a class action against the Defence Department on Thursday, claiming their livelihoods and property values had been severely affected.

The federal government's investigation into Katherine's waterways began in June and while the report has already been given to the NT government, it's yet to be made public.

Ms Fyles and NT Opposition Leader Gary Higgins have called on the Defence Department to release the findings immediately.

Mr Higgins wants the investigation to be expanded to make sure contamination hasn't spread to the aquifers that feed into the Daly River.

"So it's not just around Katherine that can be affected, it's then all of the people down stream," he said.

"We saw decreases in land values in NSW once this became public over there and I'd hate to see it happen here."

Federal Labor MP Warren Snowdon has slammed the Defence Department for keeping Katherine residents in the dark over how long their land has been contaminated.

He's called for testing of locally-grown produce in the region.

"People are going to consume (fruit and vegetables), and clearly there's an issue about what is safe and what is not safe," he told ABC local radio.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/lat...9b847e4632

I would suggest to all affected individuals to consider the case of Karen Casey (google it) before you get too excited about any fair and equitable compensation. It may not be related in nature but the end outcome for the innocent might be the same as what happened to her.

TICK TOCK Defence, Malcolm, Sir Anus and Harfwit Electric Blue

[P7_TOM]

E-ducking-nuff already.

It’s quite a step down when you consider the ‘traditional’ land owners managed to live off that land without a hint of toxic anything on the dinner plate.  Clever burning, clear rivers and ‘gentle’ use of the environment preserved the land for future generations; did we learn anything?  Nope. Australia is ‘fragile’; water a precious commodity – if you doubt that, check the cost and the amount of money government were/are prepared to spend on desalination. We are a draught prone country; and yet, we continue, for purely altruistic reasons, to attack, with chemical weapons of destruction, that very asset. WTD – now there are frantic moves to deny responsibility, deny compensation and no, not one single solitary proposal to return the water to it’s original, pristine state.  SORT IT OUT - fast type. FFS: I would not vote ‘green’ to save my life; climate change is the biggest load of old cobblers I’ve ever heard – but man! Pouring an unspecified amount of known toxic into the aquifer has to qualify for the rope. Forget the politics; take care of the people, the land  and the water– we may then, just, have a chance of leaving something behind for the ‘kids’.

Long-winded for me, I know that; but FFS.

[Peetwo]

Senator Rhiannon QON on Gold Coast - TICK TOCK 4D...  

Courtesy Senate RRAT Estimates QON index, questions for H&H:

173. Airservices Australia

Rhiannon/ Gold Coast Airport Report

I understand that a stakeholder meeting, including Air Services Australia, was held in August about the potential contamination of the aquifer at the Gold Coast Airport and previous use of PFCs. At that meeting ASA identified ASA has done additional testing to that previously available from the 2008 report on the issue, and that ASA had yet to put the new information into a formal report which would be available for dissemination in early September to interested parties.

a) Please provide a full copy of that report.
b) Please specifically provide a copy of the Phase 1 investigation at Gold Coast Airport within the framework of the National Environment Protection (Assessment of site contamination) Measure 1999.

Written
28/10/2016

---

174.Airservices Australia


Rhiannon/Gold Coast Airport Report

A sampling strategy was then to be identified to clarify the extent of contamination off the Gold Coast aquifer.
a) Where is this up to?

b) Where is sampling being conducted in the area?
c) Is there a copy of the strategy available?

Written
28/10/2016 

---

175 Airservices Australia

Rhiannon/ Gold Coast Airport Report

Is there any early indication that contamination of the aquifer might be substantial?
a) If it is too early for such indications, what is the timeframe for receipt of the sampling results to inform those market gardeners, aquaculture and poultry/egg producers, including backyard producers, who might be affected?

Written
28/10/2016

MTF...P2

[Gobbledock]

C'mon DDDDarren, you've got some real spot fires erupting now mate, and it seems like it is just you holding 'one limp hose' to put it out? Where are your mates Barmybaby, Purple Haze Harfield, Wingnut and Conductor Houston???? Throwing you under the bus?

Calls for more tests on historic use of chemicals at Gold Coast Airport

Steven Miles has called for more tests.
Queensland Environment Minister Steven Miles has called for more testing to determine contamination risks stemming from the historic use of poisonous firefighting chemicals at the Gold Coast Airport.

Airservices Australia has released its report into tests carried out at the airport for PFAS, a group of potentially deadly chemicals including perfluoro­octane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).

The report, by GHD, found PFAS of up to more than 60 times the guidelines considered in the report in some groundwater samples tested.

The report found PFAS was not detected in the nearby Cobaki broadwater.

Dr Miles welcomed the report but said more needed to be done.

“I’m calling on the Commonwealth Minister for Transport and Infrastructure to ask Airservices Australia to conduct testing which is as broad ranging and thorough, as is occurring at other locations where these chemicals have been found,” Dr Miles said.

ASA yesterday said in a statement that while test results on the airport boundary indicated potentially low risk, Airservices was working with relevant agencies to determine further action including the option of further testing.

It was revealed earlier this month that the chemicals, found in firefighting foam, had been detected near 12 Australian Defence Force sites, including RAAF bases in Townsville, ­Amberley and Richmond.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national...d827ac64e6

Sure would be a crying shame for Cooly's airport to be better known for its contamination of ground water with a toxic chemical that can't be removed, than for it to be known as being the gateway airport to the beautiful Gold Coast?

TICK TOCK Houston and Electric Blue

[Peetwo]

Fire sale coming to an airport near you - contaminates for free: Guaranteed to give you 30..60..up to an amazing 300% over the acceptable limit for a contamination dosage, for free or your health back -    

C'mon DDDDarren, you've got some real spot fires erupting now mate, and it seems like it is just you holding 'one limp hose' to put it out? Where are your mates Barmybaby, Purple Haze Harfield, Wingnut and Conductor Houston???? Throwing you under the bus?

Calls for more testing to determine the extent of contamination at Gold Coast Airport
[img=0x0]http://pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/component/article/c0d1ab1dd33557a5fec36ebbc57de767?esi=true&t_template=s3/chronicle-tg_tlc_storyheader/index&t_product=GoldCoastBulletin&td_noGallery=true&td_device=desktop[/img]Lea Emery, lea.emery@news.com.au, Gold Coast Bulletin
November 16, 2016 1:00am
[img=0x0]http://pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/component/article/c0d1ab1dd33557a5fec36ebbc57de767?esi=true&t_template=s3/chronicle-tg_tlc_storymeta/index&t_product=GoldCoastBulletin&td_noGallery=true&td_device=desktop[/img]

AIRSERVICES Australia has been slammed by community groups for not doing enough to deal with contamination at the Gold Coast Airport.

The federal body which oversees airports nationally, yesterday released the long-awaited results of testing for per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in soil and water at the airport.

The same chemicals caused serious health issues at Oakey where they leached into drinking water after being used at the town’s air force base.

The toxic chemical was used in firefighting foam at the Gold Coast airport between 1978 and 2003.

The Gold Coast Airport.

AirServices Australia had the firefighting training grounds, the border of the airport and the Cobaki Broadwater tested for the chemicals.

PFAS were found in very high levels at the fire-training grounds and at a level equivalent to the federal guideline for safe drinking water near the airport border. No traces were found in the Cobaki Broadwater surface water.

State Environment Minister Steven Miles said the report was far from complete.
“I am concerned that from information made available so far it appears that AirServices Australia needs to do more work to establish potential migration pathways and impacts on aquatic ecosystems, and that these deficiencies need to be acknowledged in the presentation of the results,” he said.

The same chemicals caused serious health issues at Oakey where they leached into drinking water after being used at the town’s air force base.

Tugun Cobaki Alliance spokeswoman Lindy Smith said: “The real information the community wants is lacking.”

Ms Smith said it was of concern none of the testing along Coolangatta Creek was on groundwater, meaning it was not a real picture about potential contamination in the area.

Friends of Currumbin secretary Gloria Baker said the results gave no further information when compared to testing in 2008, the results of which were released this year.

Ms Baker said many residents living just north of the airport used spear pumps and feared the contamination had moved off the airport site.

“It’s a great concern they have not even tested the spear pumps,” she said.

AirServices Australia spokesman Nick Edwards could not say if residents should be concerned.

“It wouldn’t be appropriate for our organisation to be advising people from a health perspective,” he said.

The results had been passed on to the federal and state environmental authorities and AirServices would seek their guidance.

Sure would be a crying shame for Cooly's airport to be better known for its contamination of ground water  with a toxic chemical that can't be removed, than for it to be known as being the gateway airport to the beautiful Gold Coast?

TICK TOCK Houston and Electric Blue

And also today via Gold Coast Bulletin

The revelation that the chemicals used in firefighting at the airport previously has come as a slap in the face for firefighters.

Sun Community
[url=http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/sun-community][/url]Advice to Gold Coast Airport construction workers to be tested for exposure to carcinogens ‘slap in face’ for fire fighters
[img=0x0]http://pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/component/article/dceb873ef9e475a548fe6be4c5d438f6?esi=true&t_template=s3/chronicle-tg_tlc_storyheader/index&t_product=GoldCoastBulletin&td_device=desktop[/img]
DENIS DOHERTY, Gold Coast Sun
October 16, 2016 1:00am
[img=0x0]http://pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/component/article/dceb873ef9e475a548fe6be4c5d438f6?esi=true&t_template=s3/chronicle-tg_tlc_storymeta/index&t_product=GoldCoastBulletin&td_device=desktop[/img]
A MOVE to advise construction workers on site at Gold Coast Airport to undertake blood testing for chemicals associated with a now disused firefighting foam has been described as a slap in the face for firefighters.

According to Gold Coast Airport chief operating officer Marion Charlton contractors working on site have been advised to take a precautionary approach to works in regards to PFAS and offering testing such as this would be in line with that approach.

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) were components of Aqueous Film-Forming Foam (AFFF) which was used for firefighting at the airport until 2010, and both are suspected of being carcinogenic.

A move to advise construction workers on site at Gold Coast Airport to undertake blood testing for chemicals associated with a now disused firefighting foam has been described as a slap in the face for firefighters.

The move to test workers comes despite Airservices Australia being accused by the union which represents airport firefighters of dragging its feet when it comes to testing firefighters for the chemicals.

According to United Firefighters Union Australia Aviation Branch representative Henry Lyons the group has been pressuring Airservices Australia to activate a clause that would allow extra testing of its members.

“They have so far refused,” he said.

“Our members would have been exposed just as much or more as defence force members who have been offered blood tests.

“It’s a health and safety issue and under the legislation Airservices Australia needs to take this more seriously.”

Tugun Cobaki Alliance president Lindy Smith said the move was a real slap in the face for firefighters considering they would have been in direct contact with the chemicals for a long period of time.

“These chemicals are now globally recognised as serious contaminants with serious health and environmental impacts,” she said.

Ms Smith also slammed Airservices Australia for dragging its heels on the release of a report into the contamination around the airport.

In a statement at the time the group said results would be released in August.

“Initially there were tests in June which were to be finalised in August and now we’re into October and from Airservices own statements and documents there supposedly have been ongoing investigations since 2008 and they are still not available,” Ms Smith said.

“Also NSW authorities have got two major developments at the airport with Project Lift and the ILS where you have substantial earthworks that disturb the ground and surface water authorities have not been provided with any data.

“Residents are fed up and I’ve had a number of calls particularly from residents who live adjacent to airport.

“These people have used groundwater for decades and when you look at Williamstown (Newcastle, NSW) and Oakey where warnings have been given by the Defence Department not to use groundwater and not consume produce from ground contaminated by these chemicals these people are being left in the dark and I think it’s appalling.”

MTF...P2

[Gobbledock]

Of polishing airports knobs

So apparently the AAA are having a conference this week in Can'tbera and Pumpkin Head, Electric Blue and Wingnut made gust appearances, and Sir Anus was spotted enjoying the buffet and pinching free pens. Hoody makes an appearance later in the week! Question is why? What could any of these muppets do to assist, improve or value add to airports?

My source tells me Electic Blue wore his standard satin blue suit and his buccula is more pronounced than ever!

Buccula;
"a fold of fatty tissue, literally a "little cheek" beneath the chin. Also called double chin. A layer of subcutaneous fat located at the anterior neck which is covered by sagging or stretched skin, creating a redundancy, making the owner appear as if he/she has a second or third chin".

[P7_TOM]

Nice one GD – ROFLMAO – the kids tell me this is a ‘righteous’ acronym. Buccular E.B. Yuk, yuk, Yak.

[Peetwo]

Wagner's Wellcamp airport - a good news story...

Via the Weekend Oz:

Family’s blue-sky dreams finally take wing



‘We decided to do it ourselves’: John Wagner at the Brisbane West Wellcamp Airport. Picture: Glenn Hunt

The first international flight out this week. Picture: David Martinelli

• The Australian
  
• 12:00AM November 26, 2016
  

Jamie Walker
Associate Editor
Brisbane
@Jamie_WalkerOz

Like an albino jumbo, the airport that John Wagner’s family built outside Toowoomba was supposed to be a rich man’s folly, more trouble than it could ever be worth.

But as tonne after tonne of Queensland beef and mangoes were stacked in the hold of a 747 cargo jet on a steamy night this week, Mr Wagner was rewarded with something money can’t buy.

Vindication.

While the critics were adamant that the Brisbane West Wellcamp Airport had as much chance of taking off as one of those figurative white elephants, Mr Wagner and his brothers put $200 million and the muscle of their inter­national construction, building services and manufacturing group behind the project.

Two years on from the opening of the gleaming terminal building, the airport has a designation code of WTB and a future that hardly anyone envisaged.
Except the Wagners.

[img=558x366]http://cdn.thinglink.me/api/image/858666315617927169/1024/10/scaletowidth#tl-858666315617927169;1043138249'[/img]

“The … local council didn’t have the money or the foresight or the vision, the state government doesn’t do airports and the federal government, you know, if they do anything at all they take years and years to get around to it,” said 56-year-old Mr Wagner, who drove the development. “So we decided to do it ourselves. It felt right. It has always felt right.”

Qantas was the first airline to sign up, then regional car­riers Airnorth and Regional Expres­s. The 74 scheduled passenger flights that buzz in and out of Wellcamp each week are due to increase to 130 in the new year, in addition to charters for fly-in, fly-out workers shuttling between the mines and new coal-seam gas fields in southern and central Queensland.

The first Hong Kong-bound air freighter with Cathay Pacific Airways touched down on Tuesday night in another milestone. “Everyone said to us, initially, that you will never get a freighter to run out of Toowoomba, it just won’t happen,” Mr Wagner said.

Set up for 1.2 million passengers a year, with the 2.87km runway capable of handling any aircraft up to the Boeing 747, Wellcamp was a casebook in blue-sky thinking.

It is the first big-league, general­-purpose airport to be built from scratch in Australia since Tullamarine came on line in Melbourne­, in July 1970.

The Wagners did it their way, on their land, with their own cash, crews and equipment, using cement­ mixed in a company plant and soil and rock fill hauled from on-site quarries.

From start to finish, the build took 19 months and 11 days, Mr Wagner said proudly. The airport turned a profit five months ago.

In the adjoining industrial park — yes, it’s owned by the family firm — they’re to construct a $35m plant for Au Lait Australia to make milk-based infant formula for the Chinese market. The work will start in January, with a $110m ­second stage planned for 2018 to process fresh milk, also earmarked for export to China by air.

By then, Mr Wagner hopes to have a daily international passenger service operating from Wellcamp, probably to regional China or Vietnam, and at least three weekly freight flights with Cathay Pacific and possibly other carriers. Two purpose-built tanker aircraft will fly a daily milk run to Shanghai under the plan.

Direct passenger services to Townsville start next week and additional domestic destinations were to be added in the coming months, he said. Currently, there were daily returns to Sydney and services to Melbourne and Cairns. Airlines pay landing fees comparable with those charged by Brisbane Airport, 130km to the east.

Wagners is developing a cargo wharf at Pinkenba near the mouth of Brisbane River and looking at a spur line to link Wellcamp to the proposed inland rail corrid­or. This would convey freight to and from Melbourne within 17 hours and put the airport astride an “intermodal transport hub”, boosting export access to Asia.

A new highway bypass over the Toowoomba range runs past Wellcamp, taking shape in a scar of earthworks at the base of the runway. When completed in 2018, it will cut driving time from the Brisbane CBD to 80 minutes. Mr Wagner said economic modelling produced for the company showed that every freight flight would support an additional 1052 jobs — “extra people working for producers, truckers, the shippers at the airport, freight forwarders”.

After dispatching prime beef cuts to Hong Kong in the inaugural freight run, supplier Oakey Holdings will double the prod­uction of a local abattoir. The consignment that landed in the Chinese territory on Wednesday included infant food formula and lightweight poly piping.

As Mr Wagner tells it, this is only the start: his five-year target is 4000 tonnes of cargo a week and 1.5 million passengers a year. “Those numbers are absolutely achievable,” he said.

Toowoomba Mayor Paul Antonio said the airport had already made an “amazing” difference to the range-top city of 160,000: “There is an air of optimism here.”

Entrepreneur and aviation buff Dick Smith admired the Wagners’ chutzpah but couldn’t understand how they would turn a dollar from Wellcamp. He went from sceptic to fan in March, having flown himself in.

With a nod to Australian poet CJ Dennis, he said: “I dips me lid. It’s the only good thing I have seen for 10 years in general aviation.”

The airport’s fiercest critic, Sydney-based radio talkback star Alan Jones, was not available after undergoing back surgery this week. Another voluble opponent, Heather Brown Pascoe, a former journalist with this paper who oper­ates a horse stud backing on to the airport, did not return calls.

They are among those being sued for defamation by the Wagner family over claims on Jones’s syndicated 2GB show and the Nine Network’s 60 Minutes prog­ram that people died in the 2011 Lockyer Valley flood disaster due to the collapse of a quarry owned and operated by the Wagners. A royal commission-like inquiry last year found these claims to be false.

Mr Wagner denied the legal action was to silence criticism. “We were really only criticised by someone who had an agenda and doesn’t even live in Toowoomba … It’s about bringing him (Jones) to account for the wrong he has done and the damage he has done to our reputation,” he said.

Mr Antonio said the local community was highly supportive, and he did not know of any problems with the airport. Airservices Australia, the federal agency usually called in over aircraft noise, said it had no jurisdiction because the facilit­y was privately owned; complaints from the public would have been referred to the airport’s operator, the Wagners.

Mr Wagner insisted there was a “very strong relationship and open lines of communication” with residents and “if and when” a complaint happened, the problem was addressed directly. A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Safety Authority said he was not aware of any issues involving Wellcamp. Since opening the airport, the Wagners have risen to 14th place on the BRW Rich Families List, with an estimated worth of $955m
Mr Wagner, who has handed over as chairman to brother Denis to concentrate on the aviation and infrastructure side of the business, said discussing their wealth was not “all that productive”. Two other brothers, Joe and Neill, run divisions of the company.

John Wagner said they had “broken the mould”, training the 40 full-time workers to take on multiple roles. The check-in staff also load baggage; those on security work in the cafe and help with the freight. Unions had their place but there was no need for them to be on-site, he said.

“Our aim has been to make sure we had control over the exper­ience our people have and to contain costs,” he said.

“We are sitting in the middle of the biggest-producing agricultural region in Australia, with the biggest­ concentration of feedlot cattle in the southern hemisphere.

“The opportunities are unlimited if you can get that produce market fresh to Asia. That’s the story. The story is here.”

MTF...P2

[thorn bird]

I dips me lid to the Wagner's, what an achievement, what vision.
A couple of years and 200 million, how much are the Federal government spending and how long
till Badgeries creek is operational?, just to provide Mc Bank with another tax free monopoly.

Perhaps the salutatory lesson for the public is, airports properly run for the public interest, are vital pieces of infrastructure.
How much will the Wellcamp airport contribute to the economy of its region?

Unfortunately the Pollie wafflers still don't get it.

[Peetwo]

Fire sale coming to an airport near you - contaminates for free: Guaranteed to give you 30..60..up to an amazing 300% over the acceptable limit for a contamination dosage, for free or your health back -    

C'mon DDDDarren, you've got some real spot fires erupting now mate, and it seems like it is just you holding 'one limp hose' to put it out? Where are your mates Barmybaby, Purple Haze Harfield, Wingnut and Conductor Houston???? Throwing you under the bus?

Calls for more testing to determine the extent of contamination at Gold Coast Airport
[img=0x0]http://pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/component/article/c0d1ab1dd33557a5fec36ebbc57de767?esi=true&t_template=s3/chronicle-tg_tlc_storyheader/index&t_product=GoldCoastBulletin&td_noGallery=true&td_device=desktop[/img]Lea Emery, lea.emery@news.com.au, Gold Coast Bulletin
November 16, 2016 1:00am
[img=0x0]http://pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/component/article/c0d1ab1dd33557a5fec36ebbc57de767?esi=true&t_template=s3/chronicle-tg_tlc_storymeta/index&t_product=GoldCoastBulletin&td_noGallery=true&td_device=desktop[/img]

AIRSERVICES Australia has been slammed by community groups for not doing enough to deal with contamination at the Gold Coast Airport.

Sure would be a crying shame for Cooly's airport to be better known for its contamination of ground water  with a toxic chemical that can't be removed, than for it to be known as being the gateway airport to the beautiful Gold Coast?

TICK TOCK Houston and Electric Blue

And also today via Gold Coast Bulletin

The revelation that the chemicals used in firefighting at the airport previously has come as a slap in the face for firefighters.

Sun Community
Advice to Gold Coast Airport construction workers to be tested for exposure to carcinogens ‘slap in face’ for fire fighters
[img=0x0]http://pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/component/article/dceb873ef9e475a548fe6be4c5d438f6?esi=true&t_template=s3/chronicle-tg_tlc_storyheader/index&t_product=GoldCoastBulletin&td_device=desktop[/img]
DENIS DOHERTY, Gold Coast Sun
October 16, 2016 1:00am
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PFAS update: Motion Can'tberra

Chemical Contamination: Firefighting Foams

• Rhiannon, Sen Lee
  
• McGrath, Sen James
  

Senator RHIANNON: (New South Wales) (15:44): I seek leave to amend general business notice of motion No. 144 standing in my name for today relating to contamination by firefighting foams, by omitting in subparagraph (a)(i) the words 'public health'.

Leave granted.

Senator RHIANNON: I move the motion as amended:

That the Senate—
(a) notes that:
(i) the chemical contamination on and around Defence, airport and firefighter training sites across Australia of per and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), resulting from the use of legacy firefighting foams, is a national environmental, economic and workplace safety issue,
(ii) preliminary tests conducted at 12 investigation sites around the country detected PFAS at every site, and PFAS levels exceeding interim standards at three sites,
(iii) it has been three weeks since the Department of Defence released the preliminary investigation report, and
(iv) the Turnbull Government has not yet commented on the report; and
(b) calls on the Government to:
(i) urgently consult with all residents living in and around every investigation site, and
(ii) urgently consult with all workers, including former workers, who have been exposed to PFAS through the use of firefighting foams.

---

Senator McGRATH (Queensland—Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) (15:45): I seek leave to make a short statement.

The PRESIDENT: Leave is granted for one minute.

Senator McGRATH: Defence is continuing with a very proactive approach to identifying PFAS contamination across its estate through an extensive program of investigations. This program is one of the largest environmental investigations ever undertaken in this country. Community engagement has already occurred at RAAF Base Tindal, RAAF Base Darwin, Robertson Barracks and RAAF Base Townsville, with further community engagement planned in other communities in the coming weeks. A range of state and Commonwealth agencies have participated, given the whole-of-government focus on managing this issue. The government understands the concerns of those in affected communities and will continue to engage with them throughout these investigations.

Question agreed to.

Tick..tick..tick..goes 4D NFI Chester's PFAS PED (political explosive device) sitting in his office waiting room -



MTF...P2

[Cap'n Wannabe]

A very interesting article from the LA Times....can't ever see that happening here.

The Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday ordered Santa Monica to halt the evictions of two aviation companies at its municipal airport until the agency can finish an investigation into the city’s effort to shut down the facility.

FAA officials issued an interim cease-and-desist order to stop the ouster of Atlantic Aviation and American Flyers, two major providers of aircraft services, including fuel, flight instruction, hangars and amenities for charter operators.

The move to evict the companies is part of the city’s strategy to force out aviation tenants, reduce aircraft flights and shut down the oldest operating airport in Los Angeles County by July 2018.

If the evictions go forward, the city plans to replace Atlantic and American Flyers with its own municipal aviation company and sell bio-fuel for jets and unleaded gas for propeller planes to reduce aircraft emissions. Federal law allows governments that operate airports to provide services themselves instead of relying on private companies.

The city sent the first notices to evict in mid-September and filed lawsuits against both tenants in November to regain possession of the property.

“While we are disappointed but not surprised that the FAA has decided to issue this interim order on the pending evictions of Atlantic and American Flyer, we remain committed to replacing private fixed-based operations with public services,” Mayor Tony Vasquez said.

The cease-and-desist order states that Santa Monica’s “unremitting effort” to remove critical aeronautical services and its “hostility” to the sale of leaded fuel still needed by many aircraft is “a clear contravention of law.”

The order notes that general aviation aircraft, business jets and turboprop aircraft cannot operate using the fuels approved by the City Council.  It further states that the city has no desire to provide all the services offered by the companies, such as flight training.

Under agreements with the federal government, the city must make the airport available for public use and benefit. It cannot discriminate against aircraft types or uses and must make space available for aviation tenants on reasonable terms based on good faith negotiations.

“The city has failed to grant any aeronautical leases since 2015 and is alleged to have negotiated in bad faith while seeking onerous and unreasonable terms,” according to the cease-and-desist order, which later states that the leasing policy for the airport fails to include aviation.

“We are pleased that the FAA has recognized our client’s federally protected right to be at the airport,” said R. Christopher Harshman, an attorney for American Flyers.

In a separate action, Atlantic Aviation and American Flyers have asked a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge to halt the evictions. A hearing is set for Jan. 3.

Santa Monica officials say they are working in “good faith” to provide the services and fuel required by federal regulations. They have 30 days to respond to the FAA’s cease-and-desist order.

In late September, the FAA opened a wide-ranging investigation to determine whether the city’s so-called starvation strategy for the airport violates its federal obligations that date back to the late 1940s.

The 227-acre airport has about 270 aircraft and averages 452 takeoffs and landings per day. Supporters say it is an economic benefit for the region, provides a base of operations for major emergencies and helps relieve crowded airspace at Los Angeles International Airport.

Opponents contend the airport should be closed because of noise pollution, potentially harmful emissions from aircraft engines and the risk of a serious crash in surrounding neighborhoods.

P7 - Good catch, CW; well done FAA.