Lawsuit over Oakey water contamination

THE water contamination crisis in Queensland town Oakey is set to head to court, with environmental activist Erin Brockovich telling residents their town was “worth the fight”.

Erin Brockovich is in Queensland to talk to Oakey residents about the water contamination. Pic: Mark Calleja

• OAKEY WATER CONTAMINATION: ‘Worst I’ve seen,’ says Erin Brockovich

OAKEY residents will be part of a class-action lawsuit against the Defence Force over a contamination scandal that has polluted the town’s water.

Shine Lawyers — accompanied by US environmental activist Erin Brockovich — last night told a public meeting in Oakey that the class action now had the necessary funding and approval to proceed.

The lawsuit would sue the Defence Force for “nuisance” which occurs when a party unreasonably interferes with their neighbour’s enjoyment of their property, as well as negligence.

Hundreds of Oakey residents gathered at the meeting to hear Ms Brockovich and lawyers announce the move. Speaking for more than an hour, Ms Brockovich urged residents to fight for their homes, families and businesses — which were exposed to toxic firefighting foam that leached into the town’s water systems.

“This is your home, your town, your community, your land, your water and it’s worth the fight,’’ she said.

Ms Brockovich said she was saddened by claims the town had become divided over the contamination.

“The worst thing that could happen is that you become divided,” she said.

“For as long as I’ve done this every community that has stayed together to fight have won this ... what moves a government is people.’’

Locals were anxious to ask questions about their experience with PFOS and PFOA — at times emotional as they struggled to grasp what the contamination meant for their future.

Local stud breeder Dianne Priddle, 59 — who has property 4m from the contaminated army aviation base — begged the crowd to join the fight.

“We’re not trying to condemn Oakey, we love Oakey, we constantly try to give back to our community but this mess was created by Defence,” Ms Priddle said.

Another woman said she struggled to sleep at night for fear her pipes were riddled with toxins. Another farmer said he feared Oakey would become “a ghost town” before long.

Farmers asked what they should feed their livestock after they were warned not to use contaminated bore water.

Shine Lawyers senior partner Peter Shannon asked for expressions of interest to bolster the more than 50 residents already on board.