Residents say they are “ropeable” over a claim that they are the reason behind Hunter MPs being excluded from a community committee looking at the PFAS contamination scandal.
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Several residents released a statement on Thursday accusing Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald of lying, after he said on radio that the MPs would not be part of a new Community Reference Group (CRG) because that’s what the community wanted.
It comes after federal Paterson MP Meryl Swanson, state Port Stephens MP Kate Washington and Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp said they were told in a meeting on Wednesday that the Elected Reference Group (ERG) was being wound up.
They said they were also told that the CRG was being dissolved and a private consultant would run a replacement group – from which the MPs would be excluded.
Mr MacDonald said residents did not want MPs on the CRG because of privacy concerns and a fear that the contamination issue would be politicised.
But Fullerton Cove Residents Action Group representative Lyndsay Clout, who sat on the panel that reviewed the CRG, said Mr MacDonald’s assertion was “an outrageous lie”.
“The CRG specifically requested that our local MPs be included on the new committee, and so did the review committee, we have the minutes and action items that prove that,” he said.
Williamtown and Surrounds Residents Action Group spokesman Cain Gorfine – a CRG member – said Mr MacDonald was playing politics.
Mr MacDonald’s comments on radio were at odds with Environment Minister Gabrielle Upton, whose office told Fairfax Media that a decision on the make-up of the group had not been made.
Ms Upton’s office accused the Hunter MPs of “twisting the words” of a public servant from Wednesday’s meeting and said it was “made clear” the group’s future was undecided.
But the Fairfax Media understands Ms Upton did not personally attend the meeting.
Mr MacDonald stuck by his comments when contacted on Thursday.
He said a diverse range of opinions had been expressed during consultation about the CRG, which included “a strong response” from those who didn’t want elected representatives in the new group.
Meanwhile, the NSW Environment Protection Authority said direct communication with Williamtown residents would “continue to be a priority”.
“It is known that the future of the committee is under consideration by the state and commonwealth, with a view to making it as effective as possible for the community, the final position on this has not yet been determined,” a spokesperson said.
Nick Bielby
Nick Bielby is a crime reporter who has worked as a journalist since 2011. Having joined the Newcastle Herald in 2017, he won a Walkley Award in 2019 with Donna Page for their investigation 'Dirty Deeds', which exposed the decades of illegal dumping of toxic material in and around a Hunter waterway.
Nick Bielby is a crime reporter who has worked as a journalist since 2011. Having joined the Newcastle Herald in 2017, he won a Walkley Award in 2019 with Donna Page for their investigation 'Dirty Deeds', which exposed the decades of illegal dumping of toxic material in and around a Hunter waterway.
