Opposition Leader Bill Shorten concerned for Williamtown residents

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has personally phoned residents affected by the Williamtown 'red zone'.

Jamie and Samantha Kelly discovered their 10-month old son had significant levels of toxic firefighting chemicals in his blood - something Mr Shorten says is incredibly concerning. 

Mr Shorten personally contacted the family after meeting them two months ago when he was in the area.

The family are moving into a new rental property in Newcastle and Ms Kelly told the Newcastle Herald they had been inundated with kindness from the wider community. 

Paterson MP Meryl Swanson says the problem isn't going away and she won't stop fighting for the Williamtown residents.

"I think the most important thing is that we maintain the pressure on this government to do something for these people and I am doing everything within my power to keep the profile of this story up in Canberra. I'm talking to as many people as I possibly can and Bill is certainly one of those people."

Meryl Swanson calls on Health Minister in wake of international PFOA and PFOS findings.

BY JARROD MELMETH

Federal Member for Paterson Meryl Swanson is calling on the Health Minister Sussan Ley to explain the ramifications of the "draft risk profile" for PFOA adopted by United Nations group The Stockholm Convention's Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee.

The Stockholm Convention is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from chemicals.

The "draft risk profile" states "PFOA, its salts and related compounds are persistent, bio accumulative and toxic to animals and humans" and that "PFOA and it's salts and related compounds are likely, as a result of their long-range environmental transport, to lead to adverse human health impacts."

Health Guidelines in Australia are that "there is currently no consistent evidence that exposure to PFOS and PFOA causes adverse human health effects."

Meryl Swanson says she wants to know whether these findings will have any effect on Australian Guidelines.

"I have written to the Health Minister to ask her to explain the ramifications of this advancement and the adoption of the draft risk profile from the United Nations and find out what that means for us here in Australia. Are we taking that into consideration when we're weighing up whats happening with Williamtown."

"We need to make sure that we are getting world class information on what is happening in terms of research across the globe so that we get the very best solutions."

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten will be meeting with Williamtown residents today.

Federal Member for Paterson Meryl Swanson. Photo Courtesy
of Facebook.