It wasn't the news that red zone residents had been hoping for but it was still better than nothing.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
After four years of watching their property prices collapse as a result of PFAS contamination around the Williamton RAAF base, many had been hopeful Labor would build on an earlier announcement to provide $20million to clean up drains in the red zone.
But after a meeting with shadow defence minister Richard Marles at Williamtown on Thursday morning, residents were left to contemplate the reality that Labor would not commit to financial compensation.
"I'm disappointed. Labor's policy may be well intentioned but it is silent on the most important issue," Fullerton Cove resident Lindsay Clout said.
"We had a long conversation about what they are trying to do to fix up this mess.
"At the end of the day this (Labor's policy) is the best thing I have seen from a major party in the past four years."
READ MORE:
Mr Marles told the Newcastle Herald that he understood that residents felt trapped by circumstances created through no fault of their own.
"It's been four years since the NSW EPA declared the red zone in Williamtown. Since then a lot of pain and anguish has been felt by the community," he said.
If elected Mr Marles said he would seek immediate briefings from the Department of Defence and solicitors working on the class action lawsuit brought by the residents against Defence.
In particular he would request information about the timeliness of the litigation process and where the government was up to.
"Having got all that material I will be coming back to Williamtown within two months to talk to the community," he said.
"This is an absolute commitment to front the community, be present and maintain a dialogue.
"This is the third time I have been here on this issue"
He said Labor's commitment to ongoing dialogue stood in contrast to the present government's approach.
"We have a desire to try to resolve this issue, we are very sincere in that," he said.
"We want to see a quick and fair resolution to this as soon as possible."
Mr Clout, who is also the president of the national Coalition Against PFAS, said solutions to PFAS contamination needed to be tailored to individual communities.
"A one size fits all approach is effectively an excuse to do nothing," he said.
Senior Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon told a packed meeting of red zone residents on Monday that the PFAS contamination issue was the "most simple" and the "most complex" community problem he has ever been involved in.