Plans were already in place to have the report released early next year, however, given the length of time before the government is expected to respond, Environment Minister Lisa Neville released it on Tuesday. 

“The government thanks Greg Tweedley for his report - we hope this starts to provide answers these workers deserve. We will work now to respond to the report in February next year,” Ms Neville said. 

The central finding in the report is that prior to 1981, it is plausible that exposure to a contaminant of 2,4,5-T called TCDD may cause non-Hodgkin lymphoma or soft sarcoma. However, the report also makes it clear that due to there being so many causes of cancer it is impossible to be certain that this exposure was definitely the cause. 

One of the key recommendations to come from the report is for the government to check current and former sprayers for a history of chloracne, soft tissue sarcome and non-Hodgkin lymphoma and consider a policy response for those who have contracted those conditions. 

The report also recommends updating the 1980s Worker Heath Study for the same group of sprayers talked to as part of the inquiry and comparing it with with Victorian Cancer Registry for evidence of causation. 

Some of the key findings were already revealed earlier this month in a letter from inquiry’s chair Greg Tweedly. 

The Courier first revealed concerns surrounding the region's former Lands Department spray programs and practices back in September 2014, and has pushed strongly for further action by government ever since, with the Toxic Legacy campaign. 

The campaign involved telling the stories of a number of former department workers who all had issues with the use of the chemicals. 

Other key findings include that sprayers between 1965 and 1981 were exposed to double today’s standard tolerable monthly intake of TCDD, a contaminant of 2,4,5-T. The report also states the International Agency for Research of Cancer classified TCDD as carcinogenic to humans since 1997 and possibly carcinogenic to humans since 1982. The report also found a Victorian government policy to test urine of all sprayers and monitor their health was never implemented by the Lands Department.  

There is also a consensus among academic papers from the 1980s that finds a link between exposure to TCDD and the incidence of cancer.  The inquiry also recommends a review should take place of all current policies and practices to ensure no further failings exist.