Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Hansard source

Minister, I have three questions. Firstly, I draw your attention to Sydney airport and the plan for a 62,390 square metre retail centre and a car park for up to 3,145 vehicles and the massive objection by the state government, local government and community groups—indeed everyone but the owners of Sydney airport—to that plan that forced it to withdraw it and to indicate that it would submit a revised plan. The Sydney Morning Herald of 21 April says:

A spokesman for the minister, Warren Truss, said public consultation would be required only if the new plan was "fundamentally different" from the original.

Minister, I put it to you on behalf of my constituents that it is appropriate that there be a public consultation process after that revised plan is submitted and, if that does not occur, that there will be considerable outrage from the local community—from both residents and also businesses.

When you look at the location of Sydney airport, in the most densely populated area of Australia, I think one can see why the plan—which involved a $200 million shopping centre and a cinema complex—is regarded with some considerable objection by residents. Minister, I would ask that you give a commitment that there will be a public consultation process and that you will not simply rubber-stamp this plan.

My second question is this: is the minister aware that, in spite of the fact that there is a curfew at Sydney airport between 11 pm and 6 am, there are scheduled flights every day which breach that curfew, in particular between 5 am and 6 am, from Qantas, Singapore Airlines and airlines involved in long haul flights from LA and from London? Indeed, duty-free shopping at Sydney airport opens at 5 am, not at 6 am. Even duty-free shopping and Customs at the airport are open every day at a time when the public would expect that the curfew would be operating. As someone who lives under the flight path of Sydney airport I will declare an interest in asking this question of the minister. Can the minister look at that and confirm that that is the case and take action to ensure that, if legislative changes are required to make sure that the 11 pm to 6 am curfew is enforced, they will be taken?

My third question goes to the issue of noise amelioration for those around Sydney airport. In particular, I draw the minister’s attention to the plight of Fort Street High School, which is directly under the flight path at Taverners Hill. It is on high land a stone’s throw from the insulation zone—it is about 150 metres outside. Does the minister think it reasonable that young people’s education at that school is disrupted sometimes every 90 seconds as a result of flights going over? Will the minister take up my invitation, which I have given to him personally before, to come to that school to see for himself what the young people suffer in terms of the disruption to their educational attainment from the aircraft noise? Will the minister give consideration to taking action to ensure that this occurs, particularly given that there are no budget implications from it in that the money for noise amelioration comes from the airport noise levy, which is levied on every passenger?

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