Chris Bowen (Prospect, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

Honourable members opposite hate to talk about federal issues, for understandable reasons, but on this side of the House we do like to talk about federal issues. Today I am going to talk about an issue which is very important to the people of Western Sydney. I am delighted that the Chief Opposition Whip is in the chamber, because he has been campaigning against Badgerys Creek airport for the last 25 years.

Today again I want to raise this government’s intention to build Badgerys Creek airport. In May I reported to the House on this important issue, which is important to people in my electorate in Kemps Creek, Mount Vernon, Cecil Park and Horsley Park as well as Bossley Park, Minchinbury and St Clair. I noted a letter to the editor in today’s Fairfield City Champion from Peter Cork of Horsley Park. I know Peter quite well. I served on the Fairfield City Council with him. He is certainly no supporter of the ALP and we certainly had our differences over the years, but he has been a very strong and powerful campaigner against Badgerys Creek airport. He starts his letter by saying:

It seems absolutely remarkable that the Liberal Party could allow Badgerys Creek airport proposal to remain on the books.

He goes on:

When Mr Vaile quarantined the Badgerys site until 2009 he and John Howard effectively placed a ‘poison’ sign over our land and our local community.

This is an issue which will not go away for the government because they will not rule out building an airport at Badgerys Creek. As I reported to the House previously, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Transport and Regional Services had written to Western Sydney councils confirming that there would be another review. The government apparently do not like reviews, but when it comes to an airport in Western Sydney they embrace them. There will be yet another review! The last review was done in 2005—it has been and gone. Now we have another one coming in 2009 and they say they cannot make a decision until the 2009 review.

Furthermore, it gets worse. I am sure the Chief Opposition Whip will be very disappointed to hear that the Prime Minister’s principal private secretary wrote to the Western Sydney Alliance Chairman, Councillor Mark Pigram, this month saying an inquiry into the deeply unpopular second Sydney airport would reopen in 2009. He went on to say:

[The] Australian Government is retaining the Badgerys Creek site as a contingency for possible development of an airport should one be needed in the future as there are no other suitable sites within 80 kilometres of Sydney.

So this is the true view of the federal government from the Prime Minister’s principal private secretary. The members opposite from Western Sydney masquerade around town saying that they will oppose an airport—the member for Lindsay has made an art form of it—and yet we all know that this government will not rule out building an airport at Badgerys Creek if it is re-elected later this year. We hear constantly about state issues. Why don’t members opposite stand up on a federal issue which affects Western Sydney, oppose Badgerys Creek and rule it out? A Rudd Labor government will not build an airport at Badgerys Creek. (Time expired)

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