Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I support the passage of the Airports Amendment Bill 2015. As someone who has lived within five kilometres of Kingsford Smith Airport for my whole life, it is a welcome development to see the Commonwealth parliament making progress on the development of a second airport for Sydney's west. I recall that, when I used to live in Botany, I could walk out into my backyard and count the number of rivets on the undercarriage of a jumbo as it flew over our backyard. So it is nice to see that progress is being made on a second Sydney airport.

This bill will amend the Airports Act to provide for the determination of an airport plan for Sydney West Airport. This is a temporary, transitional measure which authorises the initial airport development for Sydney West Airport and specifies the Australian government's requirements for the airport. The bill also includes some measures that increase the options available to the Australian government in respect of who operates the airport should Southern Cross Airports Corporation decline a contractual offer that they have to develop the airport. This is necessary to give full effect to the Commonwealth's contractual rights in relation to Sydney West Airport. Separately, to progress the project and prepare for the declaration of the land at Badgerys Creek as an airport site, the bill deals with some of the environmental matters.

I represent the community which has Sydney's airport in its electorate. Our community experiences the advantages of this vital piece of infrastructure through proximity to the country's No. 1 airport and the economic opportunities that that creates. Quite simply, airports are economic powerhouses. They create many, many jobs, and many of the friends that I went to school with have jobs that relate to the airport. Indeed, my father spent 37 years working for Qantas in an airport related job. So I know and understand the economic benefits that flow not only to direct jobs but also ancillary industries, in logistics and other services, around airports.

But of course with airports come challenges, most notably through traffic congestion and airport noise. Sydney's airport is among Australia's most significant pieces of transport infrastructure but it is located, very, very close to quite a dense residential area and it is probably one of the closest international airports to a CBD in the world. It facilitates the movement of more than 36 million passengers and 395,000 tonnes of international air freight annually.

The economic impact of Sydney Airport which emanates from the 800 businesses that operate within the airport precinct, and associated with tourism and trade and capital expenditure, is huge. In 2012, businesses operating within the airport's precinct contributed an estimated $9.3 billion in value added, with associated employment of close to 50,000 full-time equivalent jobs. The contribution of tourism and freight facilitated by the airport represented a further $18.3 billion in value added and generated an estimated 230,000 full-time jobs.

Sydney Airport is vital to the nation's productivity and prosperity. Studies have shown that a second airport will also be a huge benefit and will deal with an emerging need in respect of air services in the Sydney Basin. The Grattan Institute's Mapping Australia's economy report of July 2014 undertook detailed research across Australia's capital cities looking at where the high-paying, high-productivity jobs were located. It found:

The intense economic contribution of CBDs occurs partly because of the concentration of jobs in these areas. But CBD businesses are also much more productive on average than those in other areas. Inner city areas and secondary commercial hubs, such as those around large cities' airports, also tend to be more productive than other locations.

So a new airport will not only bring jobs; it also has the potential, over time, to bring higher paying, higher productivity jobs to a location other than the CBD. Airports, like universities, are key attracters of related businesses in such precincts.

This bill is an initial stage in facilitating the plan for the second airport in Sydney. It proposes to amend the Airports Act to improve some of the environmental processes associated with planning for Sydney's second airport and to address issues arising from unintended consequences of the act relating to the privatisation of Sydney Airport. It will also strengthen the environmental assessment process around the second airport, by combining the initial concept and major development plan into one consolidated airport plan and requiring the environment minister's decision arising from an EIS on the plan. This will be mandated rather than just a source of advice to the infrastructure minister. In that respect, Labor welcomes the bill's proposed strengthening of the role for the environment minister when it comes to the EIS.

The bill will also amend the act to remove the current provisions that would mean that the operators of Kingsford Smith airport, SACL, or Sydney Airport Corporation Limited, are mandated to also operate the second airport, regardless of ownership, and it will amend the act to allow other airports to bid for the second airport, should Sydney Airport Corporation not take up the initial option of the first right of refusal on the airport.

This is a very important reform and something that probably should have been done initially. I think most people probably recognise that is now the case. We all know about the costs of setting foot in Sydney airport, for parking and other services that are provided, and they primarily relate to the fact that there is no competition around the airport in terms of the provision of services. This amendment will go some of the way to perhaps providing additional competition by making it possible for operators of other airports—or, indeed, new operators—to come in, should SACL not take up the initial offer. In some respects, this rectifies what I think was a huge error on behalf of the Howard government in respect of the initial sale of Sydney airport. The first right of refusal was tacked on, at the 11th hour, to those sale negotiations without any real additional revenue associated with its inclusion. It also reduces the potential for competition in the sector and has no regard to the interests of future users of airport facilities in Sydney.

Although the bill does not take away that contractual right that Sydney Airport Corporation Limited has in respect to first right of refusal, it clears the way for some contestability should Sydney airport not take up that initial offer. That is done specifically by allowing the Commonwealth to take a refused offer to other bidders and by removing the existing 15 per cent caps on cross ownership of Sydney's second airport by the owners of Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth airports. This will improve the negotiating position of the Commonwealth with Sydney Airport Corporation, implementing what was presumably intended at the time of the contract.

Proper planning for the second airport also means building rail links as part of an original development. It is very important, if we are going to undertake such a major infrastructure development, that we get the planning right, particularly in respect of transport in and out of the facility and indeed around the area. That must include a public transport plan for the second airport. Unfortunately, the refusal of the Abbott government to fund urban passenger rail projects means that there is a real possibility that a rail link will not be built at the same time as the airport. A rail link that connects the existing south-west rail line to the western line via the airport and related developments should be part of an initial development proposal and not delayed because of the government's approach to public transport.

In conclusion, I am very pleased to see this bill which has been brought to the House. It is progress being made on the development of a second airport for Sydney. It tidies up some of the contractual deficiencies that have existed in respect of the development of a second airport, and it will streamline and improve the environmental assessment process. On that basis, I commend the bill to the House.

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