Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—On 27 November 2007, just three days after the federal election on 24 November, Sydney Airport announced that work on the runway end safety area on the western end of the east-west runway would result in the complete closure of the runway for a period of no less than 15 months and a consequential end to noise-sharing arrangements during that period. The previous government was advised of this proposal in September 2007, but the public were not informed.

Upon my appointment as Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, I announced that the proposal, which had been discussed with the former government, was unacceptable and that every measure would have to be taken to ensure there was minimum disruption to noise-sharing arrangements at Sydney Airport as a result of these works.

I asked Sydney Airport to work with Airservices Australia, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and my department to ensure that no stone was left unturned in identifying possible solutions that would achieve a safe, efficient and timely completion of the works. I also ensured that the community would be formally consulted and would have input to the runway safety project.

On 15 August this year, I approved the major development plan for a runway end safety area at the western end of Sydney Airport’s east-west runway with 22 stringent conditions to minimise the impact of these essential works on nearby communities. Preliminary work on the runway end safety area (RESA) has commenced, and the major work on the project will commence this week.

The RESA has to be built to comply with International Civil Aviation Organisation safety standards which were adopted in May 2003 by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) for international airports in Australia. RESAs are cleared ground areas located at each end of a runway at international airports. RESAs are intended to minimise the harm to passengers in the unlikely event that an aircraft overruns or lands short of a runway. The Australian government is interested in all measures that will enhance the level of aviation safety and the safety of the Australian travelling public.

RESAs are an important part of aviation safety, and my approval for the construction of the safety area at the western end of the Sydney east-west runway is critical to ensure Sydney Airport maintains international safety standards. The RESA will provide a 90-metre by 90-metre paved area at the western end of east-west runway, and it is estimated that it will cost Sydney Airport approximately $85 million to build.

Located at the western end of the east-west runway—where the enlarged runway safety area will be built—are Sydney’s largest sewer, the M5 East Motorway and the Cooks River. As a result, building Sydney Airport’s sixth and final runway safety area will be complex.

For the first eight-month phase of the project—mid-October 2008 to mid-June 2009—construction work will require the presence of a giant pit at the end of the runway, the use of 35-metre-high cranes and building materials that must stay in place for extended periods of time while concrete dries. Such obstacles at the western end of the runway pose a serious risk to aircraft and passengers. Operations on the east-west runway will therefore be limited to take-offs to the east.

Construction will involve the installation of more than one hundred 27-metre-long precast concrete structural beams, each weighing more than 25 tonnes. Construction work will be carried out seven days a week and the project will also generate around 770 construction jobs. There will also be extensive night works including excavation and filling works, removal of substantial volumes of excavated material, pavement construction work, construction of a stormwater detention basin, installation of new services and construction work relating to the retaining wall.

When completed, the RESA has to be able carry a fully laden Airbus A380 and rescue vehicles. That is, the safety area has to be built over a sewer, next to a river and adjacent to the M5 East and be able carry well over 600 tonnes, which is 12 times the weight bearing of a normal road.

The Australian government has consistently emphasised to Sydney Airport the priority it attaches to safety in this runway extension project and, upon advice from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), I am satisfied that the project meets the current aviation safety standards. Decisions about safety standards at Australia’s airports are made by CASA. CASA advises that the length of the RESA under construction at Sydney Airport is the same as every other safety area for runways at international airports in Australia. Sydney Airport has completed safety areas at five of its six runway ends, and the western end of its east-west runway is the last runway end to be upgraded with a RESA. During the construction of the RESA some operational restrictions will be required at the airport, which in addition to construction noise will have an impact on communities near the airport.

I have left no stone unturned to minimise the impact of this essential safety work on these communities. As a result of the conditions on the development, the east-west runway will now remain open during construction of the RESA. Sydney Airport will install a ‘jet blast barrier’ across the east-west runway to protect the worksite at the western end, thereby allowing the eastern end to be used for take-offs.

Weather and traffic permitting, aircraft up to the size of a Boeing 737, the most common jet aircraft in Australian skies, will be able to depart in an easterly direction from the east-west runway. This will apply from later this week, when construction starts on the western end, until May 2009 when the substantial part of drilling large piers into the ground will be completed.

At the insistence of the Australian government, Sydney Airport Corporation has reduced the critical construction period from 15 months to eight months with a total construction period of approximately 19 months. In approving the RESA, I have placed 22 stringent conditions on the Sydney Airport Corporation, and I table those conditions.

The conditions ensure that:

• aircraft will be able to depart off the eastern end of the east-west runway throughout the construction period;
• Sydney Airport will be required to install a ‘jet blaster barrier’ across the east-west runway to protect the worksite at the western end, thereby allowing the eastern end to be used for take-offs;
• full use of the east-west runway will be available at critical times after only eight months, not the 15 months originally proposed;
• the ongoing monitoring of construction noise and a community complaints phone line and email address for the project to be administered by the airport, in addition to existing aircraft noise complaints line administered by Airservices Australia;
• monthly reporting to the Sydney Airport Community Forum on the project; and
• regular reviews of the project to see if it can be safely hastened or community impacts further reduced.

Airservices Australia has also, at my request, introduced a number of measures to minimise the impact on the community during the period of these works. In particular, a noise-sharing Mode 15 will be introduced to allow aircraft to be directed off the shorter parallel runway to the east and north-east, providing relief to the residents to the north and north-west. Keeping the eastern end of the east-west runway open for take-offs will ensure residents to the north, north-west and south of the airport will no longer bear the full burden of aircraft noise during construction of the safety area.

The government explored every possible way to minimise the noise impact on surrounding communities while this essential safety work is being carried out. The residents of Sydney will still be affected by the temporary changes in aircraft noise from this project, but the safety works are absolutely essential and we have lessened the noise impact as much as possible.

I have strengthened the community’s ability to monitor and report on the impact and progress of the construction. The Sydney Airport long-term operating plan Implementation Monitoring Committee, or IMC, will meet monthly and I will be provided a report through the Chief Executive Officer of Airservices Australia.

I have asked Airservices Australia to further investigate with the aviation industry, airlines and CASA possible changes to the crosswind and downwind thresholds at Sydney, but to ensure that any change categorically does not impact a mode called SODPROPS which maximises aircraft movements over Botany Bay and away from residents, and is the mode which provides respite to the majority of the community. All Sydney Airport’s three runways will remain open while essential safety upgrades are made to the western end of its east-west runway—work which will ensure the runway meets international safety standards.

In January 2008 the government reinstated the Sydney Airport Community Forum (SACF). Sydney Airport will continuously engage and consult with the community, Airservices Australia and my department throughout the RESA project. SACF was engaged with the process in the lead-up to the major development plan approval. This included a full briefing of SACF on 15 August prior to my announcement, and a briefing two days earlier of the Implementation and Monitoring Committee of SACF. I thank the members of the Sydney Airport Community Forum, from across the political spectrum, who gave support to the process and made constructive representations throughout this process which has helped the government’s consideration of the runway end safety area project.

I seek leave to move a motion to enable the member for Wide Bay to speak for 11 minutes.

Leave granted.

I move:

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent Mr Truss speaking for a period not exceeding 11 minutes.

Question agreed to.

Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am happy to respond to the minister’s statement, which I only received about 20 minutes before question time. On reading the statement, I find it does not really contain anything by way of news. In fact, it is a repeat of an announcement made on 15 August about this project on the east-west runway at Sydney Airport, and the work is already underway. There is nothing breathtakingly new in the minister’s statement.

Nonetheless, it is a significant project and I know that it affects a lot of people who live in the Sydney basin. It has been the people living in the area who have, naturally, been particularly interested in how this project can be effectively managed in a way that does not unduly affect the amenity of the region. Since 2003, arrangements have been progressively implemented internationally to raise standards at airports by having a runway end safety area on all runways. Generally it has been a relatively inexpensive and easy-to-implement operation for airports. In fact, Sydney will require six of these runway end safety areas. Five have been constructed already, at a total cost of $3 million. However, this project, as the minister has said, will cost about $85 million, so this is an example of how these have generally been relatively easy to provide: five in total for $3 million, and now one is going to cost $85 million. It is because of its location. As the minister pointed out, there is very strategic infrastructure in the region, and the need to carry heavy loads, the need to protect the environment, and existing infrastructure in that area have made this an exceptionally difficult and costly process.

I take some issue with the belligerent tone of some of the minister’s opening remarks. When he said that the airport planned these works in late September 2007 he implied that the previous government was negligent in dealing with the issue. It is true that the previous government was notified of the proposal in September 2007. I understand that officials of the Department of Transport and Regional Services were alerted and then those officials informed the minister’s office. The minister’s office was concerned about the planned construction schedule and immediately sought advice from the department about what action could be taken to make sure that this project was undertaken in the best possible way. The election intervened and there was a hiatus. Of course, if the previous government had sought to intervene in those circumstances then they would have been rightfully condemned for having breached the caretaker provisions.

Nearly a year later, a satisfactory solution has been found to enable this project, which everyone agrees is required, to be conducted in the best possible way. This project does need to be done in a safe and efficient way. It will be difficult, as has been pointed out, to move cranes onto the end of a runway to lift very heavy concrete beams over an extended period of time while still enabling the airport to fulfil its responsibilities. To maintain a safe and readily available landing and take-off area will be a challenge.

The minister pointed out correctly that the Sydney Airport Community Forum has been involved in discussions about the process. I notice that he said in his statement that he had reinstated this body, but it has been in existence for many years. Under the previous government it continued under Senator Payne’s active leadership. It met as required to deal with issues. It comprises community representatives, local members of parliament, councils and the like. The current forum is very similar in style and structure to the one that has existed for many years. Mr Vic Smith, the Chair of the Sydney Airport Community Forum, provided a submission on the development of this proposal. Ironically, the forum includes a whole lot of members of parliament from both sides and has generally operated in a pretty bipartisan fashion. There was one dissenting report in this case and that came from the member for Barton, the Attorney-General, who had some concerns about some elements of the report. But, effectively, there was a bipartisan approach taken to developing the best way of dealing with this issue.

I think it also needs to be acknowledged that Sydney Airport have been constructive and have sought to find the best possible way forward. In a press release on 12 October they talked about the construction program. I will read two or three paragraphs because I think they emphasise some of the real challenges and the potential impact this project may have on people living in the area. The press release states:

While this is an essential safety upgrade, the construction program will mean that usage of the east-west runway will be restricted to take-offs to the east by some aircraft. This restriction will have two temporary operational impacts:

• High Cross-Winds: if there are high cross-winds while the runway safety area is under construction then, as sometimes happens when there is fog or thunderstorms, flights may be delayed or diverted. The construction program has been developed taking into account historical weather data about the likely occurrence of high cross-winds to minimise potential disruptions for passengers.
• Aircraft Noise: because there will be restrictions on the operation of the east-west runway while construction is underway the distribution of aircraft noise around the airport will be different. People living under the flight paths of the two north-south runways will experience an increase in the number of aircraft movements, while people living under the flight paths to the east-west runway will experience a decrease in the number of aircraft movements.

There will be no change to the airport curfew and cap of 80 aircraft movements per hour.

There will be some inconvenience associated with this construction project, like there is with almost every major infrastructure project during its construction phase. There will be some delays from time to time, though I think these will be fairly rare for passengers, and there will be some change to the noise pattern—some people will be better off, of course, while others will have to bear a slightly increased noise load.

We do have to do this. The airport is one of the most—and some would say the most—important single pieces of infrastructure in our nation. It needs to meet world standards. With very large aircraft with heavy loads now coming into Sydney the airport does need to be safe. We hope this $85 million investment will never be used. The likelihood is that it will never be used, but it is an additional safety feature and will help increase the confidence of people who arrive at and depart from Sydney Airport that they are using a facility that is of world standard and that is genuinely safe.

This is an important project. Those arriving at and departing from Sydney Airport may notice this project, although in some ways it will not be as spectacular as the new terminal buildings and other infrastructure that are currently underway at Sydney Airport. It is an important safety element. There is no doubt that the project deserves the support of the parliament. We commend Sydney Airport and the people of the Sydney basin for their willingness to work together to find the best possible way in which to undertake this project that will cause minimum inconvenience. We wish the construction project well. We hope it can be completed on schedule and that the detailed plans that have been prepared to deliver this project will be successful.