Dear Mrs Irwin

Thank you for your letter of 11 February 2010 concerning a petition regarding the draft Master Plan for Camden Airport.

My Department provides comments on draft Master Plans for Commonwealth airports to the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government. However, I do not have a statutory responsibility for the development of Master Plans under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. Master Plans for Commonwealth airports are administered under the Airports Act 1996 by the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, the Hon Anthony Albanese MP.

AI note that o have also written to Minister Albanese on this matter.

from the Minister for Environment Protection, Heritage and the Arts, Mr Garrett

Dear Mrs Irwin

Thank you for your letter dated 11 February 2010 about a petition recently submitted for the consideration of the Standing Committee on Petitions, regarding Camden Airport.

This petition deals with issues that have been included in the Camden Airport Limited (CAL) preliminary draft Master Plan (pdMP), which was released for public comment on 16 September 2009. The pdMP sets out a plan for the development of the airport over the next 20 years. Linder the Airports Act 1996 (the Act) an airport Master Plan is required to include the airport’s plans to minimise the impacts of airport activity on the surrounding community.

The Government strongly supports greater detail and transparency in airport development and the Airport Master Plan process. As detailed in the Aviation White Paper released on 16 December 2009, future Airport Master Plans will be required to provide better transparency about future land use at airports, including for non-aeronautical purposes. The Government has already introduced regulations to ensure that certain categories of development on airports which are likely to be incompatible with airport operations, such as schools and residential developments, are subject to thorough community consultation and assessment.

Master Plans are strategic documents which require the approval of the Minister. The preliminary draft Master Plan is circulated publicly for 60 days to allow interested parties to comment. This consultation period allows the airport the chance to incorporate comments and feedback from the local community and other interested parties before the draft documents are submitted for consideration.

Under the Act, CAL is required to provide me with a copy of all public submissions and to demonstrate that it has given due regard to those comments in preparing the draft Master Plan.

The Principal Petitioner, Ms Phoebe Atkinson, in her letter to me accompanying the petition, indicated that a copy had been sent to the Camden Airport Master Plan team. Therefore the petition will become part of the public submissions for which the airport must demonstrate that due regard has been given.

The draft Master Plan for Camden Airport was submitted for my consideration on 5 March 2010. In making my decision I will take into account the comments of

interested parties that have been provided either to the Camden Airport via the Master Plan consultation process, or to me directly. Environmental and heritage issues will be considered, and I will be consulting with the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts as a matter of course.

Thank you for raising this matter.

from the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Mr Albanese