Terri Butler (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

[by video link] This morning the Petitions Committee tabled a petition, circulated in Brisbane, calling on the House to free Airservices Australia from regulatory capture and also to review Malcolm Turnbull's 2007 decision to approve the new Brisbane runway. For the whole of my time as an MP, aircraft noise has been an issue for many locals. Since mid-2020 an additional cohort of locals has been affected with the opening of the new runway at Brisbane Airport. As the local member, I will not be advocating for any changes that leave any locals worse off.

There are a number of things the Morrison-Joyce government should do in the interests of everyone in Brisbane. Firstly, locals have felt blindsided, and they've got a lot of questions. The Morrison-Joyce government should hold a public meeting involving the relevant regulators, the Brisbane Airport Corporation and a representative from the government to answer questions and avoid any buck-passing. The government should also establish a strong, independent, permanent airport community forum for Brisbane residents. We need supervision from a well-informed body that is free from regulatory capture. The government should respond in plain English to the suggestions for noise mitigation advanced by the local community, including suggestions in the petition tabled today. The government should make sure noise monitoring is improved so the community has an accurate measure of noise in all of the affected areas. This is a really important issue for my constituents.