Page 3632 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 26 August 2008
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I know that Dr Foskey is well aware of the fact—and she should know—that the ACT government has no control over the development of the airport. The airport is not subject to ACT government planning law. This absence of local planning regulation in relation to development within the borders of the airport has been a significant concern for the ACT government for some time. To state it categorically, the view of this government is that the airport’s plans for development should be integrated with local and regional priorities to ensure that we are to avoid any negative impacts that might arise from unfettered commercial growth.
Concerns about airport planning are not unique to the ACT. All state and territory governments support the need for planning reform at airports. This is particularly true for non-aviation-related activities, such as office buildings and retail, commercial and industrial uses that are currently permitted under airport master plans. The states and territories have pointed to the significant impact that new airport developments are having on metropolitan planning and on local communities that have to meet the off-site infrastructure costs required to support airport expansion. We have a case in point currently going on outside the airport here in Canberra.
State and territory governments have pointed out that current commonwealth planning controls establish a competitive advantage for airport owners through the avoidance of scrutiny under local planning systems. The ACT government has supported the approaches put forward by the other states and the Northern Territory in terms of airport planning reforms. Because of the lack of state or territory regulatory control, the planning and development mechanisms under the Airports Act do not adequately take into account the impact of airport growth on metropolitan areas and communities.
It is true that the ACT government is very frustrated with the progress on this issue at a national level. For 11 years, the Howard Liberal government was not interested in taking any action at all to address this matter. If anything, it continued to go further in the opposite direction. It is encouraging to note that the new federal government has recently released a national aviation policy statement issues paper, which seeks submissions on a wide range of aviation-related issues. I anticipate that the planning matters raised by state and territory governments will be given full consideration during this process. Certainly it has been a matter of considerable discussion at meetings of planning and local government ministers and the federal government in recent times.
Although control of aircraft noise is also covered by commonwealth legislation, ACT planning requirements have stringent provisions in relation to development under flight paths. To date, Canberra International Airport has been able to expand its business while restricting aircraft noise to a high-noise corridor, in the main over the Majura Valley to the north and Tralee and Environa to the south. The current noise abatement requirements protect the majority of ACT and Queanbeyan residents from excessive aircraft noise. It is anticipated that these requirements will also apply to future activity at the airport. For example, for a departure from the airport to the north, commercial aircraft must reach an altitude of at least 7,000 feet before turning to cross the noise abatement zone to the left over Gungahlin and Belconnen.
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