Page 3684 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 26 August 2009
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making a decision prior to 28 August on the Canberra airport’s 2009 preliminary draft master plan. Chief Minister, can you inform the Assembly as to the main findings of Ms Burgess’s preliminary report, including her main recommendations?
MR STANHOPE: I am more than happy to provide that detail. I do not have it with me, Ms Hunter. I can say, on the preliminary findings by Ms Burgess in relation to noise, that my understanding of those findings is that they essentially confirm to a significant degree findings of the outcomes of the Airservices Australia noise monitoring in relation to that particular area. But to some extent I think they suggest that the Airservices Australia findings were perhaps somewhat conservative in terms of noise levels—actually, not conservative; there was a lack of conservativeness in relation to some of those findings.
I cannot respond to you directly today, Ms Hunter, in relation to that. I am more than happy to provide that detailed information, and I am more than happy to confirm, following the question that I believe Ms Bresnan asked on this issue, that I did meet with the federal minister for transport, Anthony Albanese, and I did speak, as I had undertaken to Ms Bresnan that I would speak, with Mr Albanese, in relation to the independent noise monitoring which the ACT government had commissioned, of my desire, and the desire, of course, of the Assembly, to ensure that any decision that the commonwealth minister takes in relation to Canberra airport is informed by all the available information.
I understand that the commonwealth is at the point of making a decision in relation to certain aspects of the Canberra airport master plan. I do not know about the exact timing of a decision or an announcement by the federal minister in relation to that. That was not raised with me by the minister in the discussion that I had just last week. But I do understand informally that the decision point is approaching. It was in that context that I did put to Minister Albanese the fact that we had supported independent noise monitoring in the ACT and that we would be hopeful that that information would be taken into account by the commonwealth.
Minister Albanese made no such commitment, but he understood the point that I made and he responded that the commonwealth decision would be made on the basis of all available information.
MR SPEAKER: Ms Hunter, a supplementary question?
MS HUNTER: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Chief Minister, given you have read the preliminary report from Ms Burgess, when will you make public your position on the proposal for the 24-hour freight hub?
MR STANHOPE: Ms Hunter, I have said that the ACT government will not make a final, formal decision in relation to the operations at Canberra airport, most particularly in relation to the imposition of a curfew, without evidence that would support that position. I do think it is important, Ms Hunter, and I will repeat it—I have said this last time I was asked a question in this place in relation to the issue—that it is understood that I believe a decision around a possible or potential curfew on the operations of Canberra airport is one of those decisions demanding a genuine triple bottom-line consideration. I do believe that this is, of course, mantra from you and the
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