Is Doubling Fair | More Noise Already | Bankstown Airport | Dumping on Bankstown | Olympic Clothes

Double or Nothing

The Summary of the Draft EIS for Sydney's Second Airport says nothing of the impacts on Bankstown Airport other than that there will be impacts.

The Badgerys Ck options A & B 70 dBA contours hint at avoidance of the airspace around Bankstown Airport. Holsworthy was likely to limit approaches to Bankstown Airport to Bankstown's North Side. Will any of the Badgerys Ck options cause Bankstown's traffic to be concentrated in similar ways ? Or will general aviation aircraft have to approach Bankstown at lower altitudes, causing more noise disturbance to residents ?

If you happen to be under the new approaches developed for Bankstown Airport, it could be like someone built another major general aviation airport near you. Your airport burden could be doubled, both in terms of general aviation and the KSA/Badgerys Creek pollution and noise.

Is Airport Doubling Fair ?

Is it reasonable to say to these people, "well, you've always had an airport", and suddenly double its burden on them ? Who would ever consider this might happen ? Do current property values really reflect this possibility ? How will it affect our children’s health & education ?

If you accept it’s okay to double the burden, think what doubling Badgerys Ck would do.

It would fulfill John Howard’s promise to his constituents that the Second Airport would solve Bennelong’s aircraft noise problems. He could close KSA if Badgerys Ck doubled. But is that fair ?

No one should accept doubling of their airport burden. But, individually, no one can stop it. Only if individually we get more concerned about what’s fair for all of our community, and fight it with the community, can it be stopped.

Inundate cabinet minister’s with letters objecting to this shabby treatment. Attend anti-airport meetings, and join your local anti-airport community group.

 

More Noise Already

Since May 1996, flight paths into Kingsford Smith Airport have been altered - allowing large high-speed jets to overfly Bankstown airport. This is part of the Boiling Frogs process.

While no official changes to Bankstown operations have been acknowledged by the Federal Airports Corporation, private pilots have conceded that the presence of overflying large aircraft has encouraged them to stay lower near to Bankstown. The result is higher noise levels for the residents around Bankstown Airport.

Bankstown Airport

A 450,000 movements/annum general aviation airport just north of the Holsworthy Training Area, Bankstown Airport is Australia's busiest general aviation airport. It has reached its peak capacity, and is surrounded by residential areas on every side with a small industrial buffer zone on part of the southern side.

Bankstown Airport was built originally as an Air Force Base during World War II. The nearby Hoxton Park Airfield was a back-up strip, intended for use if Bankstown was bombed out.

Some misguided North-shore livers have suggested that Bankstown should have been developed earlier as a replacement for KSA. This had been considered in pre-1980's airport studies, but rejected due to the site space limitations. Housing developments adjacent to it date from the 1950's, and recent development has been occurring in the Chipping Norton area to the west of the airport.

For Bankstown Airport to take present KSA traffic, general aviation traffic at Bankstown would be bumped out - moving their impact to another airport (presumably also in the Sydney Basin).

It's a tedious 45 minutes by road from Bankstown to KSA , where passenger's would be heading to catch connecting international and domestic flights (at the worst of peak times this blows out to more than one hour). Completion of the M5 East didn't make this any better (and in peak hours its quicker to avoid the M5).

While far from ideal, user-pays charging for the international airports may force this kind of relocation. As if by way of a warning, the Summary EIS indicates that flight connections and transfers aren't an insurmountable obstacle in airport plans.

Dana Vale and John Fahey Dump on Bankstown

At the 27^th July 1997 No Holsworthy Rally, attended by 20,000 Sydney-siders, Dana Vale, Liberal Member for Hughes (the very marginal Federal Electorate bounding the East, and North of Holsworthy), announced her solution for Sydney's Second Airport.

She claimed we didn't need a Second Airport: we could just move all the smaller and domestic aircraft into Bankstown so there'd be more room at KSA for international tourists etc.,.

All this without one millisecond's thought for the people of Bankstown who've been in there boosting her campaign to stop the Holsworthy proposal.

Was this a calculated act of treachery intended to divide the previously united opposition to Holsworthy ? Or was it simply the base-selfishness of the worst-kind of NIMBY who doesn't give a *&^! about where the airport goes - as long as it aint in her backyard ?

Should we take her seriously or not ? Can we afford not to ? The passage of time shows how life is being breathed into her idiotic plan.

Dana was joined by her Minister for Finance, John Fahey, on release of the SMEC audit report of the Draft EIS process. Fahey said:

The Federal Airports Corporation planned to bring larger aircraft into Bankstown - ostensibly to help Sydney cope with the Olympics in 2000. This was designed as the thin-edge of the wedge to expand Bankstown operations permanently. It would sure help boost the sale price if this could be done. But unfortunately, while millions were spent preparing this olympic ruse, the world's aviators failed to show up at Bankstown.

Nevertheless, the people of Bankstown could end up with 737's & 767's just over their rooftops if the current KSA doubling proposals go ahead..

While Holsworthy or Badgerys Ck are better solutions than this, the people of Bankstown and other Sydney-siders should recognize that Sydney needs a solution that puts flight paths away from populated areas.

Holsworthy, KSA Expansion, and Badgerys Creek don't meet this criteria and are not acceptable solutions.