In a bid to “get the flight paths right” for the proposed airport at Badgerys Creek, the Liberal party has backtracked on plans to have a merge point at Blaxland and will now spread the flight paths “evenly”.
In a joint statement with federal member for Macquarie Louise Markus, the Minister for Major Projects, Paul Fletcher announced at a private home on Mitchells Pass in Blaxland, that there would be “no single merge point” as originally outlined in maps and modelling in the draft EIS.
“The Turnbull government has listened to community views on flight paths for Western Sydney Airport and will not implement a merge point over the Blue Mountains community of Blaxland,” Mr Fletcher said.
“We got very clear feedback from the Blue Mountains community … the single merge point over Blaxland as illustrated in the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will not be part of the airspace plans for a Western Sydney Airport.”
“Developing optimal flight paths to minimise noise and environmental impact requires detailed technical work and expert input. That work is underway, with a clear direction given that the flight paths will not merge to a single point over Blaxland.”
He said the flights paths would now be “spread evenly”.
“Allocating the flight paths to minimise the individual impact on any one point will form part of a comprehensive noise mitigation plan to be contained in the final EIS,” he added.
Mrs Markus said she had fought hard, as had the community, to campaign against the merge point and was happy that it was officially “off the table”.
Western Sydney Airport, due to open in the mid-2020s, would be a “game-changer” in terms of job opportunities for the region. By the early 2030s, it would provide nearly 9,000 direct jobs and by the early 2060s, this would increase to more than 60,000 direct jobs, Mr Fletcher said.
“But it is very important that the new airport operates in a way which addresses concerns about flight paths and aircraft noise so as to meet the expectations of the community.”
A process was underway to develop a comprehensive plan on these issues, based on extensive community consultation. The draft EIS from 2015 received 5,000 responses and the final EIS was being developed to submit to the federal Minister for the Environment in the second half of 2016.
Other western Sydney candidates also attended the press conference - including Member for Lindsay Fiona Scott and Member for Hume Angus Taylor – they were “fighting for an airport plan which delivers powerful economic benefits to their constituents while minimising environmental and noise impacts”.
“When I was younger 70 per cent of people lived and worked locally, that statistic is now reversed,” Ms Scott said. “This is not acceptable anymore, we need to demand jobs where we live and to have our kids and schools all in the same vicinity. That is the opportunity that this airport brings.”
In the recent federal budget the government committed $115 million towards further works on the airport.