Federal Member for Macquarie Susan Templeman and Minister for the Environment Josh Frydenberg have clashed over a planned meeting on Monday to discuss the airport.
Ms Templeman claims she had requested the meeting so RAWSA and the Blue Mountains Conservation Society could raise their concerns with the minister while he was considering the EIS, and that 45 minutes before the meeting she was no longer invited.
Mr Frydenberg said: “The meeting was specifically convened by my office to engage directly with the local community, and as such, at no time were government or Opposition MPs invited to attend.”
Ms Templeman said: “I was extremely disappointed not to be there to hear discussion between the Blue Mountains stakeholders and the ministers.
“This is not consultation, they [the government] have already made decisions and they are simply going through the motions. These sorts of meetings should have been genuine discussions and should have occurred prior to the EIS being finalised.”
Mr Frydenberg said a separate meeting had been offered to Ms Templeman and Member for Lindsay Emma Husar, to ensure they can raise any concerns directly with the government.
“The meeting was very constructive, and it was beneficial to hear first-hand the many views on the planned Western Sydney Airport from a range of stakeholders,” Mr Frydenberg said.
Ms Templeman said the meeting included many pro-airport interests, so the concerns of groups like RAWSA, Blue Mountains Conservation Society and No Badgerys Creek Airport were not sufficiently listened to.
“They really deserved a meeting on their own," she said.