Badgerys Creek: Second Sydney airport gets Federal Government approval

Updated

The Federal Government has indicated that it would prefer Sydney's second airport - to be built in the city's west at Badgerys Creek - to operate around the clock.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Infrastructure Minister Warren Truss this afternoon announced Federal Cabinet approval of Badgerys Creek as the site of the new airport.

After decades of debate about the location, Mr Abbott - who wants to be known as the "infrastructure prime minister" - says he wants to "get cracking".

"The planning and design work will start immediately, and my expectation is that construction will begin in 2016," he said.

"This is a long-overdue decision."

However, he says the first flight will "realistically" take off in the mid-2020's and when it does, it may not be subject to any limits on flight times.

Two Liberal MPs based in western Sydney, Fiona Scott and Alex Hawke, have this morning stated they want a curfew imposed on the Badgerys Creek site to save residents from overnight flight noise.

"I don't support a 24-hour airport," Ms Scott told Sky TV.

On ABC Radio's AM program Mr Hawke said that if the Kingsford-Smith airport at Mascot "retains a curfew this airport at Badgerys Creek should have a similar curfew".

But Mr Abbott has made no commitment either way but his preference is for the airport to operate free of a flight curfew.

"We are certainly not saying there will be a curfew. We are certainly not saying that," he said.

The Prime Minister said he believes the "noise issue" will not be as significant as it has been in relation to the Mascot airport.

What it could mean for Sydney's west During construction, 1,529 jobs could be created over seven years

By 2050 the airport could create between $11.6bn and $15.2bn additional economic activity

Once operating fully, the airport would generate between 16,252 and 20,013 jobs

The airport could create 35,216 to 46,285 full-time equivalent jobs by 2050 directly or indirectly Source: Economic impact of a Western Sydney Airport

"First, because, quite frankly, people don't want to travel in the middle of the night. And second because we are just dealing with far, far fewer people," he said.

Mr Abbott added that 4,000 people live in the "noise footprint" for Badgerys Creek compared with 130,000 impacted by Mascot flight noise.

Mr Truss says technological advances will also lead to less noise.

"The modern aircraft are so much quieter than all of those that preceded them," he said.

"The 787 is 60 per cent quieter than the models it's replacing, and so the noisy aircraft that was such a burden at KSA [Kingsford Smith Airport] for such a long period of time are not in the air anymore and new models will be quieter and therefore more neighbourhood friendly."

Labor's Transport spokesman Anthony Albanese has not indicated whether Labor supports a curfew or not.

"These issues will be examined in the environmental impact statement," he said.

"It's important that the community's views on these issues be taken into account."

Kingsford Smith Airport currently has limits placed on flights between 11pm and 6am and the number of flights per hour.

The announcement of the Badgerys Creek airport has divided residents in the western Sydney, with some voicing concern about the project's impact on local infrastructure and the environment.

Government to take 'roads first, airport second' approach

In making the announcement, Mr Abbott focussed on the jobs and infrastructure that will flow from the project, saying the Government is taking a "roads first, airport second" approach.

"We don't want the people of western Sydney to have to have an airport without having the decent transport infrastructure that western Sydney deserves," he said.

Badgerys Creek airport: five facts Badgerys Creek airport will begin as a single-runway facility but a parallel runway is planned.

Owners of Sydney's existing airport will first be offered the chance to develop operate the airport.

Construction involves earthworks of 51 million cubic metres, relocating high-tension power lines and realigning the Northern Road.

Sydney's Kingsford Smith Airport is Australia's busiest airport but the smallest by land area.

Western Sydney will be home to half of Sydney residents by the mid-2030s.

The Government estimates 4,000 jobs will be created in the construction phase and that 35,000 could be generated by the development of the airport by 2035.

It says it has the potential to contribute $24 billion to GDP and create 60,000 jobs by 2060.

The Prime Minister said the private sector will bear "the vast bulk of the cost" of the airport's construction.

"There will be some expense to the Commonwealth in terms of planning and design, but the $2.5 billion - which is widely quoted as the cost of building the airport itself - is something that will come from the private sector," he said.

Successive state and federal governments have debated the need for, and location of, a second Sydney airport.

Mr Abbott said the Government will make further announcements about specific road projects to support the new airport in coming days.

Mr Truss said the Government will engage with Southern Cross Airports, who have a right of first refusal to build the airport at the Badgerys Creek site, owing to a clause in the sale of its Mascot site in 2002.

"This process will take at least 12 months and perhaps a little more, and is laid down in the legislation that dealt with the sale of the Kingsford Smith Airport," he said.

The airport has been a political hot potato for four decades, with both major parties having been forced into backdowns and backflips in the face of intense community opposition.

Topics: air-transport, industry, business-economics-and-finance, travel-and-tourism, federal---state-issues, badgerys-creek-2171, sydney-2000

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