Why can't we know the ACT Government's position on 24 hour airport operations

Chop71 said :

Well done Johnboy. I never really thought about that before but yeah your spot on.
What do we export?

The crap brought in by noisy old planes for Sydney, that they can’t land in Sydney between 11pm and 6am. So they bring it here. Your sleep doesn’t matter!

miz said :

And hopefully we won’t get housing under the flight path (Tralee) either, as then we will DEFINITELY get freight noise all over town.

You’ll get it, either way.

I am vehemently against it … I have my reputation as a rampant NIMBY to uphold.

I’d support it just because it would annoy those living in Queanbeyan’s outer burbs ie Jerrabomberra

And then lots of Canberra will get to enjoy noise sharing. Good solution!

And the NSW govt is irritated enough about the gaol to push the issue, as I understand it.

Withholding a submission in these circumstances is suspect. You’d think that a government that is currently spending a motza on a consultancy to find out, um, how to listen to the public, would figure that they need to put their position on the table in order to have a meaningful discussion – on any topic.

I suspect the current “how should we be consulting” exercise is a purely political exercise – gather some buzzwords from the voting public to use in the next election campaign, and save the party that part of its campaign expenditure. A colleague tells me staffers were furiously scribbling notes in the background at a focus group recently …

And hopefully we won’t get housing under the flight path (Tralee) either, as then we will DEFINITELY get freight noise all over town.

Given Sonic’s manipulation of noise limits to forestall the building of a drag strip, I cannot imagine any company setting up to fly overnight freight into/out of Canberra.

Their whole business could be slammed shut by irate citizens complaining loudly enough that Sonic makes an overnight decision that the noise is excessive, and that forthwith they are allowed a limit of 35dB noise output.

The lack of certainty in ACT Gov decision making has to mitigate against this project going ahead.

YapYapYap said :

I’love a dollar fo every time Gungahlin Al and houebound double-teamed on an issue on this site. Just a thought.

Yawn. You might just get enough for a cup of steaming International Roast from the CWA.

Well done Johnboy. I never really thought about that before but yeah your spot on.
What do we export?

Err…freight. Both air and road.

It will annoy everyone, Anna Key. You are being sold a pup by the Airport people who want everyone to believe that all noise will only happen in a narrow corridor to the south of Canberra. Look at Sydney airport. Do all planes fly in and out over the sea? No! Do all planes arrive and land immediately? No! All of Canberra is a potential flight path.

Freight planes are old bangers, weight-carriers. They fly low, and are loud.

And lots of extra trucks around the Airport/Majura, well we definitely need that. although the Airport people are still angling for a fast train, as that is integral to their original grand plan for the airport.

Meanwhile, Goulburn want this freight port/Sydney airport overflow, they have been campaigning for it. They are even on the existing main train line. Why put it in the middle of a city like Canberra, when a smaller city closer to Sydney really wants it?

I’d support it just because it would annoy those living in Queanbeyan’s outer burbs ie Jerrabomberra

I’love a dollar fo every time Gungahlin Al and houebound double-teamed on an issue on this site. Just a thought.

frontrow said :

I don’t think Virgin carries any freight. Air traffic through Canberra is pretty much all Qantas because of the way public service travel booking works.

Virgin Blue carries freight – but apparently not in Canberra… yet.

Freight planes are usually old and noisy, so the noise would be worse than the passenger planes we get now.

johnboy said :

Actually RnR the reason they want to build the freight hub here is that most of the trucks which bring goods to Canberra go home empty.

So while the diesel footprint might look bigger you need to look at the bigger picture.

If there is need for a freight hub why not put it in place where there is no need for passengers to be moved relatively quickly to their destination. That is away form populated areas.

Why should Canberrans pay the price of additional environmental pollution so that the Snow family and those on its teat benefit.

It’s pretty unlikely that they’d be using F/A-18s to carry freight in, sepi.

The George Bush all night security flights was a bummer for the airport for sure. Before that I had no opinions about curfews, but after that fiasco I’ve been radically opposed to night flights.

What I want to know is why the Greens, and specifically Mr Rattenbury, believe “The curfew should allow emergency flights, such as emergency landings, and medical evacuations, and VIP aircraft and Heads of Government to land and take-off during those hours”

Why should VIPs and HOGs be allowed to disturb our beauty sleep?

Do we even know if ACT govt put in a submission? Shane seems to think they would have.

Frontrow, if you had attended the airport master plan workshops/meetings, tou would know that the freight hub has nothing to do with Qantas and what fits in the hold of passenger jets. It is about freight operators converging on Canberra from all cities (and some o/s sites) between 11.30 pm and 2 am each night, swapping their freight in a hanger over the Fairbairn side of the airfield and then scooting back off again.

And that is why the absence of any supportive submissions from such operators is a big deal.

HB: FOI – yes probably. Did one on the 2008 draft master plan as submitted by the airport to the minister. Airport refused to furnish a copy themselves, so I got it via FOI.

I don’t think Virgin carries any freight. Air traffic through Canberra is pretty much all Qantas because of the way public service travel booking works.

Jonathan Reynolds is claiming no major player in the freight industry is supportive, as long as you discount the only carrier that is going to carry any freight. I don’t care either way but this kind of logic won’t help his cause.

Mostly it floats away on its own hot air.

Chop71 said :

Well done Johnboy. I never really thought about that before but yeah your spot on.
What do we export?

Governance!

Not often shipped in a truck though!

Well done Johnboy. I never really thought about that before but yeah your spot on.
What do we export?

Actually RnR the reason they want to build the freight hub here is that most of the trucks which bring goods to Canberra go home empty.

So while the diesel footprint might look bigger you need to look at the bigger picture.

Making the Canberra airport effectively the Sydney freight hub would be a disaster for local residents (I live in Hackett and already put up with the airport noise), and a disaster for the environment. Just think, every piece of freight going through Canberra to Sydney would add another 300km of road diesel to its footprint. What a waste.

Why the hell did the government ever deregulate airports? They are fundamental public infrastructure – why subject their management to the profit motive?

So are you putting in an FOI application?

Well perhaps we’ll be able to get a copy through FOI.

All the other submissions are now available, and Jonathon Reynolds has made the interesting point on that there are almost no submissions favouring the freight hub concept – only Qantas.

If the industry support for the idea was there, why are there no supportive submissions, surely it would not have been for want of the airport trying to get some it?

So if the freight industry doesn’t want it, and the community doesn’t want it, then the ACT Government’s position becomes even more important for us to know.