2 July 2010

Hackett whingers told to put a sock in it.

| johnboy
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Chief MInister Stanhope has announced the findings of the independent investigation into aircraft noise in Hackett.

The report found that aircraft noise over Hackett was below the guidance on night time noise levels provided by the Australian Standard 2021 and the World Health Organisation ‘Night Noise Guidelines for Europe’.

It also found that some of the noise data recorded by AirServices Australia was overestimated or incorrectly attributed to aircraft.

Mr Stanhope said he hoped the results would be accepted by interested locals.

“The findings of this independent study provide all interested parties with definitive and independently validated data about the level of aircraft noise in the area,” Mr Stanhope said. “The Government welcomes this opportunity to share and review information about the impact of aircraft noise on the Canberra community.”

A quick survey of Hackett residents by your correspondent finds no great concern over aircraft noise.

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Ken Ineson said :

There are very large residential areas in every capital city with much more noise than Tralee that have not caused noise sharing.

Comparisons to other cities is pointless here Ken. You may want Canberra dragged down to the level of Sydney and Melbourne (in terms of aircraft noise), but the rest of us value Canberra as it is and question why anyone would build under the flight path in the first place.

The fact is any expansion of the airport will cause an adverse impact on the future residences out in tralee.

There are plenty of other places in the region (or Australia) you can build a shitty suburb with 400m2 blocks and no gardens.

Go build your slum in western sydney.

georgesgenitals said :

Just build Tralee and be done with it. We can share the noise with other parts of Canberra. We need the housing stock.

(And thanks to Stanhope’s efforts in locating the gaol and new industrial area, why the hell would NSW consider ACT’s needs?)

Housing in Tralee won’t result in noise sharing. Noise sharing has only been introduced in Sydney in response to new flight paths caused by the new runway. There are very large residential areas in every capital city with much more noise than Tralee that have not caused noise sharing.

georgesgenitals10:22 pm 16 Jul 10

Just build Tralee and be done with it. We can share the noise with other parts of Canberra. We need the housing stock.

(And thanks to Stanhope’s efforts in locating the gaol and new industrial area, why the hell would NSW consider ACT’s needs?)

As a Hackett lowlander living near the oval, aircraft noise is less of an issue than the burgler alarm in Sports House – the old Hackett School. It goes off most days (three times last Sunday) as people coming and going from the building muck up the security code or set it while people are still inside.

It serves no purpose other than annoying locals.

PS Don’t bother calling Canberra Connect if you expect to hear back.

georgesgenitals said :

I wouldn’t have thought aircraft noise at Tralee would be any worse than for the existing western part of Jerrabomberra. You can certainly hear it, but it’s not ridiculously loud.

That’s correct. Noise at Tralee is less than noise at the western part of Jerrabomberra.

The findings of the recent Senate Committe Inqiry into Airservices are interesting:

The Inquiry found that Airservices Australia and the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government do not review the airport operator’s projections for future growth that are used as a basis for calculating future noise levels around airports. (Section 4.60)

Without independent assessment of the commercial forecasts and review of whether the future projections are reasonable, the committee heard that airport operators may overstate the forecasts and impact of aircraft noise at no disadvantage to themselves, but at a potential cost to local communities (section 4.62).

Future development at Jerrabomberra and Tralee was identified as being impacted by optimistic and untested assumptions about aviation growth. (Section 4.64)

The Inquiry found that there is merit in placing the noise assessment process on a more robust and defensible footing to provide greater confidence to the wider community that the forecasts are reasonable and conservative. (Sections 6.30 to 6.32)

The Inquiry recommended that the government revise the current process through which noise forecasts are developed to establish an independent body charged with the coordination of the process and the review of the accuracy and reasonableness of the data upon which the forecasts are made. (Section 6.34)

It will be interesting to see how the Minister Albanese responds to the recommendations of the Inquiry.

georgesgenitals6:20 pm 15 Jul 10

I wouldn’t have thought aircraft noise at Tralee would be any worse than for the existing western part of Jerrabomberra. You can certainly hear it, but it’s not ridiculously loud.

Farq, as I said, North Adelaide has substantially more noise than Tralee. I just happened to live there and it didn’t bother me or my neighbours.

The noise equivalent of Tralee in Adelaide is Glenside out towards the Adelaide Hills. It is twice as far from Adelaide Airport as North Adelaide and has much less noise.

I am still prepared to extend the invitation I gave you some time ago to take you to Tralee so you can hear it for yourself.

Aircraft noise is not a problem at Tralee.

Funny, people in North Adelaide seem to complain about the noise quite a bit.

> A BAND of inner-city residents is fighting for a second flight path in Adelaide’s north to share the burden of noisy planes.

http://city-north-messenger.whereilive.com.au/news/story/flight-path-pain/

Surprise surprise they want noise sharing, just like the people you trick into buying out in Tralee will want.

If there is any justice in this life Ken, the new flight path will be over your current home (and not mine!).

farq said:

“So do you disagree with the report or not?

If you get the chance you can finally answer our questions about if you would live out in Tralee (as opposed to buying something to rent out).”

I have no reason to disagree with the report.

Apart from the fact that I am perfectly happy living where I am now, I would certainly live in Tralee. I used to live in North Adelaide where I never considered aircraft noise to be a problamand never heard any complaints from other residents about aircraft noise. North Adelaide has substantially more noise than Tralee.

Ken Ineson said :

I know this will stir up a hornets nest but measured noise levels at Tralee range from 51 dBA to 70dBA which is similar to Hackett. The difference is that noise events at Tralee only occur at about 10% of the frequency of noise events at Hackett.

So do you disagree with the report or not?

If you get the chance you can finally answer our questions about if you would live out in Tralee (as opposed to buying something to rent out).

I know this will stir up a hornets nest but measured noise levels at Tralee range from 51 dBA to 70dBA which is similar to Hackett. The difference is that noise events at Tralee only occur at about 10% of the frequency of noise events at Hackett.

georgesgenitals said :

There’s no reason HDs have to be so loud, it’s just irritating to the rest of us. If my car was that loud I’d be pulled over and defected (and quite rightly so).

Totally agree with you on that. It’s unbelievable how loud those bikes are.

South Park hit the nail on the head with their F-Word episode, comparing Harley Davidson owners to insecure 16 yr old girls.

Thanks to that episode ‘fag’ or ‘faggot’ has a new definition: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fags

The streets may not be paved with gold flynnite but they do seem to get an awful lot of attention.

I lived in Stanley Street for about 2 years and the little tiny street that got very little use got re surfaced at least twice during that time, while some major arterial roads in Canberra are falling to bits.

So I think you are getting your moneys worth when it comes to road maintenance 🙂

Gungahlin Al12:33 pm 05 Jul 10

Cheers 54-11. LOL – so true.

Sepi, I believe it’s been yanked. Another sore point. There is a permanent monitor in Jerra, and I argued that there should be a permanent monitor for the north side as well. I made the point that without it, we’ll be back having these arguments every couple of months for ever. Permanent monitor, where the noise is greatest (the Jerra one is right under the flightpath), providing ongoing hard evidence via Webtrak and ASA reports. It’s the only way to put a halt to so called ‘vexacious’ complaints. And everything that is left are complaints that should be taken seriously and acted upon.

IMHO. ASA and the ACT Government believe they know better.

On Gungahlin, I am regularly disappointed when residents call me to make complaints about a plane over Gungahlin, I give them the links, but then the ASA reports show no complaints from Gungahlin.

So again for the record, this is when you lodge a complaint, and it only takes a minute:
http://www.airservicesaustralia.com.au/ncm/ or by phone: 1800 802 584

georgesgenitals12:24 pm 05 Jul 10

Pork Hunt said :

54-11 said :

Pork, the reason I’ve got loud pipes on my bike is so that dickheads in 4WDs talking on their mobiles will at least have more of a chance knowing I’m there.

It’s a safety issue.

I ride a bike too and I’m hearing you. However, I’ve never heard a Ducati or Moto Guzzi (for eg) with obscenely loud pipes so why does every 2nd H-D have to wake the dead with their noise…?

A damn good point. There’s no reason HDs have to be so loud, it’s just irritating to the rest of us. If my car was that loud I’d be pulled over and defected (and quite rightly so).

Hackett Community Association regulalry asks for feedback in the neighbourhood watch, and seems to have meeting quite often. I feel like I know all about them, and all I do is read neighbourhood watch, so if you want to contact them or go to a meeting it isn’t that hard to find them.

Curfew for Canberra is a quite different organisation trying to stop aircraft flights over Hackett between 11pm and 6 AM, so that residents are guaranteed of 7 hours sleep. they cant’ help you with your traffic issues.

Gungahlin Al – do you know where exactly the Hackett noise monitor is? Is it just the one shown on the webtrak? If so, I have seen plenty of plane register over 65DB on there.

As for letters to the airport etc, you cant’ win – if you don’t write them, they say there is no problem, if you do, they say Hackett is full of serial complainers.

Thoughtful and usefull response, Al. just shows that just because you’re paranoid, still doesn’t mean the bastards aren’t out to get you.

54-11 said :

Looks to me that flynnite has just volunteered to be his community rep. And of course, cows will do a lunar orbit. All whinge and no action?

I have been been very active over the years.

The airport noise is just not a high on the list. I have phoned Government Departments, I have been to meetings held by the AFP on problems with the shops and some tennants in Government Housing The prison halfway house that was installed with no consultation. I have even put my money where my mouth is and what happened. sweet fanny adams.

I just think that if you are going to call yourself the Hackett COMMUNITY Association then consult with the Community. There is heaps wrong in the suburb and the cost of rates etc the streets should be paved with gold. Even a quick canvas today airport noise didn’t make the grade. Traffic noise did.

The Drag Strip would be no different than the Summernats and the money to the Community would be welcome.

Gungahlin Al5:29 pm 04 Jul 10

Thank you Pandy. But I haven’t read the report at this stage. Little preoccupied with the spill-and-fill crap going on with the day job…

There are some harsh and undeserved things being said here though. There is significant noise from jet flights for a small area of Hackett homes tucked right up near the saddle. One resident is quite obsessed with it and has been the source of a lot of the complaints, as is one Griffith resident the source of almost all southside complaints. However the Hackett guy has been using a handheld monitor for a long time and has a heap of data that supports the complaints and undermines this report (from what has been said of it above).

At the Airport Community Noise Forum last year, ASA acknowledged that the Hackett noise monitor was not well placed. I strongly suggested that they relocate the monitor closer to where the complaints are coming from, such that the complainant’s data and theirs could be correlated. Either the complaints are proven justified or not justified, then either acknowledged and dealt with or the complainant told to cease and desist. I suggested that until there was hard evidence to the contrary, the complaints would not go away, and neither would the work the complaints cause.

I am heartily sick of every couple of months at these meetings hearing both ASA and Airport staff making snide remarks about certain complainants. I don’t believe people complain for no reason. I am keen to have the complaints resolved or stopped. It was disappointing that ASA chose to ignore my suggestions.

On the broader topic, I and GCC remain committed to pursuing an airline and cargo curfew between 11pm and 6am, and opposed to the airport’s plans to operate as a cargo hub for the whole nation. Canberra has a very low ambient noise level, and everything should be done to keep it that way. If you want 24/7 racket, then you’ll just love Sydney. Off you go.

Gungahlin Community Council has no problem with this report I think? They have responsibility for the community just a road away. Gung Al, you always are voice of common sense for the people, so what are your thoughts?

54-11 said :

Pork, the reason I’ve got loud pipes on my bike is so that dickheads in 4WDs talking on their mobiles will at least have more of a chance knowing I’m there.

It’s a safety issue.

I ride a bike too and I’m hearing you. However, I’ve never heard a Ducati or Moto Guzzi (for eg) with obscenely loud pipes so why does every 2nd H-D have to wake the dead with their noise…?

I support the Hackett community on principle – there seems to be nothing but sham consultation in this town and the govt really should ask people why they live in Canberra, not just assume we want to be like Sydney, Melbourne or any other big city. This is the Bush Capital, FFS!

This is exactly what happened with the power station, and now the unwanted and unneeded crematorium (see http://www.hansard.act.gov.au/hansard/2010/week04/1214.htm).

I seem to recall that even the Cth Transport Minister (Albanese) stated (in context of the Tralee issue I think) that it was a fallacious argument to say airport noise is OK in Canberra if other cities have airport noise.

Govts are supposed to represent the people, not just big business.

Looks to me that flynnite has just volunteered to be his community rep. And of course, cows will do a lunar orbit. All whinge and no action?

when i moved in the shops were cactus and the planes were a bit further away, and did not start at 6 am.

the aircraft noise gets gradually worse each year.

i still would like to know what these loud, long lasting noises of well over 65db are, that occur regularly in hackett, coinciding with aircraft movements,but not caused by planes.

sepi said :

Hmm – flynite – time to visit the oldies a bit more often I think.

Hackett shops are on the up and up, and hackett has an amazinlgy active commun ity association that is always trying to ask residents for input on traffic etc and also organises weeding parties and planting parties on the reserve, and has recently got some street trees planted to replace the dead ones.

I’m been amazed how much community input goes on in Hackett. Curfew for Canberra is a group specifically concerned with airport noise, but HCA (hackett community association) looks at all the other issues you talk about.

And aircraft noise is significant in Hackett. They don’t in fact all go behind the hill til they are high up. The flight paths have been moved closer to the houses again lately – and ‘improvement’ of flying by instruments. Some are very loud, especially on cloudy days (like the 87 decibels measured in the report above), and the ones at 6AM onwards are loud enough to wake people up.

So when did you move there?

sepi said :

Hmm – flynite – time to visit the oldies a bit more often I think.

Hackett shops are on the up and up, and hackett has an amazinlgy active commun ity association that is always trying to ask residents for input on traffic etc and also organises weeding parties and planting parties on the reserve, and has recently got some street trees planted to replace the dead ones.

I’m been amazed how much community input goes on in Hackett. Curfew for Canberra is a group specifically concerned with airport noise, but HCA (hackett community association) looks at all the other issues you talk about.

And aircraft noise is significant in Hackett. They don’t in fact all go behind the hill til they are high up. The flight paths have been moved closer to the houses again lately – and ‘improvement’ of flying by instruments. Some are very loud, especially on cloudy days (like the 87 decibels measured in the report above), and the ones at 6AM onwards are loud enough to wake people up.

Then the Hackett Community Association has to do more. The shops are getting there because of Wilburs and what the guys have done. The community had to shop for more than bread and milk at the shops. A few concrete pots with tired old plants aren’t going to crack it.

The traffic is very bad with the traffic going through the suburb to get to Majura Ave.
The result is a set of traffic lights going to be put in at Majura and Phillip Ave. That fixes nothing for Hackett.

They need a school or a pedestrian crossing on Antill st near the Knox Street turnoff. There already was a car accident and just missed the kiddies. The result was the ACT govt will maybe possibly attach some stickers to the railing the driver run over. Good stuff NOT.

The airplane noise isn’t as much of a concern as the lives of children crossing the busy road. HAckett Comunity Association maybe has to consult more with the Community!

The traffic would be louder than the aircraft noise.

Take a survey perhaps.

Hmm – flynite – time to visit the oldies a bit more often I think.

Hackett shops are on the up and up, and hackett has an amazinlgy active commun ity association that is always trying to ask residents for input on traffic etc and also organises weeding parties and planting parties on the reserve, and has recently got some street trees planted to replace the dead ones.

I’m been amazed how much community input goes on in Hackett. Curfew for Canberra is a group specifically concerned with airport noise, but HCA (hackett community association) looks at all the other issues you talk about.

And aircraft noise is significant in Hackett. They don’t in fact all go behind the hill til they are high up. The flight paths have been moved closer to the houses again lately – and ‘improvement’ of flying by instruments. Some are very loud, especially on cloudy days (like the 87 decibels measured in the report above), and the ones at 6AM onwards are loud enough to wake people up.

There is a very strong lobby group in Hackett that complains and complains and complains..but do they actually ask other Hackett people do they agree…NO.

A long time ago the planes did travel over Hackett and even making a phone call was impossible but the flight path was changed and it isn’t a biggie. I visit over there a lot for my family etc and grew up there.

Why don’t they look at school crossings on Antill St for the kiddies that have to walk to Majura Primary because Hackett Primary School is closed. The traffic is so heavy it can take a person 10 minutes to cross that road in the morning.

Why don’t they work on getting the Hackett Shops back up to par?

Do they represent the people of Hackett??? nope. There is a lot more issues that they could get involved with.

Pork, the reason I’ve got loud pipes on my bike is so that dickheads in 4WDs talking on their mobiles will at least have more of a chance knowing I’m there.

It’s a safety issue.

Pork Hunt said :

+1 p1

Not to mention Harleys that make your ears bleed when they go past…

I’m not that loud.

cranky said :

The Hackett wingers are part of a VERY small group.

The Senate was recently told that 24,000 complaints regarding aircraft noise were generated by just 20 people, Australia wide. In Sydney, 393 complaints were attributable to just 6 people, and 343 complaints to a pair of total losers.

With the heat being taken out of this subject, identifying a few inordinately noise sensitive wingers, maybe we could revisit the proposed dragstrip in the Majura Valley.

I’m with you, time for the minority noisy sooks to be put in place.

georgesgenitals8:34 am 03 Jul 10

cranky said :

With the heat being taken out of this subject, identifying a few inordinately noise sensitive wingers, maybe we could revisit the proposed dragstrip in the Majura Valley.

A good idea. Let’s get the facts out and have a look.

What Johnboy and p1 said. The fully sick brigade screaming up Rivett Street are loud, the airplanes are shielded by the mountain until they’re high enough not to matter.

A Noisy Noise Annoys An Oyster5:27 pm 02 Jul 10

Boy, complaints by Hackett residents are dismissed, but if you live in Macarthur you can scream and shout and bandy about bodgy arguments to get a data centre and power station which would have made us self-sufficient in electricity and provide over 100 jobs scrapped altogether. I guess silvertails in Hackett don’t carry as much influence with the pollies as the bogans, ah sorry, “working families” of Tuggeranong.

+1 p1

Not to mention Harleys that make your ears bleed when they go past…

i find the noise report dubious too. they also reject any loud noise that has more than one peak, as they say that couldn’t be a plane, with no explanation as to what these other loud noises are.

After a week in hospital recently, i really noticed the airplane noise when i first got home.

The Hackett wingers are part of a VERY small group.

The Senate was recently told that 24,000 complaints regarding aircraft noise were generated by just 20 people, Australia wide. In Sydney, 393 complaints were attributable to just 6 people, and 343 complaints to a pair of total losers.

With the heat being taken out of this subject, identifying a few inordinately noise sensitive wingers, maybe we could revisit the proposed dragstrip in the Majura Valley.

DeadlySchnauzer4:52 pm 02 Jul 10

I don’t live in hackett, don’t really care either way, but I know a dodgy report when I see one. Here is an example of their logic for rejecting noise recordings, from page 82:

“The event was attributed to a B737-400 aircraft with Lmax of 87 dB(A). The duration of the noise event is comparable to what would be expected for an RPT aircraft, although the profile does show a somewhat uneven pattern. However the high value for Lmax appears incorrect as such a high level would only be expected for a high powered jet aircraft.”

They go through and apply similar logic to any reading above 65dB, rejecting them all to come to the conclusion that aircraft are never louder than 65dB. Why 65dB? Well that is the threshold which is defined as adversely impacting quality of living by the Australian Standard for Aircraft Noise Intrusion. How convenient to be able to discard any results that exceed it… talk about fudging the data.

Sorry, screwed the tags up.

Two official independent reports showing what we already knew, that the aircraft noise in north Canberra is negligible and well below all allowable limits. I think the whinging from those complaining is more annoying than any aircraft noise in Canberra, mostly because it’s clearly coming from a bunch of idiots complaining just because they can. I have no doubt the whinging won’t stop now either, let the made up stories roll on..

DeadlySchnauzer2:49 pm 02 Jul 10

I find the logic in that report very dubious. It goes something like this: Theoretically we would only expect aircraft to generate at most 65dB of noise, so if an aircraft was recorded as generating more than 65dB of noise it must be a mistake. Therefore aircraft only ever generate 65dB of noise.

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