Federal government clamps down on high-rise near airports
The federal government is keeping a close eye on high-rise and other developments near Australia's major airports and will not allow any buildings to be constructed if they interfere with current or future flight paths, Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development secretary Mike Mrdak says.
Under the Airports Act, the government and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority can object to developments in protected airspace near the large federally regulated airports.
"If we don't protect that airspace now, we will in the long-term rue our failure to do so," Mr Mrdak told the Australian Airports Association national conference on the Gold Coast on Tuesday.
"I think it is one of the most important tasks government and industry must work together on. More and more, the potential for high-rise residential development is threatening to encroach on flight paths and protected airspace around our airports."
But such regulations do not apply to smaller airports outside capital cities that are not federally regulated.
Mr Mrdak said he would encourage states to look at a statutory regime like the Airports Act that would allow airport operators to have a say in how much airspace would be required for future growth.
"It is important that planning by state and local governments take into account airports," he said. "Developments near airports and under flight paths can constrain operations. I recognise this is a challenge for state and local planners trying to maximise land use in their jurisdictions. But as we know, if we aren't protecting our long-term assets we aren't going to be meeting our growth challenge."
Mr Mrdak said he was optimistic about the potential for growth in the Australian aviation industry, even though Australians took an average of four flights a year, which is 30 per cent higher than Europeans and North Americans.
"This love of aviation services will continue," he said. "We have to plan and invest for this growth."
Mr Mrdak said consultations with Sydney Airport about its first right of refusal over the development of a new airport in Sydney's west at Badgerys Creek were proceeding "very well" and would continue in the new year.
He said the plan was for an initial one-runway development with a terminal capable of handling up to 3 million passengers a year – on a par with Canberra Airport – which would not have a curfew and would open in the mid 2020s.
"[The airport] will provide an avenue for economic growth for western Sydney, which is already the third-largest economy in Australia," he said.