There are two valuable and endangered species that are incompatible with commercial interests near the centres of major cities and town in south-eastern Australia. Koalas and general aviation airports.
Archerfield, 11 kilometres from the centre of Brisbane, is one such airport. Last week the Archerfield Airport Chamber of Commerce, which represents significant general aviation stakeholder interests in the busy airport began legal action seeking to overturn the approval recently granted by the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Anthony Albanese to the Master Plan submitted by the airport’s owners.
As the media statement reproduced below makes clear, this could turn into a rather fierce clash about due process in assessing Master Plans, notwithstanding the minister’s strong and passionate record in querying airport owners as to what exactly they are on about when major master plans land on his desk.
What happens to small, invaluably located airports may not seem nearly as important as what happens to the airlines using larger airports. But they are a crucial part of the knowledge and training food chain in aviation, which makes general aviation much more important to the general public than is widely realised.
This is a brawl worth keeping an eye on.