CHAIR: I now welcome the honourable David Johnston, Minister for Defence, representing the Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, and Mr Mike Mrdak, long-serving Secretary of the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, and officers of the department. Minister, or Mr Mrdak, would you like to make an opening statement?
Senator Johnston: Thank you. I have no opening words.
Mr Mrdak : I am happy to go straight to questions; thank you.
CHAIR: I have had some inquiries, Mr Mrdak, in recent days about the future of general aviation. I will probably be putting some questions on notice or asking them today. But just as a guide, the concern of a lot of people in general aviation—helicopter services, private light planes, et cetera—is the likes of Archerfield airport. What guarantees can we give the Australian general aviation industry that they will have airports at which they can land planes in the future, given the pressure on the land space surrounding airports by developers getting a quid by putting up high rise and aerials on top, et cetera? Do you see a risk from the power of developers cooperating with state governments to the future of general aviation operating out of the likes of Archerfield, Bankstown and other airports?
Mr Mrdak : I think some concern is warranted in relation to the development pressures around our general aviation airports and our major capital city airports in a number of our cities. Quite clearly, as state planning policies come into effect seeking to increase the density of development in our urban areas, there is pressure to build right up to the boundaries, including in some high noise areas around our airports. There is also pressure to increasingly look at high rise developments which start to impinge on the PANS-OPS and OLS services of the airports. There are two critical areas. Firstly, the Australian government is very firm in its view that these sites will be and must be retained for aviation usage as the primary purpose. Hence the master planning process for airports such as Archerfield is very much driven to making sure that sufficient aerodevelopment takes place on the site for continuation and there is no reduction of access for aviation. Secondly, as you would be aware, over the last few years under successive governments we have sought to work with the state planning agencies under a process called NASAG—National Aviation Safeguarding Advisory Group—where we have sought to get planning arrangements agreed with the states that mean we can protect the approaches to those aerodromes and we do not have development pressure which impinges on the safe operation. That process has been ongoing and it continues to be ongoing. Mr Wilson may wish to give you some more detail on the next steps on that. We remain positive that the master planning process will provide for continued access, but we remain concerned about the development policies in a number of jurisdictions which may result in increasing encroachment of development into airway services.
Mr Wilson : As Mr Mrdak rightly indicated, we have been working quite closely with our state colleagues in regard to protection of aviation facilities in Australia. It would be fair to say that there is a strong recognition within state jurisdictions of the importance of aviation facilities, but it would also be fair to say that that recognition is more focused on the major airports than the secondary airports that you indicated in terms of Bankstown, Moorabbin, Archerfield and the like. The importance of general aviation in regard to the development of the overall industry is not as well understood at a state and territory jurisdictional level. We have been working with them through the NASAG arrangements in a very cooperative approach. But, as Mr Mrdak indicated, there is continuing pressure between the balance of development in our urban areas and the requirements of the aviation industry.
CHAIR: I have a brief here on what has happened since World War II, when Commonwealth—only development was on airfields. That has given way now to a lot of private development. What generally are the lease arrangements for those private developments for the land?
Mr Wilson : We hold the lease arrangements for 21 of the airports in Australia. The ones you indicated before are ours: Moorabbin, Bankstown, Archerfield and the like. So we both regulate and are the lessee. The private sector leases that land from the Commonwealth.
CHAIR: What is the tenure on those subleases to the private developer?
Mr Wilson : It is 49 years, with an option for 50.
CHAIR: What is the protection for the aviation industry if some of those developments impinge on the safe operating capacity of an airfield? It happens by increments. Do you have the capacity to knock the building down without compensation?
Mr Mrdak : We control the development through the master plans and also the development plans. We are the building regulator on airport. In relation to developments on airport that may impinge on safety, then clearly we and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority have a role. With developments off airport, we are reliant on the powers of the state and local planning authorities in relation to developments that may intrude on some of the surfaces. There are some powers that CASA has in relation to immediate safety risks of certain structures. But largely we are dependent upon the planning and development powers of the state and local governments off airport sites.
Mr Wilson : We do have additional powers that enable us to ensure that developments around the airport do not impinge on the OLS or on PANS-OPS—so that they do not impinge on the safe operation of aviation around those airports. That provides us with the capacity to restrict developments. The responsibility for undertaking the process in regard to that development sits with the individual airport operator; so they would start the process. We at the end of the day, however, hold the delegation and the decision-making in terms of a development that would impact on aviation services.
CHAIR: It is suggested here in my information that we need a full Senate inquiry into the airports, as the aviation industry is beyond tipping point. The loss of the purview of parliament—a department that acts merely as a post office—in no way is in the interests of users, and the lack of transparency in relation to the leased airports has set in train an environment conducive to corruption. So I suggest to you that I might be putting some questions on notice. I am also suggesting that perhaps we should have a briefing of this committee on issues surrounding the complexity of—
Mr Wilson : We are more than happy to run through those issues.
CHAIR: This document has some serious propositions. Obviously it is a temptation for people; it is a lot of land. As long as it is done with maintaining a viable airport, okay; but, where that becomes blurred, it becomes a danger.
Mr Mrdak : We would be happy to provide a briefing to the committee. The on airport planning is a very transparent process, through the master plan process and the building control process. But I am happy to provide further details to the committee.
CHAIR: So the building up of a floodplain at Bankstown for a development purpose without an environmental plan was okay?
Mr Mrdak : That was assessed by our building and environmental assessment officers and was found to be consistent with the floodplain management requirements that—
CHAIR: This is the first time in history I have known of where, if you build up a floodplain, you do not flood someone who would not have got flooded, because you have pushed the water further out. They did not think that?
Mr Mrdak : My advice is that it was worked through and it was found to be an acceptable development.
CHAIR: That does not really answer the question. It is a known fact that, when you put a levee bank around north Wagga, the flood that goes through Wagga is higher because it has less route to go through. Bankstown airport will be precisely the same—we have blocked some of the floodplains, so obviously someone else is going to get a bigger flood. Anyhow, we will come to that in the briefing.
Mr Mrdak : We will come to that. We are happy to provide information.
CHAIR: We will be grateful for your time. We will now go to general questions.