Transcript - Press conference 21 April 2016

PAUL FLETCHER: I just want to make a couple of comments in relation to Labor’s hastily cobbled together announcement today in relation to Western Sydney Airport. Can I start by saying that the Turnbull Government absolutely recognises that the new Western Sydney Airport will need to operate in a way which addresses concerns about flight paths and aircraft noise, and meets the expectations of the community. That’s why we are working through, in a careful and orderly way, issues in relation to aircraft noise, flight plan, and so on.

A draft Environmental Impact Statement was issued last year and we’ve had several thousand responses. We’re now working through those issues very systematically, as we develop the final Environmental Impact Statement which will deal with these kinds of issues. Western Sydney Liberal MPs Fiona Scott, Louise Markus, amongst others, are very strong advocates for the needs of their community to ensure that this airport operates in a way that noise is mitigated to the maximum extent, but of course also so that this airport delivers the thousands of jobs that are so important for growth and prosperity in Western Sydney. Any final plan in relation to Western Sydney Airport will involve extensive noise mitigation measures, and we are working closely with experts in Air Services Australia, expert noise consultants, and others, as we assess the responses to the draft Environmental Impact Statement, and work through what will be in the final Environmental Impact Statement, which will in turn underpin the way the airport operates.

Now let me contrast that careful and thorough policy development process with this hasty, policy on the run announcement that we’ve seen today from Mr Albanese and Mr Shorten. It is far from clear that they have thought through the details, it is far from clear that they know how this is actually going to work. Mr Albanese when asked today in his media conference could not name one expert he had consulted with. When Mr Albanese was asked about one of the implications of his proposed operating plan, which is that all aircraft would need to take off and land in the same direction, he could not answer a question about what the implications of that would be if it required an aircraft to land when there was a tailwind of more than 10 knots. Now that is a very important safety issue, and is the subject of a specific regulation by CASA, the regulator. So Mr Albanese and Mr Shorten have rushed something out, it hasn’t been carefully thought through, and it’s far from clear how it will work, it’s far from clear that they know how it will work.

By contrast, the Turnbull Government is going through a careful and thorough process, assessing responses to the Environmental Impact Statement, understanding the various options and developing a final Environmental Impact Statement which will have to go to the Minister for Environment, Greg Hunt, for approval. Can I conclude, I reiterate the Turnbull Government is committed to ensuring that Western Sydney Airport operates with the best possible noise mitigation measures, that has flight paths which have the least possible impact on the community, and there are very strong voices making that point, Western Sydney Liberal MPs including Fiona Scott and Louise Markus, who are strong champions for their community, and those voices will be heard.

JOURNALIST: Minister, correct me if I am wrong, but I don’t remember seeing this idea of only having aircrafts at night take off and land over the southwest, it’s not in the Environmental Impact Statement, so why isn’t this an option the Government has considered?

PAUL FLETCHER: It certainly is one of the options under consideration in the Environmental Impact Statement. We need to work through this option and every other option in a thorough, careful and considered fashion, rather than making policy on the run as we have seen today from Mr Shorten and Mr Albanese. They are making policy on the run and it is far from clear that they know the details of what it is they are proposing, and it just goes to show that they are not ready to govern Australia.

JOURNALIST: So what are some of the other pitfalls of Labor’s option?

PAUL FLETCHER: Well, I don’t want to add beyond what I’ve said before, but the broad principal is what we’ve had from Labor is a hastily cobbled together announcement and it’s clear that they are not clear on the detail of their own plan. I mentioned one specific issue, which is the question of, if all aircraft are operating in the same direction, landing and taking off in the same direction, and that may require aircraft to be landing with a tailwind, there are clear safety rules about that, and Mr Albanese did not have a clear answer on that question when he was asked about it.

JOURNALIST: So this also isn’t something the Government is ruling out, so it could be a position that the Government ends up supporting too?

PAUL FLETCHER: The Government is working through a careful, thorough policy development process; we are examining all the responses to the Environmental Impact Statement as we move to prepare a final Environmental Impact Statement, that’s the way to develop policy properly in relation to a very substantial project like Western Sydney Airport which involves billions of dollars of public money. That’s the way to deal with these issues rather than hasty, cobbled together announcements on the run as we have seen today from Mr Shorten and Mr Albanese.

JOURNALIST: The Federal Government and State Government, they’re working together about a potential rail link to Badgerys Creek. Now that the election has been called, would you anticipate that cooperation coming earlier?

PAUL FLETCHER: What we’ve said in relation to a potential rail link to Western Sydney Airport is that there is a joint scoping study between the NSW and Commonwealth Governments that is looking at the question of – what is the right route, when should it be built, how should it be funded. As Prime Minister Turnbull said recently, giving a speech on this topic, he wants this scoping study to examine the question - could we have a rail link in place by 2026, or when the airport is due to open, and if not then, how soon afterwards? Now that scoping study is expected to report by the end of the year. Again, we’re going through a careful, thorough policy development process, which is appropriate when you’re talking about a multi-billion dollar taxpayer expense. Thank you.