Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Urban Infrastructure) Share this | Hansard source

Of course, it follows the draft environmental impact statement which was issued last year. There are some very important changes which the government has made in response to community consultation on the draft environmental impact statement. We have made a commitment that there will be no single merge point over the town of Blaxland. We have made a commitment that there will be no single merge point over any residential community. We have expressed the position that our preferred option is for head-to-head operations to the south-west of the airport—the more lightly populated area—between 11 pm and 6 am where safe to do so. What that will mean is that during this time flights will both take off and land to the south-west, where it is safe to do so. It is very important that we do the detailed work to determine exactly when it will be safe to have head-to-head operations directed towards the south-west, but the early indications are that in over 80 per cent of the time head-to-head operations to the south-west will be safe.

Western Sydney Airport, when it opens, will be closer than Kingsford Smith Airport and will be a more convenient option for some 2 million people. The 2012 joint study on aviation capacity in the Sydney region pointed out that by 2027 there will be no more slots available at Kingston Smith Airport, and by around 2035 there will be practically no scope for further growth of revenue passenger services at Kingsford Smith Airport. So Western Sydney Airport is very important to meet the capacity needs of Sydney and Australia, and of course it will deliver a major economic boost to Western Sydney—some 11,000 jobs during the construction phase, and by the early 2030s some 9,000 jobs directly at the airport as well as the economic activity that will be attracted.

The Turnbull government is getting on with the job. The environmental impact statement is a key step towards— (Time expired)

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