Julia Irwin (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On 16 November, I attended a public meeting at Kemps Creek Public School to hear the concerns of residents from the districts surrounding Badgerys Creek. The residents spoke of the problems they face in developing their properties, including demands for double glazing on windows, air conditioning and other expensive noise reduction measures.

The Liberal members for the area, including the member for Lindsay, Jackie Kelly, and the member for Macarthur, Pat Farmer, went to the last election promising that there would be no airport built at Badgerys Creek. The Prime Minister said that there would be no airport there in the foreseeable future and promised that a final decision would be made by 2005. It is now a year later and the residents of this area are still in limbo. There has been no word from the Prime Minister. It is time for the government to come clean and tell us why it will not scrap plans for Badgerys Creek airport.

The Prime Minister complains about the New South Wales government affecting land prices in Sydney, but his own government is responsible for tying up the development of thousands of hectares of land around Badgerys Creek. This broken promise by the government is continuing to cause distress to the many residents around the site. It is time the government honoured its promise and lifted the airport site plan. If not, it will be up to Labor, after the 2007 election and when we are in government, to once and for all scrap Badgerys Creek airport. (Time expired)