Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to talk about the curfew at the Gold Coast Airport. Locals are extremely concerned that the Morrison government has recently announced plans to change the curfew for the airport to allow more flights to occur within the curfew times. Currently planes are not allowed to take off and land between 11 pm and 6 am Queensland time, which is, of course, midnight and 7am New South Wales time. There are exceptions to this for exceptional circumstances or emergencies, and that's totally understandable and necessary. There is also a provision for four permits to be issued per week for freight movement outside those hours. During COVID, four freight flights per week were allowed due to the many supply chain issues that occurred due to the massive disruption the pandemic caused.

This current permit system is due to expire in April. A request has been made to extend this until December, making this permit essentially permanent, and this has caused major community concern. However, the Morrison government is pushing ahead to allow the curfew change to allow planes to take off and land earlier and later. If the government gets away with this it would just the thin edge of the wedge. It will lead to more flights over our homes, both in my electorate in northern New South Wales and north over the border on the Gold Coast.

I do want to strongly acknowledge the important role the airport plays in our region, firstly, of course, for travel, whether it be work, recreation, family or medical reasons and freight movements. There are massive benefits that the airport brings, especially as an economic driver in our region, particularly in terms of employment. But equally important is the curfew to ensure the amenity of those who are living within the footprint of the flight paths and it is absolutely vital that that be maintained. Our community have had insufficient time to raise their concerns about these changes, with written submissions relating to these latest changes closing on 25 February. That is not enough time. For this reason, I have started a community petition about this issue and, to date, thousands have signed it. All in our community are so worried about this.

This final decision, the final determination, is one primarily of the Deputy Prime Minister, the minister for transport. He can make this decision. He must listen to our community and keep our curfew as it is. The amenity of locals is so vitally important.

I say to my community on the North Coast of New South Wales and to those on the Gold Coast, who are equally impacted: please sign my petition and let's send the Liberals and Nationals a very strong message. Together, let's stop the Morrison government's plans to change the airport curfew at Gold Coast Airport.