Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I, and also on behalf of Senator Rhiannon, move amendment (1) on sheet 7735:

(1) Schedule 1, item 30, page 15 (after line 30), after subsection 96B(12), insert:

  (12A) To avoid doubt, if the Sydney West Airport is not to be constructed and operated at Badgerys Creek, New South Wales, subsection (12) does not apply.

The government is currently pursuing the construction of an airport at Badgerys Creek. The Greens believe that, as an absolute minimum, we need to have an environmental impact assessment undertaken as soon as possible so that the community is fully aware of the potential impacts.

However, the reason for this amendment to the bill is to clarify that, if the Badgerys Creek airport is not constructed, for whatever reason, a completed environmental impact statement for Badgerys Creek cannot be used as a substitute for an environmental impact statement for any other future airport location. It is a minor amendment. It clarifies that, if Badgerys Creek does not go ahead for any reason or is substantially changed, a new environmental impact statement would be required for any other airport serving Sydney's west, and that the government would not be able to use the fact that Badgerys Creek was the plan in 2014 and 2015 to bypass proper environmental planning processes.