Lee Rhiannon (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Airports Amendment Bill 2015. The Greens do not oppose this bill as we are supportive of measures designed to limit the authority of the privatised Sydney Airport Corporation to dictate transport policy in New South Wales. When Sydney Airport was privatised by the Liberal-Nationals not only did the government cede authority over an important level of transport policy in Australia; it handed monopoly control of air travel in and out of Sydney to a private company that paid no tax in the 10 years following privatisation. What a deal. Travellers in the community are in agreement that the privatisation of vital transport infrastructure has been a failure.

The privatisation of Sydney Airport has made it much more difficult for the government to pursue a sustainable, long-term and consultative plan around air travel in the Sydney region. As previously stated, the Greens do not oppose plans to grant the government greater authority vis-a-vis the Sydney Airport Corporation when it comes to the planning of air-travel infrastructure. The Greens do oppose, however, the current plan—supported by the Liberal and Labor leaderships—to build a supplementary Sydney airport at Badgerys Creek. This opposition is shared by many in the local community as well as local Labor and Liberal MPs. My colleague Senator Janet Rice, the Greens transport spokesperson, has set out our position with regard to this aspect of the bill.

The fact that this legislation has been brought on more than six months after the government announced its intention to construct an airport at Badgerys Creek shows the lack of momentum behind this project. The fact that the legislation explicitly expands the potential list of bidders for the construction and operation of an airport at Badgerys Creek shows how little success the government has had in securing any private support for its plan to build a new airport at Badgerys Creek. All we have seen so far has been an announcement, the funding of more roads and now this legislation—months after the fact.

Many in the community and experts in the infrastructure industry remain convinced that the Abbott government and the Labor opposition have little intention of actually constructing an airport at Badgerys Creek. Both the coalition and Labor are keen to be seen to be getting on with planning for a new airport as a way to present a jobs message for Western Sydney. We now know that this promise does not stack up.

Time will tell if Badgerys Creek is ever built. The Greens are concerned that the case for the project does not add up for locals and the environment, and this is clearly illustrated when we look at the promised jobs growth. When Prime Minister Tony Abbott made his announcement last year regarding Badgerys Creek airport, many of the assumptions used by the coalition and the building lobby to build support for the airport were reported in the media as fact. As a result, much of the debate around the benefits of Badgerys Creek as a location for a second Sydney airport lacks accurate detail.

In his announcement, Prime Minister Abbott stated that the construction and operation of Badgerys Creek airport would create 60,000 jobs—60,000 jobs is a lot, and the announcement was clearly made to impress people. It was over an unspecified time frame. When you see that, it makes you wonder. The alleged job creation figures have been used by several lobby groups to justify their support for an airport at Badgerys Creek. No sources were presented for the Prime Minister's 60,000 jobs figure claim. It has been argued that to achieve such a high figure the airport would have to have passenger movements rivalling Heathrow Airport in London or Los Angeles airport—a feat unlikely to be repeated at a supplementary airport at Badgerys Creek.

The only recent estimation of jobs created by the construction and operation of a Badgerys Creek airport was conducted by the New South Wales Business Chamber, a lobby group for the business sector who obviously stand to gain enormously by the creation of another private—yet, publicly subsidised—airport and the associated publicly subsidised infrastructure to service the airport. Their report estimated that 30,000 jobs be created by 2050—at least they gave us a time frame. Now that figure is already half of the figure touted by the Prime Minister and reported in the media, time and time again. However, this figure also relies on the assumption—

Debate interrupted.