Last chance: one week left for EIS submissions on Western Sydney International Airport flight paths

The deadline is fast approaching with one week left for local residents to have their say on the draft 2023 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for flight paths for the new Western Sydney International (WSI) Airport. Submissions will close next week on Wednesday, 31 January 2024.

As a longtime and strong supporter of the airport, I welcome the many economic benefits it will bring to our community. The airport will create thousands of local jobs, open new careers for our children, and support our local manufacturing and produce industries.

But the flight paths must be fair. Right now, there will be 18 flight paths over the Lindsay electorate, with an average of 220 flights across a 24-hour period.

This is the most of any community in Western Sydney, with thousands of people impacted. From Londonderry to Luddenham and Emu Heights to Colyton, we will have flight paths with altitudes as low as 750 feet and noise levels as high as 90 decibels at Twin Creeks.

The original 2016 EIS is very different to what has been released by the Albanese Labor Government. This means that our community has had little time to understand the impacts of the flight paths on people’s lives and livelihoods. Some would not even be aware of what is coming. We have been blindsided by the Government at the 11^th hour.

The lack of transparency and genuine consultation from the Labor Government has been of great concern since the beginning, when our community wasn’t even included in the first round of public feedback sessions, even though we were the most impacted by the flight paths.

What is worse, at this stage there is less than 100 properties earmarked to receive targeted noise abatement measures, only those within the ANEC 20 sound boundary will qualify according to the 2023 EIS. A wider scope of the population of Luddenham, Twin Creeks, Mulgoa, and rural surrounds deserve to be compensated or adequately insulated to ensure protections from noise levels that are detrimental to their lifestyle.

The former Coalition government allocated $75 million in funding for noise abatement measures, recognising that many households will be impacted by aircraft noise surrounding Western Sydney Airport. I call on the Albanese Labor Government to review their limited noise mitigation strategy and extend the residential catchment area to receive these compensation measures.

Let me be clear, any unfair negative impacts on our community by flight paths will not be taken lightly, nor quietly. The balance must be right, and if it is not, I’ll continue to fight for the best outcome for our community. That is why it is so important residents have their say now, while the flight paths are still in draft mode and consultation is open.

In addition to the flight paths, there has been vital infrastructure cuts that just don’t make sense for the Western Sydney community with a new airport on our doorstop, with Federal funding axed for road and transport networks that are critical for supporting the increased traffic from the airport. The Albanese Labor Government clearly doesn’t care about Western Sydney, and that is just not good enough.

Submissions are open now until Wednesday, 31 January 2024. You can make a submission at https://www.wsiflightpaths.gov.au/make-a-submission