By Elsie Lange
The state government has released its response to a report on safeguarding Melbourne airport and surrounding areas, but locals say it “misses the point”.
Last month, the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) published its take on a report by the Melbourne Airport Environs Safeguarding Standing Advisory Committee (MAESSAC) – a group appointed by the government to provide planning advice.
Handed down in November 2021, the report raised key issues including the implementation of the National Airports Safeguarding Framework (NASF), the role of number above contours (N contours) and planning responses for dealing with concerns beyond aircraft noise. N-above contours indicate the number of noise events exceeding a certain level – a N70 contour shows the noise level of events above 70 decibels.
DELWP has now responded to MAESSAC’s 15 recommendations to address those issues, and the only recommendation it did not support in full, part or principle, was to make Melbourne Airport a determining referral authority or recommending referral authority.
That means the airport would still have to submit planning objections to local councils.
Melbourne Airport Community Action Group (MACAG) said MAESSAC did not have the scope to tackle locals’ concerns, which is reflected in the report.
“We understand the [MAESSAC] panel were restricted by the terms of reference, and appreciate that those terms were drafted by people who were mostly in the dark about the true scale of the impact of Melbourne Airport,” MACAG spokesperson Dr Hannah Robertson said.
A Melbourne Airport spokesperson said it welcomed the MAESSAC’s report and the government’s response.
“As a key enabler of billions of dollars’ worth of economic activity, it is critical that Melbourne Airport be protected from development that could impact its 24-hour operation, but equally that future residents be protected by ensuring inappropriate development does not occur in areas that are known to experience significant aircraft noise,” the spokesperson said.
The airport spokesperson said the airport was being transparent about the community impacts of the third runway plan, and the “health and social effects are discussed in detail in the preliminary draft Major Development Plan”.
The debate around the construction of Melbourne Airport’s third runway has been ongoing, with residents in Keilor and Hume worried about the noise impacts of the runway if it runs in the north-south direction, as opposed to east-west.
