Council supports "right" airport

Tuesday, 8 December 2015

Council’s response to the Federal Government’s Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will reaffirm its conditional support for the project while calling for assurances the airport will bring maximum benefits to Penrith.

Penrith Mayor Karen McKeown said the airport will be one of Australia's largest and most complex infrastructure projects, creating unprecedented opportunities to reshape the region.

"Our responsibility is to ensure Penrith secures the maximum benefits and an airport that is truly embedded in the region alongside impacts that are diligently assessed and acceptable to our community," Cr McKeown said.

"The EIS was the first step on a long road and we'll be working with the Government closely to ensure our community is represented in all decisions being made; this includes flight paths and supporting transport infrastructure as well as the support and delivery of maximum employment in and around the airport."

Cr McKeown said Council's position enabled it to have a voice.

"When we met with Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss in Canberra recently he assured us the flight paths over Penrith are indicative only. All flight paths will be the subject of an airspace architecture study and our submission to the EIS calls for more equitable distribution of these and limits on noise exposure for any single community," Cr McKeown said.

"We've reiterated that the airport should have a curfew - if it's good enough for Mascot, it's good enough for the communities of the West. If the airport is to operate without a curfew, our view is that the communities that are hardest hit should not have to bear the brunt of this 24 hours a day."

Cr McKeown said we will continue to make the case for a rail link before the airport opens.

"Our transport infrastructure is already on life support and the EIS suggests in stage one the airport alone will see 42,000 more vehicle movements each day in Stage 1. We're adamant the airport must have a rail link from day one that will not only connect the airport to the Western line but also connect the North and South West Growth Centres to reduce commuting across Western Sydney."

Council and the community has until December 18 to comment on the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Airport plan for the site and had 60 days to review and respond.

Council engaged independent experts to assess the EIS and these reports can be used by community members to write their own submissions.  Get the reports on the Western Sydney Airport page.

Information contained within this news release was correct as at Tuesday, 8 December 2015.