The Federal Government continues to resist logistics arguments for a second Sydney Airport at Badgerys Creek
The Federal Government continues to resist logistics arguments for a second Sydney Airport at Badgerys Creek and is sticking with plans to investigate a site at Wilton despite a damning report on the option.
A spokesperson for Federal Transport Minister Anthony Albanese today would not say
whether the government
is considering
the Badgerys Creek site for
the second airport
in light of
Wilton site
challenges identified in a $1.5 million federal study
released Friday.
“The government has made a decision to investigate Wilton as a second Sydney airport,” the spokesperson says.
“The study is clear that an airport at Wilton is possible, however, there a number of environmental and engineering challenges to overcome.
“As part of our next steps, we’ll conduct geotechnical work to help us understand better what environmental and engineering challenges exist. This work will be completed as quickly as possible.”
The Australian Logistics Council (ALC) Managing Director Michael Kilgariff says challenges with the Wilton site reinforce Badgerys Creek’s suitability for the airport.
“It would now appear Badgerys Creek is the best option, given land has been identified and reserved and the evidence to proceed is there,” Kilgariff says.
Wilton is about 80 kilometres south-west of Sydney and less than 40 kilometres to Wollongong and Port Kembla.
The Badgerys Creek site is about 50 kilometres west of Sydney and is on government-owned land.
The ALC notes
that Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport should remain the state’s primary air freight hub, but says it makes sense to have a supporting air freight site in the fast-developing western Sydney region.
But the ALC’s main argument for the second airport at Badgerys Creek appears to be based on timeliness and land availability.
“ALC notes the joint study on aviation capacity found that demand for freight services cannot be met at Sydney Airport if additional capacity cannot be added by 2035 – by that stage, it is anticipated there will be an unmet demand of over nine million tonnes of air freight,” Kilgariff says.
The resistance to the Badgerys Creek site is believed to be based on environmental and economic concerns and conflicting state and federal government interests.
Former Prime Minister John Howard announced Badgerys Creek as a preferred site for a second Sydney airport in 1999.
In a statement on Friday, Shadow Transport Minister Warren Truss says a second Sydney Airport at Wilton has never been a practical option.
He says the Wilton study has been a distraction to allow the government to put off making a decision about Sydney’s airport needs until after the election.