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Parliamentary Questions


Question On Notice No. 1268 asked in the Legislative Council on 14 October 2009 by Hon Lynn Maclaren

Question Directed to the: Minister for Environment
Parliament: 38 Session: 1


Question
The lessee of Jandakot Airport, Ascot Capital Limited, a development company with no background in aviation, has recently released for public comment its revised master plan for the development of Jandakot Airport. The master plan includes a proposal to extend two existing runways and construct a new fourth runway, as well as a significant non-aviation mixed business commercial precinct, -
(1) How will the building of the fourth runway impact on the residents of the Cities of Cockburn, Melville and Canning?

(2) Constituents who have contacted us are of the view that the company has little regard for the impacts proposed developments will have on surrounding communities. Is the Minister aware that residents in the cities of Cockburn, Melville and Canning already report being subjected to excessive levels of aviation noise?

(3) How are properties in these Cities currently being impacted by noise within the discredited ANEF/ ANEC / ANEI 25 ANEF contours?

(4) Is the Government going to fund the noise amelioration and property resumption program that is going to result from supporting the proposed expansion at JDKT and when, considering it is already long overdue?

(5) Can the Minister confirm who is responsible for noise amelioration in the affected areas and action will be taken to address noise pollution in the vicinity?

(6) Will further plans to increase the use of heavier aircraft compound the already existing noise pollution to a far greater degree?

(7) How will the plans being considered for the future use of pure jet aircraft impact on noise pollution to residents in these cities?

(8) Does the proposed development by Jandakot Airport Holdings involve staged clearing of 167 ha of Banksia woodland described as very good to excellent condition?

(9) Does the proposed area to be cleared contain about 40 grand spider orchids and four glossy Leafed Hammer orchids?

(10) Is the woodland to be cleared a recognised foraging habitat for the Carnaby’s Cockatoo?

(11) Are each of these species (Carnaby’s Cockatoo, Grand Spider Orchid and the Glossy Leafed Hammer Orchid) currently on the Western Auystralian State and Commonwealth Endangered list?

(12) Mapping of potential Carnaby’s Cockatoo habitat in the region indicates that there is approximately 13 756 ha of suitable vegetation within a 20 km radius of Jandakot Airport. The report states ‘approximately 7,317 ha of this habitat is within Bush Forever sites and 4 986 ha is within Parks and Recreation reserves, providing a significant level of security for retention of bushland’, -

(a) how much of this ‘suitable vegetation’ lies within the Beeliar Regional Park; and

(b) how much of this bushland is currently threatened by the proposed Roe eight extension?

(13) How many areas of a similar size and quality of Banksia woodland currently exist in the, -

(a) Perth Metropolitan area;

(b) North Metropolitan region;

(c) East Metropolitan region; and

(d) South Metropolitan region?

(14) How will the project impact on the UPCWA priority one resource zone?

(15) Is the expansion in conflict with the System six recommendation M94 and the Western Australian EPA Report Bulletin 690 (July 1993) on Future expansion at Jandakot Airport?

(16) Other recorded species of conservation significance are the Western Brush Wallaby (Macropus irma) and the Southern Brown Bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus fusciventer), which are listed as priority four and priority five respectively by the Department of Environment and Conservation Western Australia, how many Western Brush Wallaby’s and Southern Brown Bandicoots are estimated to live in the proposed area to be cleared?

(17) Please outline the potential environmental impacts of the proposed master plan 2009 development in terms of, -

(a) ecosystem disruption and the subsequent loss of flora and fauna;

(b) impact on significant flora and fauna species;

(c) fragmentation of habitat due to the East Link road;

(d) impacts to air quality from vehicles and tenants;

(e) impacts to groundwater; and

(f) climate change and resource use implications?

Answered on 1 December 2009




In providing the following answers, I take the opportunity to inform the Hon Member that the Jandakot Airport Preliminary Draft Master Plan 2009 has been advertised for public comment as a requirement of Section 79(2) of the Airports Act 1996 and requires the approval of the Federal Government. The public comment period closed on
30 October 2009. The Western Australian Government, through the Minister for Planning, is preparing a submission on the Preliminary Draft Master Plan which will identify matters for consideration in finalisation of the master plan.

(1) This question should be referred the Minister for Planning.

(2) Yes.

(3) The Government does not agree that the Australian Noise Exposure Forecast (ANEF)

system for aircraft noise assessment is discredited. While the ANEF, being an annualised average noise level, is recognized as being of limited use for community information purposes, it provides a stable metric that is useful for land use planning purposes. Advice from the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) is that 25 ANEF/ANEI represents a substantial level of noise impact when applied to a general aviation airport like Jandakot. With regard to properties of a potentially noise-sensitive nature that are subject to current noise impacts at this level, the 25 ANEI contour for the year 2006 encloses a part of several landholdings off Glendale Crescent, Jandakot, in the City of Cockburn, to the south-west of the Airport.

(4-7) See the answer to (1).

(8) Yes.

(9) Yes. Advice from DEC is that there may be more than 40 grand spider orchids as survey of the area is incomplete.

(10) Yes.

(11) Yes.

(12) I note that matters pertaining to the long term sustainable management of conservation and environmental matters are governed by the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1994. The Commonwealth Government has not indicated what type of offset regime it will impose for the expansion of the airport. 

(a) All of the BeeliarRegionalParkis within a 20km radius of JandakotAirport. There is approximately 1,780 hectares of remnant vegetation in BeeliarRegionalPark. A significant proportion of this would be "suitable vegetation", that is, included in the mapping of potential Carnaby's black cockatoo habitat.

(b) This question should be referred to the Minister for Transport.

(13)

(a) It is difficult to give a precise answer as boundaries of areas can be arbitrary and the mapping of condition of banksia woodland areas is not comprehensive. There are approximately 14 areas of bushland containing banksia woodland of similar or greater size to the JandakotAirportbushland on the Swan Coastal Plain in the Perth Metropolitan area. 

(b)-(d) Of these 14 areas, six are in the North Metropolitan Region, three in the East Metropolitan Region, and five in the South Metropolitan Region.

(14) This question should be referred to the Minister for Water.

(15) The System Six study identified that the vegetation on the JandakotAirportland (M94) is dense and largely undisturbed and is of regional significance. The regional significance of the JandakotAirportbushland was confirmed by its inclusion in Bush Forever. The System Six recommendation for M94 was "That the Commonwealth of Australia retain as much uncleared land as possible."

 In 1993, the Environmental Protection Authority, in a submission to the (then) Commonwealth Environment Protection Agency on a similar proposal at Jandakot Airport, concluded in part "that the proposal for additional developments at Jandakot Airport requires substantial modification in order to be environmentally acceptable...".

(16) It is not known how many Western Brush Wallabies and Southern Brown Bandicoots live in the area proposed to be cleared. 

(17)

(a)-(f) I understand that this will be considered by the Commonwealth Government. This consideration will include the Commonwealth's obligations under its Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1994.
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