Committee Secretary Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee Department of the Senate PO Box 6100 Parliament House CANBERRA ACT 2600 AUSTRALIA 25 October 2020 Dear Sir / Madam Submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Australia’s General Aviation industry My submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry on General Aviation Airports seeks improvements for the management of aircraft noise around Jandakot Airport. I also support the submission sent by the CAAA. That submission contains much more information than my submission. My submission should be read in conjunction with the CAAA one. This submission has a focus on Jandakot Airport. I have been an active objector since 1995 when the Commonwealth took over control of the management of noise caused by aircraft at the training airports around Australia. KEY POINTS OF MY SUBMISSION FOR JANDAKOT AIRPORT • WA State laws to again manage aircraft noise caused by propeller driven aircraft operating out of Jandakot Airport. • Commonwealth aircraft noise management is applied only to jet aircraft, so the State laws can operate within the Commonwealth legislation – Airports Act 1996 as provided for in the Airports Act 1996. Section 136 Operation of State Laws. • Commonwealth neglects aircraft noise caused by propeller driven aircraft. • Install permanent noise monitors under the circuit training flight paths at each of those General Aviation airports. • The public no longer has access to data on the ASA website for flight movements history. Serious hindrance to analysis. Please have this data 1 returned to the ASA website in the old formats – monthly, financial and calendar years. • The number of flights per day to be reduced if existing aircraft are retained. Comply with N60, N65 and N70 • Weekends should alternate between flights and no flights • Public Holidays - no training flights • The hours of training shortened. Finish 1 hour after sunset. 10.30pm all year round must stop. • Aircraft to be quieter. Compare with European standards for circuit training. ASA to propose a noise limit. Retire non-complying aircraft within 12 months. This will allow more flights – comply with N60, N65 and N70. • Helicopters banned from training operations at Jandakot and Perth Airports • Insulation needs to be provided without discrimination of whether aircraft noise is caused by jet aircraft or propeller driven aircraft. • Relocate circuit training to remote airports. In WA, this includes Merredin and Learmonth as at least two options. • Public submission period for Airport Master Plans should be sixty (60) business days not 60 calendar days. 2009 White Paper recommended this. OVERVIEW HISTORY FOR JANDAKOT AIRPORT OPERATIONS Noise management policies for GAs changed in about 1995. COAG 1997 then saw State Premiers officially hand over aircraft noise management to the Commonwealth. This left Jandakot Airport in the hands of the Commonwealth. The houses in the affected areas around Jandakot were constructed and occupied before the Commonwealth changed the allowable noise limit. The nose limit went from 65dBA to no limit at all. Houses in the emerging localities of Canning Vale, Leeming, Bibra Lake and Bull Creek were built with the approval of the WA Planning Commission starting in the 1970s. The WA Planning Commission approved housing subdivisions based on WA EPA Regulations at the time of construction. 65dBA. 2 Jandakot Airport was a sleepy hollow then. Very few flights. Flight frequency wasn’t an issue. Quiet aircraft. A major marketing push then began to bring pilot training for overseas airlines to Jandakot. Singapore Airlines and China Southern have been the major players here. Objections from residents began in 1995 when the impact became apparent. Refer attachment. Media release from the WA Minister for Transport, Mr Ric Charlton. An often heard excuse to justify the lack of action about aircraft noise is that the airport was there before the houses. Physically correct as the airport was constructed around 1966. However the noise management rules and regulations affecting people living there were changed in about 1995. So the issue of who was here first is a fallacy. We see now for example the same situation. The Commonwealth Sydney Western Airport will provide at least $75 million for noise insulation because the Commonwealth is introducing heightened aircraft noise, caused by jet aircraft, into established housing areas. Other factors will be flight paths. The same rules should apply to houses near Jandakot Airport. And extend the consideration to be for propeller driven aircraft. DATA FOR NOISE CAUSED BY AIRCRAFT ENGAGED IN CIRCUIT TRAINING There are four (4) attachments that provide data for aircraft activity at Jandakot Airport. 1. Saturation of flights – case study went without response from ASA or ANO 2. Aircraft involved in the case study 3. Short term monitoring program Jandakot Airport February 2017 4. AA Report to Senator Sterle. This document has extracts of data from short term noise monitors (STNM) near Jandakot. The worst locations in my view, were not tested. However, the data for noise readings (dBA) was still bad enough to show there are serious problems to address. This situation has been going on since 1995. I am not aware of any corrective actions since then. My view is that the STNM data was ignored with the respect to improving the situation for residents. Something needs to be done. 3 CONCLUSION I hope something will be done. One opportunity is the 2020 Jandakot Airport Master Plan which is due to open for public submissions on 1st December. My recollection is that this is the first time public submissions will be widely advertised and information sessions provided for Jandakot Airport. My concern is that the public consultation period starts in 36 days, and no details of the consultation program plan has been published that I am aware of. The choice of December and January could have been better with all that goes on in December. Yours sincerely P M Ryan High Wycombe. WA. 6057 (address available upon request) Other Attachments Aircraft Noise Levy Act - Media Release WA Minister for Transport 1995 Aircraft Noise Levy Act 1995 Bill 2001 Cost Recovery Impact Statement (CRIS) - Noise Amelioration Extracts from Airports Act 1996 2004 Adelaide Airport Master Plan Airports Act 1996 Section 136 State law can act concurrently 4 SUBMISSION TO SENATE INQUIRY INTO GENERAL AVIATION AIRPORTS EXTRACTS FROM THE AIRPORTS ACT 1996 132 Regulations about environmental standards at airports (1) The regulations may make standards and impose requirements that are to be complied with in relation to, or in relation to the prevention or minimisation of: (a) environmental pollution (including air, water or soil pollution) generated at airport sites; or (b) impacts on biota or habitat; or (c) interference with sites of heritage value; or (d) interference with sites of significance to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people; or (e) the emission of noise generated at airport sites (other than noise generated by aircraft in flight); or (f) the disposal or storage of waste at airport sites. (2) If a person contravenes a particular provision of regulations made for the purposes of subsection (1), the person commits an offence punishable on conviction by a fine not exceeding the number of penalty units (not exceeding 250 penalty units) that is declared by those regulations to be the maximum number of penalty units for a contravention of that provision. (2A) Strict liability applies to the element of an offence against subsection (2) that regulations were made for the purposes of subsection (1). Note: For strict liability, see section 6.1 of the Criminal Code. (3) Regulations made for the purposes of subsection (1) may make provision for or in relation to a matter by conferring a power on the Minister. (3A) Regulations made for the purposes of subsection (1) may make provision for or in relation to a matter by applying, adopting or incorporating (with or without modification) any matter contained in a standard proposed or approved by Standards Australia, being a standard as in force or existing from time to time. (3B) Regulations made for the purposes of subsection (1) may make provision for or in relation to fees in respect of applications made in relation to any matter under the regulations. (4) Section 133 does not, by implication, limit subsection (1) of this section. 133 Regulations about monitoring, and remedying breaches of, environmental standards at airports (1) The regulations may make provision for and in relation to: (a) monitoring, cleaning up, remedying or rectifying environmental pollution (including air, water or soil pollution) generated at airport sites; or (aa) monitoring, mitigating, remedying or rectifying contraventions of section 131B, 131C or 131D; or (b) monitoring, mitigating, remedying or rectifying contraventions of section 132 regulations relating to impacts on biota or habitat; or (c) monitoring, mitigating, remedying or rectifying contraventions of section 132 regulations relating to interference with sites of heritage value; or (d) monitoring, mitigating, remedying or rectifying contraventions of section 132 regulations relating to interference with sites of significance to indigenous people; or (e) monitoring, mitigating, remedying or rectifying the emission of noise generated at airport sites (other than noise generated by aircraft in flight); or (f) monitoring, mitigating, remedying or rectifying contraventions of section 132 regulations relating to the disposal or storage of waste at airport sites. 135 Remedying breaches of environmental standards—recovery of expenses by the Commonwealth (1) If: (a) a person has contravened: (i) section 131B, 131C or 131D; or (ii) regulations made for the purposes of section 132 or 133; and (b) the Commonwealth has incurred expenses or other liabilities in relation to cleaning up, remedying or rectifying the act or omission constituting the contravention; the person is liable to pay to the Commonwealth an amount equal to so much of those expenses or liabilities as is reasonable.