31/07/2018
This morning the Department of Infrastructure has announced that the Turnbull Government will back down on proposed changes to the curfew at Essendon Airport.
The announcement of a revised proposal to amend the Air Navigation (Essendon Fields Airport) Regulations 2001 follows a strong community campaign against changes to the curfew, which was led by Peter Khalil MP, Federal Labor Member for Wills, on behalf of residents in the suburbs surrounding the airport.
The Turnbull Liberal Government was proposing to not only increase air traffic during curfew hours, but also increase the weight limit to 55,000kgs which many feared would dramatically increase the amount of traffic and noise coming through the airport at all hours.
Mr Khalil warmly welcomed the news, saying “This is a huge win for our community.”
“I advocated for residents every step of the way, speaking and writing to all three Infrastructure Ministers that have come and gone since the initial proposals were announced last year,” said Mr Khalil.
“This couldn’t have been achieved without the advocacy of residents, and without the work of my colleagues Bill Shorten, Leader of the Opposition and the Federal Member for Maribyrnong, Danny Pearson, the State Member for Essendon and Ben Carroll, the State Member for Niddrie.”
The Department of Infrastructure are inviting residents to make submissions on the revised proposal. To make a submission contact Peter Khalil’s office on (03) 9350 5777 or head to: https://infrastructure.gov.au/aviation/environmental/curfews/EssendonAirport/files/Public-consultation-Proposed-amendments-to-Air-Navigation-Essendon-Fields-Airport-Regulations-2001.pdf
ENDS