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Sydney Airport to start formal Badgerys Creek talks

written by australianaviation.com.au | August 18, 2014

Looking west over Badgerys Creek. (Seth Jaworski)
Looking west over Badgerys Creek. (Seth Jaworski)

Sydney Airport will enter a nine-month formal consultation period with the federal government from September on the question of a new airport at Badgerys Creek.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Warren Truss says the federal government has issued Sydney Airport with a Notice to Consult, which allows the two parties to enter formal discussions on the development and operation of the proposed Badgerys Creek airport.

“We now have a clear timeframe for consultation, decision and action,” Truss said in a statement on Monday.

The consultation period begins on September 30 2014, Sydney Airport said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange on Monday.

When the Commonwealth sold Sydney Airport in 2002 it included a 30-year first right of refusal to build and operate any airport built within 100km of the existing terminals at Mascot.

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Sydney Airport said the first right of refusal had a number of phases, including a consultative phase and a subsequent contractual phase.

“These are expected to take up to two years to complete,” Sydney Airport said.

The federal government hoped the airport at Badgerys Creek would be operational by the mid-2020s, with construction anticipated to begin sometime in 2016.

Prior to the official Notice to Consult being issued, the government and the airport has been in informal talks over over the size and layout of the proposed airport.

Sydney Airport chief executive Kerrie Mather said the airport would work constructively with the government during the formal consultation period.

“The work program will focus on detailed examination of the business case including, but not limited to, passenger forecasting, demographics, airport design and operation, planning and commercial development, environmental analysis, and funding and financial modelling,” Mather said in a statement.

This formal consultation period was the first phase under the right of first refusal provisions.

“Following the consultation, the Government may decide to make a contractual offer to the Sydney Airport Group,” the minister’s statement said.

“The contractual offer would involve issuing a Notice of Intention to the Sydney Airport Group, setting out the detailed terms for the development and operation of an airport at Badgerys Creek, including technical specifications, contractual terms and timetable.”

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Comments (6)

  • mike9

    says:

    After almost 30 years of sitting on their hands they will start formal talks , not action mind you ! more talks !, no wonder everyone treats the Government departments with the contempt they deserve..faceless men in grey suits who have no idea about productivity , goal setting , preserving tax payers money.in a nutshell , getting on with the job !!! oh they will say due diligence, it will still go over budget ,no matter what they say. maybe they should get Ken Wagner from Toowoomba to build it ( he built his international standard airport in 18 months), done in record time , at 1/4 the cost and open in a couple of years .

  • Peter Gregg

    says:

    When you check pre Howard, the land was acquired with a time frame set and Sydney airport was in public hands. Then after the election the airport was canned the land sold in a sweet heart deal then Sydney airport was sold with a coincidence that a Howard man just happened to get a job. So remember some of the alternatives that the Government suggested for alternatives each time someone was paid to say no not suitable

  • Michael A

    says:

    mike9 that’s complete rubbish. Lack of proper planning over the last 50 years or so is what has put us in the infrastructure-poor state we’re in today. Sure everyone, let’s just build something and hope it creates jobs. That’s the key to a white elephant!

  • Peter Gregg

    says:

    I am 58 yo and have seen this story unfold for years land bought then given away another good article also from the Herald is titled scams and scoundrels search by including Badgery Creek and check some of the names of People who benefited from this deal

    Full story check Sydney Morning Herald.

    A protest against the planned airport at Badgerys Creek, which former prime minister Paul Keating says is still the best spot for a second airport for Sydney. Photo: Andrew Taylor
    A report in yesterday’s Herald that an aviation white paper will rule out ”once and for all” the use of the Badgerys Creek site in western Sydney for Sydney’s second airport would represent a scandalous violation of responsible public policy at the cost of the amenity of the city of Sydney and its people.
    The Badgerys Creek site was purchased by the Hawke government 25 years ago. It was purchased with all aforethought to the future needs of Sydney for this vital piece of public infrastructure.
    And from the completion of its purchase, the Hawke government vigorously advertised its intentions to local councils and communities, including publishing detailed flight paths and noise patterns.

    Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/badgerys-creek-was-the-right-site-then-and-is-the-right-site-now-20091216-kxjl.html#ixzz3Amtoyu00

  • mike9

    says:

    Michael A , you are joking aren’t you ?
    that is a perfect response from some one who works in a government Department perhaps?.you are trying to justify the waste of public funds as some sort of planning process that should take 30 years to achieve a result . everyone has been screaming for this project for years and you call it a white elephant !!!

  • Peter Gregg

    says:

    You are right it should have been done in the 70s, there has been a lot of money wasted. Whitlam wanted a second airport Hawke, Keating wanted a second airport. The only Government Department I worked in was as Security or Military not as a bureaucrat. I dont know your age as it is not important but a second airport should have had precedent over the 3rd runway.But then I wouldn’t have anyone to converse with.
    Regards
    Peter

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