Report justifies military noise

By Tim E Stewart

DARWIN -- Following a high profile visit by a senior department of defence official in May, a 34-page report has been released which allows deafening foreign military exercises to take place over the city's suburbs.

“Tactical realism”, neatly slipped into a footnote in the report, is supposed to explain why residents had to put up with 14,318 military movements between April 1993 and March 1994, and why noise levels over Coconut Grove and Ludmilla have been metered at more than 110 decibels (louder than a pneumatic drill).

While the details of Air Vice Marshall Fisher's consultation with politicians, chamber of commerce representatives, the Noise Abatement Group, military personnel and three citizens remain “private and confidential”, the report did admit that “a number of those interviewed, particularly ANAG, questioned the justification of the foreign presence in Darwin”.

But this was not the aim of the consultation. The terms of the reference given by defence minister Robert Ray were: to investigate allegations that US pilots strayed from flight paths; to put procedures in place to ensure the problem doesn't occur again and to report to the minister.

The report stated that there was no evidence that US pilots have strayed from flight plans. While it states that the RAAF should develop a better public relations program it failed to addess the broad community opposition to the exercises, restricting itself to discussing technical matters such as flight arrangements.

With operation Pitch-Black starting on July 29, Darwin residents will again be de-facto participants in a department of defence acoustics laboratory.

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