Third runway above the law

Third runway above the law

SYDNEY — "On July 29, the federal government moved quietly, one might say stealthily, to exempt the Federal Airports Corporation from all NSW state environmental and planning laws", says NSW Democrat MP Richard Jones. "This is the second time the federal government has done this lately, the first being for ANSTO (the body that controls the Lucas Heights nuclear facility)."

"This extraordinary move has been taken to thwart any possibility of a legal challenge by the people of Sydney to the dredging of Botany Bay." The third runway will cause damage in Botany Bay, particularly to fisheries, and the noise impact of overflying impact will be devastating for tens of thousands of Sydneysiders.

The NSW Fisheries Department has expressed concern over the impact of the runway on one of the Sydney region's most important fish-breeding areas. Three local councils — Botany, Marrickville and Rockdale — have been trying to force the federal government to undertake a new environmental impact study under NSW law.

From GLW issue 66