Moorabbin Airport compelled to do more on noise, safety

The Minister of Transport has given the nod to the new master plan for Melbourne's Moorabbin Airport - but only with a lot of riders about community consultation and action re noise and safety.

There are also some strictures applied to non-aeronautical development that will severely inhibit the ability of the owners to build revenue streams.

And it looks likely that helicopter operations will be shifted away from Moorabbin.

The Minister has demanded that airport management "take immediate steps to improve the way it engages nearby communities and responds to their concerns about safety and noise".

But it is also instructed just how it go about that, by establishing "a new Planning Coordination Forum which brings together representatives from neighbouring councils and the Victorian Government to make sure its future developments are more consistent with local planning and take into account the capacity of the surrounding road infrastructure".

But wait, there's more...

"... the Airport will work with my Department, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, Airservices, local instructors and the community to assess whether modifications to the existing training circuits would further reduce noise and improve safety over residential areas. I expect this work to take no longer than twelve months to complete."

And be assured that community interaction measures already in place will remain, with the Moorabbin Airport Aviation Consultative Committee and 'Fly Friendly' arrangements to stay. That includes a curfew on circuit training, which means last light on the weekends.

So what does the airport have permission to do?

Well it can "Build additional aviation infrastructure such as hangars, maintenance facilities and parking bays..." and it can "Upgrade the runways, taxiways and terminal aprons".

The bit about restrictions on non-aeronautical development says that "the Airport has agreed not to allow the construction of non-aeronautical facilities such as large retail outlets on its land until they have undertaken at least 60 days of extensive public consultations and received approval from the Federal Transport Minister".

Who'd want to pay millions to buy a long-lease on a suburban airport which was subject to these limitations? No wonder at least one of the GAAP airports owners wants out.

Despite all that, Moorabbin's GM, Phil McConnell has managed to put a positive spin on things, emphasising the certainty that approval of the Plan delivers.

"We are committed to the long term development pf Moorabbin Airport as a vibrant aviation centre, and the Minister's approval of our 20 year Master Plan shows that the federal government shares this aim," he said. 

"Approval of Moorabbin Airport's Master Plan which included our proposed developments and growth forecasts, gives certainty for our customers and users of the airport."

McConnell told us that he sees a particular need to engage with the State Government now - and that perhaps part of the answer to community concerns is circuit training at a satellite airport.

He rightly pointed out that preparation of a master plan is an arduous undertaking for a smaller airport, involving much the same cost and effort as for a major metropolitan airport.