The Moorabbin Airport Residents' Association was formed 14 years ago to
address the concerns of the City of Kingston
residents affected by Moorabbin
Airport. Our
President since its inception, Tom Uren, (Kingston Citizen of the Year 2005)
attends meetings of the Moorabbin Airport Corporation Consultative Committee to
present those views and concerns.
Tom will be standing down as President at the end of the year and we
need a committed member of the Community to take his place. Without people willing to take over these
roles, the Association may be forced to go into abeyance.
Some of the concerns are:
SAFETY - Since
inception MARA has aired its deep concern to the Moorabbin Airport Corporation,
(MAC), regarding the Airport location in a densely built-up suburban
area. There have been a number of 'near miss' incidents and the latest
aircraft crash in August, 2008, (after mid-air contact with another aircraft), narrowly
missed a Primary School and fell onto a home garage in the middle of suburban
Cheltenham. Had the second plane also crashed, the outcome would have
been horrendous.
In August, 2010, a plane crashed into a Mordialloc backyard. Police said the
four-seater Cessna clipped the roof of a house and then crashed into another
house at 240 Lower Dandenong Rd.
It caused extensive damage and brought down powerlines before coming
to a stop in the backyard. Police said it was lucky no one was home at the
time. The plane ran out of fuel before crash landing, according to a
Metropolitan Fire Brigade spokesman. Moorabbin airport is located behind the
house.
Mara has lobbied the Federal Govt. on safety issues for
years.
NOISE
POLLUTION -
For many years the level of discomfort due to the detrimental effect
of incessant noise has negatively impacted on
residents. Their
enjoyment of life, both inside and outside their homes, has diminished
due to
the ever-busier nature of circuit flight training, helicopter
movements
and commercial flights. Despite appeals to all levels of
Government, MARA has had little impact on achieving any improvements.
FORMER
UNCONTROLLED AND UNREGULATED LAND DEVELOPMENT – MAC is
not subject to ANY Local or State Laws and
Regulations. . THEY WERE THEIR OWN PLANNING AUTHORITY.
The current Minister for Transport has finally made them seek planning
permission from the Federal Govt. who will (we assume) make sure they adhere to
Local and State Planning Regulations. What has happened over the term of their
lease is that huge areas of Airport land have been developed as
factories, warehousing, office space and shopping centres. (DFO is on
Airport land.) This uncontrolled building has made the airport less safe
because there is little land for emergency landings. This is a legacy the residents
must endure, whatever happens now in the future.
The latest encroachment of green area to be resumed by MAC is the
Moorabbin Golf Course, situated along the eastern and southern perimeters
of Airport land (very close to the runways). No one knows what MAC is
planning for this area.
The Golf Course was developed 40 years
ago on Commonwealth Aircraft land by the local council as an area of recreation
for the residents. When the land was leased to MAC by the Commonwealth,
no provision to retain the Golf Course was made. A "Save the Golf Course" group has been unsuccessful in
appealing to the Commonwealth Government to overturn this. Similar
representations to Goodman Holdings - which MAC is a part of - to retain the
Golf Course, as a gesture of appreciation for the profits they have made from
their land development projects, have also been unsuccessful.
JET
SERVICES have been a
possibility at the Airport for several years. Paul Stoddard proposed to
start his own Jet airline; fortunately the plan did not eventuate. The
use of the Airport for 60 and 100-seater jets would make a bad situation worse
for residents.
A report of a Task Force on the future of Circuit Flying at Moorabbin
(again at the Federal Minister’s behest) which was chaired by MAC and attended
by Moorabbin Airport stakeholders (including our MARA President and the Dingley
Village Community Association as representing residents and the community) has
been compiled and presented to the Minister.
We urge people to get involved.
Doing nothing and complaining about the situation regarding Safety and
Noise is not defensible or reasonable.