Mr McCLELLAND(5.10 p.m.) —I rise to support the amendments to the Airports Bill. I wish to express some concerns my electorate has about the environmental issues surrounding Kingsford-Smith airport. That airport is operating in a very inconvenient, to say the least, mode for residents of my electorate. On 20 March this year the govern ment opened the east-west runway without obtaining an environmental impact statement. This has caused great suffering to residents in my area and has had an effect on schools, hospitals and buildings generally.

The government made a promise prior to the federal election to undertake the same noise amelioration program for areas under the east-west runway as is being undertaken at the moment for areas under the north-south flight path. Regrettably, while that program will shortly commence in a very limited area, funding in this year's budget for noise amelioration work under the east-west flight path has actually been reduced. The question that immediately arises is how adequate that noise amelioration program will be when, in effect, one area is being deprived of funds to supplement another area. It is causing very real and genuine distress. I am constantly receiving phone calls and complaints from school principals and the like.

I appreciate that the issue of aircraft noise is an intense political one. I fear that, in relation to the environmental issue, the east-west runway is being used for statistics when during quieter periods of the day planes could take off over water. By way of example, last Saturday and Sunday I had the displeasure of painting the outside of my home. They were still days but even so during the middle of the day numerous planes flew over my area. I believe there is no reason the east-west runway had to be used during that period.

It is significant that in August 1994 a plane crashed into Botany Bay shortly after leaving the southern end of the north-south runway. On my reckoning, if that plane had taken off on the east-west runway it would have landed in about Brighton, which is a heavily populated area. In 1990, a plane took off from the east-west runway and swung around in an endeavour to get back on the tarmac, but unfortunately it did not make it and crashed on the north-south runway killing all eight people on board.

The statistics show that the great majority of air accidents occur within eight kilometres of an airport and primarily during take-off. The issue of planes taking off is of great significance. If an accident occurred it would be not only a matter of human tragedy but also a matter which I surmise would bring down the government. I ask the government to sincerely look at its policy on Sydney's Kingsford-Smith airport. Clearly, this policy of planes using the east-west runway for the sake of proving statistics and saying that it is being utilised is a recipe for disaster. It does not need to occur. Those planes could be taking off over water.