Mr McCLELLAND —The federal government's handling of the Holsworthy airport issue has been deceitful and disgraceful. On 21 May 1996 the government announced a new EIS process for Sydney's second international airport which included Holsworthy as a possible site in addition to the long identified Badgerys Creek option. On that day, the Minister for Transport and Regional Development (Mr Sharp) said that, despite Holsworthy being included, the government's first priority was Badgerys Creek.

Yesterday, the Minister for Science and Technology (Mr McGauran) advised this House that a leaked memorandum proposing a swap of the Lucas Heights nuclear reactor for an airport at Holsworthy was written in June 1996. The memorandum, which was a written to the minister just a few weeks after Mr Sharp's statement that Badgerys Creek was the government's first option, discloses that one of Minister Sharp's senior advisers was telling other government staffers that Badgerys Creek was `dead as a viable option for the airport'.

The leaked memorandum discloses that the government's EIS is a farce because it indicates that the government effectively has a predetermined view against Badgerys Creek and in favour of Holsworthy. Not only were the residents of St George and Sutherland districts misled by the government failing to disclose the Holsworthy proposal prior to the last election but they are now being further deceived by a fundamentally flawed EIS process.