Mr HATTON (1:20 PM) —Bankstown airport is in the electorate of Blaxland. In the last two weeks when the parliament was sitting I spoke five times on the issue of Bankstown airport and its future and on the proposals that have been put forward by a number of vested interest groups for moving country or regional services from Kingsford Smith to Bankstown airport. I want to take up one further aspect that has more recently been somewhat confirmed in relation to what the impact would be.

In the speeches I gave I indicated that I had particular concern for the 3,500 existing jobs in general aviation at Bankstown airport. The fact that most of these proposals would shift those out to Badgerys Creek creates the conditions in which they would only look at general aviation at Badgerys Creek, that Kingsford Smith would inexorably expand after the extra spaces were filled up, that instead of 35 to 38 per cent of the slots being available the maximum would be about 25 per cent because of air space management considerations. I also made the point that for all of those people currently using regional services in New South Wales and flying into Kingsford Smith, the airlines are under pressure from the operatives of Kingsford Smith airport and they are under pressure because they want to jack up the landing fees. So part of the impetus to try to get the regional airlines to agree to go to Bankstown is the existence and the threat of increased air landing fees.

I also indicated that it was my view that if it did come to pass that regional aircraft were moved to Bankstown, a direct outcome of that and the displacement of general aviation out to Badgerys Creek or elsewhere would be that the sustainability of a regional airport at Bankstown for regional services in New South Wales would not be there in the long term. The key reason for that is the requirement and demand of people using country services to access KSA and the movement that there already is to try to start a hubbing operation in Newcastle. All we need is one further operation for people to decide that they would hub in Newcastle and then west of the ranges and then fly small jets into Kingsford Smith to satisfy regional customers that Bankstown could be left with a great vacancy—a loss of 3,500 jobs in general aviation and a giant gaping hole because of the economic changes in regional operations as they are not going to stay with the aircraft that they have now.

There is one key point that I did not make and that I make today. This is a message to the Prime Minister because if he has not got this message yet he should get it now: if regional aircraft move to Bankstown airport, then the long-term operating plan is dead. It is not just precision radar management which is creating some problems with that. It is dead, and it is dead on the day it happens. The reason for that is the airspace management demands are entirely different with a general aviation airport at Bankstown and moving regional aircraft to Bankstown.

That would mean simply this: that the east-west runway use would be knocked out, Kingsford Smith would be back to two north-south runway operations, and the Bennelong funnel would be totally back into operation. The airspace management demands are such that that is an inexorable outcome of moving the regionals to Bankstown. That is underlined by the fact that Airservices Australia is moving towards trying to bring in precision radar management so that in all weathers craft would be able to come in. What they have proposed is that craft would fly at 3,000 feet and their approach should start at Hornsby. That would necessitate craft flying dirty at 30 per cent power into Kingsford Smith.

We would have two effects, because they want to push that very hard, with at least 25 per cent and up to 30 per cent more jets running into and out of Kingsford Smith: the Bennelong funnel back in operation and people in north Sydney—in Liberal electorates—suffering a noise impact far greater than they have had before. I have had experience in Bankstown of just what flying dirty means. That has not come from our general aviation airport; it has come from the change when the two runways came into operation. When that happened, Airservices Australia ran three lines up through Bankstown and Parramatta, they ran at 30 per cent power, and at north Parramatta and over Drummoyne they went to 100 per cent and blasted Sydney with noise. (Time expired)