Mr MURPHY (3:25 PM) —I commend the member for Sydney, Tanya Plibersek, for her excellent motion, which relates to air traffic controllers. As you know, Mr Speaker, I have spoken many times in this House about the government's agenda to ensure the new owners of Sydney airport are able to maximise their profits, even if this will ultimately jeopardise the safety of Sydney's airspace and Sydney airport's security. The member for Sydney's motion follows a presentation given by Airservices Australia of the terminal control unit consolidation program issued on 20 September 2002 and tabled at the Sydney Airport Community Forum meeting on 29 November 2002. In making a decision to consolidate air traffic control into one megacentre, the utilitarian profit-based agenda of the government means that the fundamental statutory charter of Airservices Australia with respect to air safety will be even more fundamentally compromised. By this, it is well understood within the air traffic control and aviation industry that local knowledge associated with air traffic movements is a critical factor in maintaining the highest standards of safety.

It is obvious that the Bankstown Airport is being geared for full commercial utility. That airport has already been designated by the government as an overflow airport for Sydney airport. Its runway has already been extended and hardened. All Sydney airports are now privatised. Their new airport lessee companies are seeking ways to extract every ounce of blood from their investment dollar. They, like the government, who recklessly breached its 1996 aviation policy to not sell Sydney airport until its aircraft noise problems had been solved, sold all Sydney basin airports before their time, now with cataclysmic results. Section 9 of the Air Services Act reads:

At the present time, the Minister for Transport and Regional Services will be aware that pre-community consultation is taking place with respect to Sydney Airport Corporation Ltd's statutory obligations under division 3 of the Airports Act 1996 for the drafting and making of a master plan for each designated airport.

I referred earlier to the tabling of Airservices Australia's terminal consolidation program report. At that same meeting of the SACF, SACL made a presentation on the foreshadowed community consultation process towards the draft master plan for Sydney airport. The presentation by SACL has been, quite frankly, disappointing for what can only be described as a misleading presentation of SACL's statutory obligations with respect to the prescribed content of the master plan for Sydney airport and other designated airports. In particular, I refer to section 71 of the Airports Act and note those explicit environmental and other provisions contained in subsection 71(2). I draw the House's attention to the provisions of subsection 71(2), which state:

The provisions also state that a draft or final master plan must specify forecasts relating to noise exposure levels; the airport lessee company's plans; assessment of environmental issues relating to their consultation with government bodies, such as Airservices Australia; and Sydney basin airports' draft environmental strategies.

The SPEAKER —Order! This is private members business. It is not controversial but there is still the obligation on the member for Lowe to link his remarks to the air traffic controllers. I have been listening closely to him. I went through each of those sections waiting for the link to the air traffic controllers and the motion moved by the member for Sydney. I would appreciate the link.

Mr MURPHY —Mr Speaker, it is fairly relevant because the Airservices Australia terminal control unit consolidation program is directly relevant to the master plan, for a number of statutory reasons. That takes in the long-term operating plan for Sydney airport, which you know all about because over the last four years I have spoken ad nauseam about it and the failure of the government to honour its promises.

Therefore, it is imperative that SACL, the Minister for Transport and Regional Services and Airservices Australia ensure that the draft master plan and final master plan for Sydney, Bankstown, Hoxton Park and Camden airports comprehensively address the implications of the terminal control unit consolidation program. They should do that, essentially, by denouncing and prohibiting the enactment of that program within the provisions of the master plan itself. Only this way can the residents of Sydney be afforded any statutory protection against this waylaid terminal control unit consolidation program that will only pander to the profiteering corporate masters of the Sydney basin airports at the expense of the most fundamental of air navigation policies—that is, aircraft navigation safety. Once again, I commend the excellent motion moved by the member for Sydney.