Mr Danby asked the Minister representing the Minister for Defence, upon notice, on 11 February 2004:

(1) Over which suburbs will the Grand Prix FA-18 flyover take place.

(2) Will the Minister explain what the Australian Noise Exposure Forecast (ANEF) is.

(3) Will the Minister explain how the ANEF is measured.

(4) What is the ANEF's noise level for the FA-18s.

(5) What is the expected FA-18 flyover ANEF for the Grand Prix and is it within usual noise guidelines.

(6) Is the Minister aware that the National Acoustic Laboratories (NAL) confirmed that `equal energy' indices such as ANEF were more highly correlated to community reaction than any other indices.

(7) Is the Minister aware that this form of measurement was endorsed by the Government as the technique to be used for the determination and evaluation of the impact of aircraft noise on communities in the vicinity of Australian airports.

(8) Is the Minister aware that the acceptable ANEF level for flyovers in school and hospital zones is 25 ANEF according to the investigation undertaken by the NAL in 1980.

(9) Is the Minister aware that at 25 ANEF, 18% of people will be seriously affected and 57% of people will be moderately affected and at 40 ANEF 55% of people will be seriously affected and 85% of people will be moderately affected.

Mr Brough (Minister for Employment Services and Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence) —The Minister for Defence has provided the following answer to the honourable member's question:

(1) The plan is for the F/A-18 Hornet aircraft to hold to the South and West of the Cerberus reporting point (Cerberus Wreck), over water and above 2000 feet altitude. The aircraft is planned to transit from Cerberus to the Albert Park Grand Prix track over the suburbs of Sandringham, Hampton, Brighton, Brighton East, Elwood, Balaclava and St Kilda. The aircraft will follow a direct track from the holding area that effectively follows the Port Phillip Bay coastline. The aircraft is planned to remain within one nautical mile of the waterfront during this transit.

The aircraft is planned to descend from 2000 feet at medium power to not below 1000 feet over the suburbs and to be 500 feet overhead the Grand Prix track. The aircraft will then operate in the display profile overhead the track at heights from 500 feet to 750 feet Above Ground Level, with repositioning turns over water towards Williamstown at 1500 feet. During the display the aircraft may overfly South Melbourne and Port Melbourne.

(2) Australian Noise Exposure Forecast (ANEF) is a single number index for predicting the cumulative exposure to aircraft noise in communities near aerodromes during a specified time period.

(3) The ANEF index is not measured—it is computed. The computation of this index includes:

(a) data representative of the noise generated by aircraft types which take account of the spectral, temporal and spatial aspects of the noise;

(b) estimates and generalisations of aircraft type groups and mix, number of operations, runway utilisation, flight paths and operational procedures; and

(c) time of day, for example, whether daytime (0700 hours to 1900 hours) or evening/night-time (1900 hours to 0700 hours).

(4) There is no single “ANEF noise level” for any particular aircraft.

(5) The ANEF contours describe the cumulative impact of aircraft noise on people. The impact of a short duration event, such as that to be conducted at the Grand Prix, can not be adequately described using the ANEF technique.

(6) Yes.

(7) In September 1985, on the evidence presented to the House of Representatives Select Committee on Aircraft Noise (HORSCAN), the Committee on balance accepted that with all its limitations the Australian Noise Exposure Forecast system is the most appropriate system for use in Australia. In September 1990, in its response to the HORSCAN recommendations the Federal Government stated that “The Government will adopt the land use compatibility advice of the Civil Aviation Authority, the Federal Airports Corporation and the Department of Defence.” The Standards Association of Australia incorporated the land use compatibility advice in its standard AS2021 in 1985.

(8) No. There is no “ANEF noise level”. The NAL study was not dealing with these details.

(9) Yes.