That the Senate—

(a) notes:

(i) the reported decision of the Federal Government to keep Essendon Airport operational for another 47 years,

(ii) that the 1987 general aviation airport plan recommended 1 200 hectares as a safe size for an airport equivalent to Essendon Airport,

(iii) that Essendon Airport occupies approximately 305 hectares, almost 900 hectares short of the recommend-ed area for an airport of its size,

(iv) that Essendon Airport has the worst safety record of any mainland airport,

(v) that Essendon residents have threatened to mount a class action against the Government should another crash occur,

(vi) that the air ambulance and commercial flights based at Essendon Airport can be accommodated at Tullamarine Airport,

(vii) that training flights, making up approximately 70 per cent of air traffic at Essendon Airport, could be moved to Mangalore Airport and other regional airports, and

(viii) that Essendon Airport is worth in excess of $50 million but made only $160 000 profit in 1999; and

(b) calls on the Government to make Essendon Airport safe, either by closing it or resuming 900 hectares of land around it to satisfy good design requirements.