2019-04-18 Ordinary Meeting Agenda

ORDINARY MEETING AGENDA                                                                    18 APRIL 2019


Is it possible to have an enforceable curfew that limits the hours of operation?
Yes, but only via a legislative approach that introduces a mandatory curfew that is legally
enforceable. This process is also managed by Airservices Australia.
There are four airports in Australia that have such a mandatory curfew on jet aircraft operations,
namely Gold Coast airport, Sydney airport, Melbourne Essendon airport and Adelaide airport. All of
these are primarily located in residential areas.
Airport curfews are enshrined via specific regulations or legislation for each of the four airports. This
legislation is managed and enforced by Airservices Australia. The current curfew arrangements for
these four airports are generally along the following lines:
      A general restriction on commercial jet flights between 11pm and 6am;
      Exemptions for emergent circumstances;
      Some exemptions for freight or non-commercial jet flights during those times (often on a quota
       system); and
      Fines and / or prosecutions can apply for breach of the curfew.

5.     Discussion
It is important for our Council to support our residents who may be affected by the proposed changes
to flight paths proposed by Airservices Australia. As noted in this report, there are only some areas
of our Shire that are affected by noise from aircraft using these flight paths at a level of 60 dBA or
greater. It is likely that such noise would be more apparent to residents at night due to lower ambient
noise levels.
One of the most effective actions that Council can take at this stage is to seek a stronger level of
protection for night operations than currently applies through the “Fly Neighbourly” approach and the
statement of intent for hours of operation in the EIS. While both of these current approaches are
commendable, they are not enforceable without the legislative backing of a curfew imposed by
Airservices Australia. This formal curfew approach is already taken at four other airports in
residential type areas (Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne Essendon and Adelaide).
As such, Council should make a submission to Airservices Australia seeking a formal limitation on
the hours of operation at night time similar to that which applies in the four other airports identified
above. This will provide long term protection for residential amenity.

Previous Council Consideration
Nil.

Finance
Nil.

Risks & Opportunities
There is an opportunity for Council to support our residents by raising concerns with Airservices
Australia in relation to noise issues that may arise from the proposed flight paths. While it is likely
that there will be some flights that take place over our Shire, we can provide a submission to
Airservices Australia that seeks to ameliorate the impact on Noosa residents.
It is highly unlikely that that Airservices Australia will shift the proposed flight paths in any significant
way for operational and safety reasons. Even if that was to occur, there is a risk that a shift in the
proposed flight paths will affect other residents in another part of the Shire.




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