Airport Night Curfew

In February, I attended a forum at the Legislative Assembly to gauge community views of the airport's draft master plan. As Mayor of Queanbeyan I had been concerned about this issue this view for a long time.The Airport's proposal include development of Canberra Airport as a 24/7 freight hub, which would dramatically increase the frequency of flights, especially between late night and dawn.

There was overwhelming support at the forum for a night curfew banning flights between 11pm and 6am.

I have always supported the push for a night time curfew. Flights on a 24/7 basis will have an enormous impact on Molonglo and other ACTQueanbeyan residents. It would have a devastating effect on sleeping patterns and the quality of life of those living in the area.

Most people will tolerate an aircraft flying over the top of their place in the middle of the day but in the middle of the night, say at 2:00am or 3:00am , that same aircraft would increase the perceived noise factor by possibly four or five times.

I will continue to support a night curfew on the airport. After all, if it's good enough for Sydney to have a night-flight curfew, it should be good enough for Canberra .