E&OE TRANSCRIPT
RADIO INTERVIEW
ABC SYDNEY
SATURDAY 10 AUGUST 2024
SUBJECT: Flightpaths, Aircraft noise, Richmond bridge, Cattle judging.
SIMON MARNIE, HOST :It's been a big week in the Macquarie electorate, with aircraft noise hearing the design for the New Richmond Bridge, which has split the community, and cattle judging on the way Susan Templeman is the Federal member for Macquarie and she's with us on the line, probably not doing the cattle judging this morning, we even saw on ABC TV News last night Susan, the airport nearly situation despite the news this week, still splitting the community.
SUSAN TEMPLEMAN, FEDERAL MEMBER FOR MACQUARIE: Oh absolutely Simon. There are genuine concerns about the impact that the flight paths are going to have. The noise that they will make is the biggest concern and that was demonstrated yesterday at the Senate hearing that was held in Penrith. You know, it's a Senate inquiry into broader aircraft noise issues, but it certainly gave the community I represent and many others through Western Sydney, an opportunity to air their concerns. And I've been advocating for protections for my community for nearly a decade on this, and I welcome any opportunity for our voices to be heard.
MARNIE: Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill was addressing the committee into aircraft noise yesterday. What was the substance of his presentation? How did it go?
TEMPLEMAN: So what we heard yesterday from all the people who took time to appear was the same feedback that's been received through the EIS submissions process. So that is real concerns about nighttime noise, daytime noise for from the Mayor like me across the Blue Mountains. We also heard from people from much closer to the airport where there the ground noise is more of an issue. There were people from St Clair, it was just noise would be that was the key theme and certainly concerns that it's not fairly shared between not just between Western Sydney paths but between the east and the West, and of course, one of the things that has happened recently is that there's been a variation of the night time flight paths released, and that certainly provides some improvement for the Blue Mountains because instead of crossing the Great Western Highway above Linden and Falconbridge overnight planes will head further west before they head north. Now, it's not every plane, and it's not every night. And so, you know, there are genuine concerns about how this is going to impact people when the airport gets running. And you know, I'm going to continue to advocate for my community.
MARNIE: We're with Susan Templeman Member for Macquarie. There were calls on ABC TV News last night from the people they spoke to for a curfew like the one in existence for Sydney Airport. How realistic are those aspirations?
TEMPLEMAN: Well, that's not something that the government or any of the designers of the flight paths have put forward. But nighttime protections are absolutely essential, and that's why the variation that was announced about a week ago certainly goes some way to providing additional protections. I spent the afternoon at the hearing yesterday and one of the things that I thought was a bit ironic is that the one of the senators on it, Bridget McKenzie, was actually a cabinet minister in the previous government when a lot of this work was being done by the previous government. And what it showed is that there really wasn't an understanding by those previous governments about what they were doing and what they were agreeing to. So, you know, there's an EIS process underway. We know there will be additional changes that are made. I'm not privy to what they'll be. We need to keep arguing so that we can absolutely maximise protections for people, particularly at night, given how important sleep is for all of us. So this hearing, as I say, was a really good opportunity for people to come together and have their voices heard.
MARNIE: One of the things we saw in the paper today with the residents of Luddenham is also the discrepancy between who gets noise protection and who doesn't. Surely that has to be uniform for anybody affected by the airport.
TEMPLEMAN: Yeah, last year about a year ago, it was, there was a proposal put out for insulation and the like. Now because it's not something that is really relevant to the community I represent. I haven't followed the progress. But there was an opportunity for people to give feedback and as I understand it, there'll be much more coming out about that. But you know, I agree with you if and with the residents, if there is a way to minimise the noise that they experience on the ground from hearing the thrusts of the engines and the like, then that would be a really important thing for them to be able to access.
MARNIE: The other big news, not just for your electorate, but for also for those who have followed this floodings in Sydney over the recent years, is that residents of Richmond have finally seen an artist impression of their new bridge. It's a big bridge?
TEMPLEMAN: Look, I've seen the artist impression too, and I can't vouch for how accurate it is, and it was certainly taken from a, you have to be a drone up in the sky to see it from that perspective. But the point is it is going to be a higher bridge. Ten metres higher is what the state government has revealed, and the reason it's higher is because it's actually designed to be much more resilient when floods happen. You know it has to be higher to achieve that ambition. And that includes the approaches to it being higher as well. So, for look for nearly 15 years, I have been banging on about the need for additional an additional crossing across the Hawkesbury River that has greater flood resilience. We missed an opportunity under the previous government in Windsor. So this is the chance to be thinking about how do we keep the traffic able to flow for much longer when there is high water in the river and the 10 metres would mean that all the floods we've had in the last four years that this bridge and the roads would have stayed open throughout all of those, and that is a massive economic benefit but also an emotional benefit for people who are across the river. So, it will be higher. I'm going to wait and see what's Transport for New South Wales describes it as and what the design is when the official information comes out, and I understand that will be in coming months.
MARNIE: And speaking of coming months, do we know when construction would start?
TEMPLEMAN: Not till, not till, I think some of it is due to start towards the end of next year. But there is already work being done on the roads that lead into it, like the Driftway, the work is going to start to happen. Anyone who knows this part of the world as you head towards the showground, the Driftway is a key part. So that that we're not creating further congestion points down the way. So that work is about to get underway. And yeah, there's still, but there's still a really big community consultation process ahead for people and, you know, people like me, I'm really keen to see it. This is $400 million of federal funding, but it's being planned and designed and executed by the state government. So you can imagine I'm very keen to see what it will look like exactly, what they're thinking is, when they get further down the design stage.
MARNIE: With a minute to go before the 8:00 news, and now we're talking after that. It's an indication of your electorate and for Sydneysiders a reminder that farming still happens on our doorstep. You're off to a cattle judging competition.
TEMPLEMAN: Well, I'm actually sitting at the Hawkesbury Showground, and I can see kids getting ready for the Greater Western Sydney Cattle Competition that's on. Each school has been allocated Murray Grace steer. They then become responsible for that animal and for the appropriate feeding and care of it. And today is one of the points where they'll be judging, looking at the progress that they've made. It's a terrific programme and it exactly as you say, designed to really connect people with agriculture.
MARNIE: Well, it's a tough competition. I look forward to hearing the results and Susan Templeman, thanks for joining us on the weekend show.
TEMPLEMAN: Thank you.
