Following months of community protest about airplane noise, the Greens are prepared to present a new bill in federal parliament to impose a flight curfew and hourly flight limitations on Brisbane Airport.
The Brisbane Airport Curfew and Demand Management Act, which specifies a proposed curfew that forbids non-emergency flights from operating to or from Brisbane Airport between 10 pm and 6 am, is set to be introduced by Greens leader Adam Bandt on Monday.
The proposed bill would also impose a 45-flight-per-hour cap on the airport.
Following the introduction of Brisbane’s second parallel runway, residents of inner-city Brisbane neighborhoods spent months campaigning and protesting about excessive airplane noise pollution over their houses.
In July 2020, the airport inaugurated its new parallel runway, along with a host of new flight routes that people have said do not match the expectations set in consultation with the community prior to the runway’s approval.
In recent weeks, Airservices Australia and Brisbane Airport have publicly stated their intention to explore a variety of options for sending more aircraft across Moreton Bay rather than through the city.
But, according to Bandt, more has to be done, including a curfew and a long-term operating plan to deflect more flights over Moreton Bay and manage noise pollution.
“These are incredibly reasonable and moderate measures that airports around the world have already adopted, including at Sydney Airport,” Bandt said.
“The question Labor and the Liberals must answer is: if it’s good enough for Sydney Airport, why is it not good enough for Brisbane?”
The Greens’ candidate for Griffith, Max Chandler-Mather, said he had met with some of the most affected Brisbane locals and believes the curfew and long-term operational plan are necessary.
“Everyone should have the right to a good night’s sleep, and that’s impossible when flights are screeching over your house at 3 am,” he said.
It also comes after Brisbane Airport CEO Gert-Jan de Graaff told 4BC radio that placing a flight curfew on the airport would be the “worst thing that could happen” to the airport, as it would be unlikely to help with flight noise issues.
Despite some support in the community for the establishment of flying curfews at Brisbane Airport, de Graaff does not believe it is a practical answer.
“[A curfew would be] the worse thing that could happen to our airport,” he said.
“And it’s not going to help too much, because, during the night, there are not that many flights.
“So, I think there are other and better opportunities for us to explore, together with air traffic control, to make the situation better in the best interest of all people living in Brisbane.”
Any restrictions on the number of flights that can enter Brisbane, according to de Graaff, would “not be beneficial to Brisbane, the airport, or the traveling public.”
“But what we want as Brisbane Airport Corporation together with Air Services, is to identify and explore all opportunities that exist to make the noise impact on the neighborhood, the community as little as possible.”
