60 Reasons to Protest: Reason #2 – Double Standards: Albo ’96 vs King ’23
Anthony Albanese entered parliament in 1996. In his maiden speech, this is what he had to say about Sydney Airport’s enormous noise pollution issue affecting people in his seat of Grayndler:
“The third runway cost $243 million to build. As the enormity of the noise problem emerged, noise amelioration measures became necessary. Their cost will far exceed the $270 million already allocated. The Keating government moved to minimise the impact of the noise. It launched a project to acquire 151 of the worst affected homes and insulate 20 schools, 21 preschools and child-care centres, 24 places of worship, eight nursing homes and 4,380 homes. In the longer term, however, the solution must be to lower the number of aircraft movements over the inner west. It must not be forgotten that this area is the most densely populated in Australia.“
Anthony Albanese MP, Member for Grayndler, maiden speech, 6 May 1996: video | speech
Albo then introduced a private member’s bill, the Sydney Airport (Regulation of Movements) Bill 1996 that sought to legislate:
“Not more than 80 aircraft movements per hour shall be permitted at Sydney (Kingsford-Smith) Airport.”
Sydney Airport (Regulation of Movements) Bill 1996
In his Second Reading speech on 18 Nov 1996, Albo said:
“Despite policies of sharing the noise, there is no doubt that thousands of residents in my electorate are still subjected to excessive aircraft noise. In fact, many hundreds of people in my electorate who sold their homes under the old flight path, at a massive loss, and moved to unaffected neighbouring areas are now being plagued with the noise that they paid dearly to escape. […] A vote for this bill is a vote for a limit to noise at KSA [Kingsford Smith Airport]”
Anthony Albanese MP, Sydney Airport (Regulation of Movements) Bill 1996 (Second Reading), 18 Nov 1996: video | speech
While Mr Albanese’s Bill did not proceed, John Howard’s government did pass the Sydney Airport Demand Management Act 1997, which limits flight movements in Sydney to 80 per hour to this day. Note that John Howard’s seat of Bennelong was also in the firing line of Sydney Airport, and right next to Albo’s seat of Grayndler.
The double standards between Albo ’96 vs King ’23 could not be any starker:
“They’ve basically said if I don’t do a curfew, they’re going to protest and, unfortunately, then they’re going to have to protest because I can’t do what they’re asking me to do.”
Catherine King MP, Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, National Press Club address, 1 March 2023: video | speech
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