Friday 9/8/24 a public hearing was held in Penrith for the Senate inquiry into the Impact and Mitigation of Aircraft Noise.

Several community groups gave witness to the inquiry including Wilderness Australia, Blue Mountains Conservation Society, RAWSA, Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC), Sydney Airport Community Forum (SACF), as well as 18 individual addressees. All spoke with one voice - Western Sydney deserves the same legislative protections as those residents living near Kingsford Smith airport. There was also considerable support from the Sydney Airport Corporation. It was well attended by a large audience throughout the entire day.

The Western Sydney Airport Corporation had nothing useful to add to the inquiry and were only present as a PR exercise. They were lashed by the senators' questions and unable to answer any of them. Their only response they had to questions on noise mitigation was that the airport had already created a lot of jobs, a myth that was earlier debunked by WSROC.

A notable absentee was Penrith City Council who appear to have no interest in the concerns of their community.

The message was clear. Aircraft Noise is a serious issue and we need to keep fighting for better regulation. We need an approach that puts the health and well-being of residents before aviation industry profits.

A link to the transcript will be posted when it becomes available.