We’ll disrupt airport if needed: noise protesters fire first shot

Protesters will rally outside Brisbane Airport Corporation’s headquarters next week and say the airport itself could be targeted in future if noise issues are not tackled.

Several hundred protesters will rally outside Brisbane Airport Corporation’s headquarters, as residents fed up with aircraft noise fire the first shot in what they say will be a long campaign.

And if meaningful changes to flight paths don’t happen they have warned the airport itself could be targeted down the track.

In February, 1999 there was a massive rally down Oxford St, Bulimba, when about 4000 people turned out to express their anger at plans for the second runway, opened with fanfare in July last year.

Former federal shadow transport minister, Cheryl Kernot, at the February 1999 rally protesting the approval of Brisbane's airport master plan.

Organisers have this time distributed more than 10,000 flyers for the June 2 rally and expect 100 to 200 people to attend.

They will attempt to hand personalised noise complaints to BAC staff and demand a meeting with BAC chief executive Gert-Jan de Graaff.

“This is the first in what could be a series of actions. This is going to build and build,’’ one of the rally organisers, Max Chandler-Mather, said.

“This issue is not going to go away and it (public action) will probably get more disruptive if BAC does not listen.’’

Mr Chandler-Mather is the Greens candidate for the federal seat of Griffith, one of the seats hardest hit by noise from the new airport flight paths.

However he said most of the organisers and volunteers for the June 2 rally were not Greens members or supports.

“I’d say most of them have never voted for the Greens in their life and they are from all over, particularly Hawthorne, Bulimba, Balmoral and a few from New Farm and Hamilton,’’ he said.

“The amazing thing is the support has been organic. People have put up their hands to volunteer and we have people printing off pdfs of the flyers in their apartments.

“About 40 people have put their hand up to help, including distributing flyers.’’

BAC said it was already liaising with residents to address noise levels.

“BAC has been working with members of the community to identify opportunities to improve the noise outcome for them and we will continue to do so,’’ spokeswoman Rachel Crowley said.

“We strongly encourage the BFPCA (Brisbane Flight Path Community Alliance, the main community noise lobby group) to work with us and Airservices Australia through the Post Implementation Review, which ASA will run from July this year.

BAC chief executive Gert-Jan de Graaff on the finished second runway. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/The Australian

“BAC also has an obligation to the broader community to provide the aviation capacity that people need and want.

“With one in 70 Queensland jobs enabled by Brisbane Airport, our city and our state rely on the airport’s 24-hour status and the vital connections to the regions, the country and globally.

“While we recognise and respect the public’s right to protest and will ensure that right is accommodated at BAC HQ, we expect protesters to also respect the rights of our own staff, airport workers, local businesses and other members of the community to go about their business without being impeded, no matter where they are on the airport site.”

The outcome in both Griffith and the seat of Brisbane, held by the LNP’s Trevor Evans, could be decided on the aircraft noise issue.

Griffith is held by Labor’s Terri Butler but would fall to the Greens with a 3.5 per cent swing.

That would be ironic considering former Griffith MP and ex-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd built his political career on opposition to the second runway.

Either Labor or the Greens could potentially take Brisbane, which recorded a 1.1 per cent swing against the LNP at the previous election.

The rally organisers are demanding a curfew, a cap on flight movements and a new flight path operational model and environmental impact statement.

They are also calling for reform of Airservices Australia (ASA), the national industry regulator, to make it consider the environment and human impacts of airport developments.

Residents opposing expansion at airports on the Sunshine Coast, Cairns and interstate are also working towards forming a national organisation to fight for regulatory change within ASA.

A Bill to reform ASA, originally moved in 2018, is still sitting in federal Parliament.