Melbourne Airport: Brimbank Council ignores residents plea for public meeting over airport extension

Keilor residents against a third runway being built at Melbourne Airport are furious they are not getting support from their council.

Many residents of Keilor in Melbourne’s north are opposed to Melbourne Airport’s proposed third runway.Supplied

It’s one of the biggest issues facing Keilor residents in generations, but concerned locals say they can’t get their council onside.

“It’s very David and Goliath,” Keilor local Hannah Robertson, who is leading the opposition to Melbourne Airport’s planned third runway, said.

“The trouble is there are multiple Goliaths,” Ms Robertson said.

Almost 1000 people are now members of the Melbourne Airport Community Action Group — a collective of residents in Melbourne’s north west opposed to new runway on the grounds of noise, pollution and quality of life impact.

The group on Tuesday last week invited the Brimbank City Council to join them in a community information session, but no reply was received.

Ms Robertson said the group “didn’t have” the financial and marketing clout of Melbourne Airport, and that therefore the “the support of the council would have been very valuable”.

She said that a number of independent speakers were lined up and ready to talk at the meeting.

“More members of the community need to be drawn into this and given adequate information at this early stage,” Ms Robertson said.

One group prepared to speak at the meeting was the Brisbane Flight Path Community Alliance, which has sternly opposed the impact of Brisbane Airport’s new flight routes, which have been operational since 2020.

“There’s no substitute to hearing from people who have really experienced this issue first hand,” Ms Robertson said.

“Communities have to be given independent information,” she said.

Earlier this month, Melbourne Airport announced a 20-year master plan, the centrepiece of which was a third north-south runway that will allow for an extra 135,000 flights a year.

But the $1.9 billion project immediately ran into opposition.

Opponents said that the new runway would increase aeroplane noise from 70 to 90 decibels at their home, while aeroplanes would soar directly over a popular shopping village on the Calder Freeway.

Last week, none of the tenants spoken to had been consulted over Melbourne Airport’s masterplan.

Ms Robertson said that the new airport would reduce the total distance between the tarmac and the community from 250m to 90m

Brimbank council did not respond to questions from Leader.