Blue Mountains Mayor: “Our community’s concern about aircraft noise has relegated us to second-class…

Mayor Mark Greenhill has slammed the Federal Government’s apparent attempt to say it has held a community consultation event on the Western Sydney Airport in the Blue Mountains, without advertising it to the Blue Mountains community.

The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development emailed a Forum on Western Sydney Airport (FOWSA) member update to its database two days ago, listing an “upcoming pop-up event” at Springwood to be held tomorrow (Friday, 2 August).

“FOWSA’s Springwood event was news at the time, even to Council’s representative on FOWSA,” Cr Greenhill said. 

“If this event comes as a surprise to a member of FOWSA, then it should certainly come as a surprise to the community. As Mayor of the City of the Blue Mountains, I thought I might also have been advised, but that has not occurred.

“The documentation I have seen today has a date listed for the event, but not a time. It also occurs on a weekday when a large proportion of our adult population is not in the Blue Mountains, but at work. This is breathtaking arrogance. 

“If FOWSA was serious about consulting with our community, they would have promoted this event more fully. I’m appalled it’s not even advertised on their website.

“It seems to me that FOWSA is avoiding the Blue Mountains, but wants to be able to say that it has consulted our community.

“Perhaps what FOWSA could do, is release their flight paths now so the people of the Blue Mountains can actually see the damage they are going to do to our collective quality of life.

“I would prefer it if FOWSA facilitated the release of the flight paths and spend their time doing this, rather than meaningless pop-up events that no-one knows anything about.

“It makes me feel that our community’s concern about aircraft noise has relegated us to second-class citizen status.”