The Tuggeranong Community Council has taken its fight against plans for a residential development at Tralee all the way to Federal Parliament. The TCC Vice President, Col Petrie and I, had a very successful meeting recently with senior staff of the office of the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure, Regional Development and Local Government, Hon Anthony Albanese MP. The meeting was arranged at the TCC’s request by the Federal Member for Canberra, Annette Ellis MP who also participated in the discussions. We were very pleased with the hearing that we were given and encouraged by the support from our local member and the Minister’s office.
During the discussions I outlined that the TCC was opposed to the construction of homes at Tralee and under the flight-path of Canberra Airport. The TCC’s position was reaffirmed in a survey of Tuggeranong residents it had conducted in late 2009. The message from the survey was loud and clear, Tuggeranong residents are concerned that if homes are built a Tralee that it will eventually lead to the relocation of aircraft flight paths over Tuggeranong.
TCC Vice President, Col Petrie, spoke of his many years experience as a building inspector and the impact of aircraft noise in Sydney that led to an expensive sound-proofing program of homes. We suggested a way to break the impasse was to allow the land at Tralee to be developed as an extension to the Hume Industrial Estate.
Ms Ellis and the Minister’s staff supported our concerns and reaffirmed the Minister’s view, as stated in the Aviation White Paper, that housing is considered an inappropriate development near airports and especially under airport flight paths. We left the meeting encouraged by the support that Tuggeranong residents had been given by Ms Ellis and the Minister’s Office. Meanwhile the TCC will keep a watching brief on Tralee, its possible impact on Canberra Airport and Tuggeranong residents.