The federal transport minister Catherine King is currently assessing Melbourne Airport’s Major Development Plan (MDP) for its proposed Third Runway (M3R).
Let her office know you are concerned about the serious negative health and climate impacts of the proposed Third Runway at Melbourne Airport. And that grounds for denial of its approval include:
- Inadequate public consultation
- Lack of a health impact study
- Under-reported warming emissions
- Non-compliance with the Climate Change 2022 Act
- Runway operation at major risk from increased emissions
- Absence of any designated offsets.
What could I say?
You don’t have to know everything about the Third Runway to write to Minister King. If you are concerned about the runway’s likely serious negative health and climate impacts, you can consider mentioning any or all of the following six grounds on which she could deny approval of the Third Runway.
1. Inadequate public consultation.
> Conventionally and historically an MDP is based on an approved Master Plan. But in an unprecedented process, the public in Melbourne was given just 70 working days to provide feedback on both an MP and an MDP that was not based on an approved MP!
2. Lack of an health impact study.
> The affected public is entitled to an independent study of M3Rs projected health impacts that includes a record of the noise impacts experienced. See • http://www.no3rdtullarunway.net.au/portfolios/too-much-noise/ • http://www.no3rdtullarunway.net.au/portfolios/lack-of-transparency/
3. Under reported aviation emissions.
> In the climate emergency APAM under reports third runway enabled emissions as one fiftieth of their actual warming emissions. See • http://www.no3rdtullarunway.net.au/portfolios/way-too-warming/
4. Non-compliance with the Climate Change 2022 Act.
> The MDP fails to address its statutory emissions reduction obligations under the Climate Change 2022 Act.
5. Runway operation at major risk from increased emissions.
> The MDP acknowledges as likely as not “significant” long term risks to the third runway’s operation, from changing climate policy and “changing customer behaviour”, and of “major consequence”, including that the third runaway “project is … cancelled”, if emissions enabled by the runway were to be greater than 0.1% of Australia’s annual total — which they will be. See • http://www.no3rdtullarunway.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Flight-Free-Australia_M3R-submission.pdf
6. Absence of any designated offsets.
> Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 protected woodland & endangered species habitat will be clear felled without the MDP even proposing or identifying any specific offset. See • http://www.no3rdtullarunway.net.au/portfolios/loss-of-woodland/
