No doubt you have been told that this Airport has been carefully planned and developed with
full public consultation all along the way until reaching its present Prize Winning position on
the verge of achieving International status.
Nothing could be further from the truth  -- But if you repeat a lie often enough, people will
accept it as FACT.
The FACT is
"This Airport would have to be a Classic example of how NOT to develop an airport".
Another FACT is
Aircraft Noise IS a Problem even if you pay $75,000 for somebody to report otherwise.

AIRPORTS mean NOISE.
And it's the NOISE that eventually GETS TO people living near an airport
Many of the people who participated in your last Airport Study 2 years ago have LEFT
because of the Noise.

I will therefore give you MY VERSION of this Airport's History
 I first discovered Marcoola in JANUARY 1965, over 36 years ago.  It was a paradise with no
aircraft noise to interrupt the sound of the sea.
Back then, an Aircraft meant a Glider of which there was a Club at the Landing Field
We spent every holiday in the Marcoola camping reserve until it was closed in 1975 at which
time we purchased land and built our holiday house.
In 1979 we moved here permanently and our holiday house became our home.
I have now lived at the northern end of runway 18/36 for the past 22 years.
I was here before the Flying Schools or The Jets and before our Town became part of a
Runway End Safety Zone (That should be DANGER Zone)  since it's the area most prone to
Crashes, and before Noise became a problem.

You may already know the Early History and HIGH EXPECTATIONS in the Early Days:
Pacific Paradise Development Pty. Ltd. built the airstrip in early 1959 in connection with the
development of the town of Pacific Paradise.
Later, the Maroochy Shire Council took interest in the airstrip, which the State and Federal
Governments decided to develop as the Maroochy Airport and it was officially opened as such
on 12th. August 1961
Two years prior to the opening the whole area had been Perpetual Swamp.
This development at a cost of $224,000 was hailed by Mr. D. A. Low who was then shire
chairman as ushering in a new era for fruit and vegetable industry and a magnificent boost to
the tourist industry.
My parents were actually guests on the inaugural flight from Brisbane to Maroochy.

HOPES DASHED
Completion of the coastal highway between Caloundra and Noosa had been expected to
assure the success of the subsequent air services, but this was not to be.
Queensland Airlines (later taken over by Ansett) and WesternAir Navigation Pty Ltd started
AND CANCELLED regular services to Maroochy because of a lack of patronage.

On Sunday 2nd. July 1967, the Marcoola Beach Progress Association was formed with a
membership of 40 local residents who all believed the politicians promises of soon to come;
Bus services, Sewerage and an East/West Runway.
That was when the airport was home to the Glider Club and noise was not a problem.

By 1970 the Airport had turned into what was then described by the Maroochy shire chairman
Cr. E. O. DeVere as a BIT OF A WHITE ELEPHANT, but Council spent more money
extending the northern end of runway 18/36 by an extra 450 ft.
Ironically it was a company called East-West Airlines, which heralded in the new era for the
aerodrome by commencing a weekly direct flight to Sydney in December 1970

A year later, East-West was operating a bi-weekly service to Sydney on Wednesdays and
Saturdays and Council budgeted a further $29.000 to extend the 18/36 runway a further
1000ft to the north. This made a total strip length of 5500 feet, which was then capable of
handling a fully loaded Fokker Friendship with 44 passengers on board.

About this time -  The Glider club was replaced by an Aero Club.

In 1975,  we decided to build our holiday house here. Right at the end of runway 18/36.
By that time aircraft traffic had risen to about 20 a week, but nobody ever imagined the place
would ever change or develop like the Gold Coast and Noise was still NOT A PROBLEM.

In the late 70's, East-West were crowded out by Air NSW and Ansett, and the numbers of
Fokker Friendship services escalated
We now also had daily Metro Commuter Services to Brisbane and for the first time we
became aware of the noise from these aircraft.

In December 1979, I moved permanently into our Marcoola home
 -- and LIFE WAS GOOD - For a while.

In the early 80's we saw the first of the Flying Schools, which Council considered to be a
nice clean non-pollutant industry and a great boon for the community.
Obviously at that time, never considering noise as being a pollutant.
The flying schools of course maintain that   "they were here first", and
 "We should not have built our homes near the airport if we couldn't take a bit of noise"

In 1982 unbeknown to us -  Council commissioned one of the first Master Plans to investigate
the introduction of the F28 Jet services to the Airport.   It was carried out by G H & D
You should get a copy of THIS Report.  I notice it's NOT included in your list of
Reference Documents
This was the TURNING POINT for this Airport.
This was when the Council made its GREATEST MISTAKE.
And there was NO COMMUNITY CONSULTATION
and the report itself was NEVER released to the public.
          It gave the Council 2 options;
1. Upgrade the 18/36 runway for $9.8M or
2. Construct the 13/31 Runway (And all its associated infrastructure, terminal,
parking etc.)   for $10.3M.
 The bottom line of which stated that the East/West runway was inevitable at sometime
in the future.   And they recommended construction of 13/31 as the preferred option.

Unfortunately for us ALL, Council made the wrong decision and saved a whole ½M$
History has now proved how this short term SAVING has been the root cause of all the
present problems.
The cost of a Feasibility Study alone is now TWICE the extra cost it would have been
to construct the whole project back in 1983.

And so, on 9th. April 1984 -- The WHISPER  JETs  were upon us.
Although the F28s were probably the noisiest aircraft in the sky at that time, our civic leaders
tried to CON us into accepting these MONSTERS by renaming these NOISE MAKERS .......
Whisper Jets.

From here on, conditions deteriorated rapidly for the local residents around the airport.
The combination of ever increasing Whisper Jet services and the growth of the Flying
Schools saw the end of our Peace and Quiet.
NOISE HAD BECOME A PROBLEM
And we were repeatedly told -- "It was all our own fault."-- "The airport was here first." -- "We
should never have built here." -- "We have no right to complain" and "If we don't like it MOVE!"

So instead of being CAREFULLY PLANNED as you have been told – This Airport has just
GROWN in the middle of our residential area like a CANCER
 and all the PLANNED DEVELOPMENT since 1983 has been in the WRONG DIRECTION
because of that FATAL DECISION to upgrade 18/36

As a result of that meeting -- AirPlan were commissioned to investigate a suggestion from the
Community that:
Council should proceed with a STAGED DEVELOPMENT -- but NOT of Runway 18/36.
We suggested that NO MORE MONEY be WASTED on Never Ending Upgrades of the
North/South Runway and instead
The East/West Runway should at least be commenced and constructed to a stage where it
could share most of the RPT traffic up to and including the size of Sunstate's Shorts.
This could be done with sufficient clearances and foundations so as to be PART of the
Futuristic 14/32 Runway if that dream was ever to be realized in the year of 2015 or beyond.

AirPlan's Report (Also NOT included among your Reference Documents) stated that this
idea was "Both FEASIBLE and PRACTICAL"
but like all those before it that didn't conform to Council's pre-conceived agenda
It was SHELVED and IGNORED by Council.

Personally, I think Council has already missed its window of opportunity back in 1983.
I cannot now see the mythical East/West Runway EVER being built -- And why bother?
With Brisbane International only minutes away by commuter,
why waste more money trying to compete with it?

But the string pullers in Council are nothing if not persistent.
They have now decided to sponsor their own Direct Flights from Hamilton, New Zealand in
the hopes of boosting the Tourist Industry.
Even though Ansett recently cut services into the Airport because of falling passenger
numbers – (I would think that they would be in a better position to assess the situation,
 and they had the whole of the East Coast of Australia to draw customers from)

If the Council was really serious about helping the Tourist Industry, they should do more to
protect our NATURAL RESOURCES – which have been here since the Dream Time
and which is what attracted these Tourists here in the first place.
Instead of which they are allowing our Beaches to Erode and our Dunes to become
Choked with WEEDS such as Lantana.
They call it "Allowing nature to take its course"

Incidentally - I could never understand why they called it the Tourist INDUSTRY?
It must be the ONLY Industry that DOESN'T ACTUALLY PRODUCE Anything

However – While our Council bends over backwards to persuade every Airline Company they
can find to fly into Maroochy Airport
This parasitic Tourist Industry concentrates on luring these unsuspecting visitors here and
packing them into their    highly priced,    self contained Resorts      with their carefully
landscaped Nature Walks and Echo-Systems so they never get to see the degradation of our
once-beautiful coastline.    All for the purpose of fleecing them for every cent they can get.
 

Personally I think Council should forget its "Pie in the Sky" ideas of Direct Overseas Flights
and concentrate on alleviating the noise impact on the long suffering local residents it
disadvantaged by its mistake in 1983.

But like the State Planning Policy 2/92          it's 30 years TOO LATE.

The Airport has been allowed to DEVELOP in the midst of our Town,
 and now WE are expected to Insulate our Homes and install
 DOUBLE GLAZED Windows against the NOISE.
And the stupid part of this is; It applies to EXTENSIONS and RENOVATIONS

Personally I built here to enjoy the Climate and listen to the Sound of the Sea –
Not to cower behind my Double Glazed Windows (Which Must remain CLOSED)
and turn on my Air-conditioning in order to escape the Noise Pollution of THEIR making.

So - Instead of continuing to treat the local residents as a Mushroom Crop
Keeping us in the DARK and feeding us a LOAD OF BULLS--T
(The LATEST news is that a crowd called KENDALL Airlines
are to start 4 weekend services from Sydney NEXT WEEKEND (25th.March 2001)
The first I heard of it was YESTERDAY (Friday 16th March)
So much for Public Consultation eh?

So – Instead of treating us as SECOND CLASS CITIZENS –
Council should start the RECONCILIATION Programme
(Not by saying SORRY -- which they're not)
but by Introducing a reasonable AIRPORT NOISE CURFEW.
This is one issue, which could be addressed IMMEDIATELY and at NO COST whatsoever to
the Council Coffers.
However it no doubt won't be compatible with their Secret Agenda.

Below are some PICS of the occasion
 
 

	President Reg gives the Above Talk to the Students
	About 100 Future Town Planners Listen in RAPT AWE
	Not EVERYBODY was captured by Reg's RIVETTING Address!