Close Essendon Airport vs Save Essendon Airport

[PaulL]

Petition !

http://www.gopetition.com/online/21627.html

[PaulL]

Looks like they have changed there website to www.saveessendonairport.com.au and redesigned it.

[Ryan Hothersall]

I was in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago and while I was there had a look around Essendon and was surprised at all the non aviation related businesses there.

It is looking less and less like an airport. I will make a prediction that within 5 to 10 years it will close and the land sold off.

Over here in Adelaide there are little groups that pop up from time to time whinging about Parafield airport.

[PaulL]

Originally Posted by Ryan Hothersall

I was in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago and while I was there had a look around Essendon and was surprised at all the non aviation related businesses there.

It is looking less and less like an airport. I will make a prediction that within 5 to 10 years it will close and the land sold off.

Over here in Adelaide there are little groups that pop up from time to time whinging about Parafield airport.

I have noticed that Ryan, I see on the Save Essendon Airport Group website they are trying to get Essendon Airport heritage listed because some buildings date back to the 1900's.

From reading the group's website it seems they are dedicated in working to keep the airport open. I actually heard there advert on the radio when i was driving home tonight (you can listen to there radio ads on the site).

I hope they have success and its good to see someone challenging the Close Essendon Airport Group

[Nigel C]

Originally Posted by Torin Wilson

Surely people wouldn't really care about RFDS flights, just as people don't complain at an ambo using its siren at night to get to an accident.

That's as long as they understand that the flights are RFDS, and not just some cowboy breaking the rules because it suits them.


One thing that the public needs lots of is education and accurate non-biased information, especially when it comes to nearly all things aviation related.

Aviation's an industry that's fairly well misunderstood by both the media and the general public, and unless there is a good source of factual and neutral info being given to both parties, then the arguments presented become very quickly far-fetched and fanciful at best.

A perfect example is the local anti-Wollongong Airport lobby; when somebody took the time out to speak to them at one of their community meetings about the ins and outs of something as simple as aircraft doing circuits (amongst other things), their knowledge and understanding of local events went through the roof, and there has barely been a peep from them in over 12 months.
Until that time they were being led and fed a load of tripe by a lobbyist with a (not so) hidden political agenda, and they (the community) took what that person was saying as gospel.


So in a nutshell, give the community the bare facts (not opinion) and let them make an informed, educated decision.

[PaulL]

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...-23349,00.html

Save Essendon Airport Group counters community opposition

Steve Creedy, Aviation writer | September 12, 2008

A NEW group has launched a website, advertising campaign and petition aimed at saving Melbourne's Essendon Airport.

The Save Essendon Airport Group aims to counter recent moves by community activists from nearby suburbs to force the airport's closure.

The Close Essendon Airport campaign has called on the federal Government to oppose plans to expand corporate jet flights and develop new hangars. It argues public health and safety are at risk.

But the Save Essendon Airport Group says the airport, north of Melbourne central business district, serves a vital function as home to Victoria's air ambulance fleet, the Victoria Police Air Wing and fire-fighting aircraft.

They say the airport is a link to regional destinations and a convenient gateway to the city for business people.

They also argue that alternatives such as Moorabbin and Avalon are too far away and that shifting traffic from Essendon to Melbourne Airport would result in delays to passenger jets.

The group has already launched newspaper advertisements to support their argument, has a radio campaign poised to go and is looking at television campaigns.

Spokesman Lincoln Robinson said airport supporters had been discussing ways of counteracting pressure from their opponents for some time.

He said a rally last month had provided the final motivation. He was incensed by claims that the airport was dangerous.

Mr Robinson said the airport was established in 1922, long before residents moved in, and incidents quoted as evidence of the danger of an aircraft hitting a residential area were more than eight years apart.

"In relation to accidents, pollution and noise, there's more on the Tullamarine freeway," Mr Robinson said. "And Essendon Airport has a curfew."

Mr Robinson said the group would not be protesting in person but would work in the background to counter the Close Essendon Airport campaign.

"This group's out there saying it's dangerous and everything but there's not... a group out there that's doing the media and doing the other side of the argument and getting other facts out there," he said. "That's what we aim to do."

Mr Robinson was reluctant to say who was funding the campaign but said it was backed by "individuals putting in money" rather than companies.

He said regional carrier Sharp Airlines, which flies three times a day to the airport and is mentioned on the group's website, was not a financial backer.

But the new group may be fighting an uphill battle.

The Victorian Government told its federal counterpart in its submission to the federal aviation white paper that it expected Essendon to be closed "in the medium term".

This is despite a decision to build more air ambulance facilities there in the short term.

The submission said the airport had already been constrained by residential development early last century that had resulted in curfews.

"In this context, Melbourne 2030 recognises the current role of Essendon Airport in providing specialised functions related to aviation, freight and logistics, but notes that in the medium term this facility should be closed as an airport and transformed into a significant employment and residential precinct," it said.

This week, Victorian Premier John Brumby reaffirmed this was still government policy. "It (the submission) repeats almost verbatim that the Government's policy is that in the medium to longer term, Essendon Airport should be closed, and that has been the consistent view of the Government," he told the Victorian parliament.

Victorian Nationals leader Peter Ryan condemned the plan as a disgrace.

"Mr Brumby's confirmation that Labor will seek to close the airport 'in the medium term' will come as a blow to the aviation community who use the facility and the workers who are employed there," he said.

"This will also shock country and regional communities for whom Essendon Airport is a vital transit point in and out of Melbourne."

Mr Ryan said the airport had a rich history and had welcomed Charles Kingsford Smith, the Queen and the Beatles.

But it was the airport's present role that justified its retention. Numerous operators relied on it to provide charter and freight services and flying schools trained there.

The Save Essendon Airport Group's website is www.saveessendonairport.com.au

[PaulL]

There are some government press releases in relation to the airport on this groups website www.saveessendonairport.com.au/media

The National's seem to be fighting to save it.

[PaulL]

The Save Essendon Group are going to be holding a meeting in the passenger terminal at Essendon.

Guest Speaker - Peter Ryan Leader of the Nationals...

Details at www.saveessendonairport.com.au

[PaulL]

looks like its gonner kill sharp airlines

www.saveessendonairport.com.au/pdf/wnlow.wmv

[Tony P]

Can't follow that link Paul. What's the G-O?