24th June, 2025.
My question is directed to the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces. Now that the Federal Government has completed the flight path mapping for the new Western Sydney airport and the maps show there is no need to restrict granny flats in Wollondilly, when will the restriction be lifted so that my residents can live in homes and not sheds?
Mr Paul Scully (Wollongong—Minister for Planning and Public Spaces): I thank the member for Wollondilly for her question. I acknowledge that she has been a fierce advocate for landowners in her community in relation to this matter. I also acknowledge the member for Leppington, who has made representations on behalf of his community, and Minister Chris Bowen, the Federal member for McMahon, who has also made representations to me on this matter. The member for Wollondilly and I, our respective offices, and the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure have been involved in discussions about this matter over a period. I advise the House that the Government is continuing discussions with the Australian Government and the Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, the Hon. Catherine King, about the issues the member has drawn to the attention of the House.
I have tasked the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure with establishing a team of officials for further discussions with the Federal department following the release last week of the contours by the Australian Noise Exposure Forecast [ANEF] for runway 1 as part of the Western Sydney International Airport preliminary draft Master Plan 2025-45. I consider this team of officials will provide us with further information from the Australian Government regarding the ongoing role of the dual runway in relation to the Australian Noise Exposure Concept [ANEC] and the ANEF within the Western Sydney Aerotropolis planning framework. This is an important issue for the Government because current restrictions have an impact on the delivery of our housing targets.
This is not an easy issue to fix because we are not just dealing with one runway, but with two—the second one not yet having been built—and how they interact with the planning framework. If the issues were clear cut, as some like to suggest, I assure members that I would have resolved them by now. I will continue to engage in good faith, as I have done, with the member for Wollondilly throughout the discussions. The Government is dealing with legacy issues here. The Western Sydney City Deal, which was signed under the previous Government and by relevant councils, is a key agreement that created this planning framework dilemma. A central piece of this framework outlined in section 4.17 of the State environmental planning policy prohibits noise-sensitive development, including residential accommodation, on land within the airport's Australian noise exposure contour or forecast zones.
The Australian Government considers that restriction is crucial in safeguarding the airport's operation and making sure that residential development in those areas does not compromise the safe, efficient and curfew‑free operation that will be critical to the transport and economic hub of New South Wales. As I indicated to the member for Wollondilly previously and throughout our discussions, I remain committed to finding a path forward that can satisfy all the relevant stakeholders, including the Australian Government and the Western Sydney International Airport. I look forward to continuing to work with the member on this matter.