The NSW State Government are seeking submissions for the

Repeal of the – Warnervale Airport Restrictions Act (WAR Act)

Please go to the following Parliamentary SurveyMonkey link and show your SUPPORT for the Repeal of the WAR Act.

There are only 3 questions in there survey so a few seconds of your time will help generations of our community & new pilots of the future.

Click HERE to go to the SURVEY.

Submissions close Friday 23rd October 2020

For more information about the Parliamentary Review

https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/bills/Pages/bill-details.aspx?pk=3794

Guidance on supporting the Parliamentary survey for the WAR Act repeal

We are very close to the winning post but once again we need help from our Community to get the message home in Parliament that the airport is a vital community asset that needs to be protected.

If you care about our plight and the retention of the only piece of aviation infrastructure between Newcastle and Sydney, please think about making a submission to the current Parliamentary repeal of the WAR Act  

By completing the survey above your submission will be sent direct to the Parliament.

We have listed some bullet points below to help remind you of the Airports benefit to the community. Feel free to use any of these in your submission. Please also encourage friends & family to show their support by completing the survey.

  • The Warnervale Airport (Restrictions) Act, 1996 (Act) is unique – it is the only piece of legislation like it, imposed on any airport, anywhere in Australia. It is unnecessary and restricts the only piece of aviation infrastructure on the Central Coast.
  • The circumstances which lead to the Act now no longer exist. The critical issue for the jet operations (so prominent in the lead up to the Act) is runway dimension, particularly runway length.  A medium range jet, such as a 737, requires a runway of 2256 metres.  A long-range jet, such as 747, requires 3292 metres.  Thus, the runway would need to almost double, or almost triple, its current length for these respective aircraft. The runway will never be lengthened past its current 1196mtrs due to physical barriers making it impossible.
  • The circumstances which apply to this aerodrome are no different to hundreds of others throughout NSW and other States and territories.  That being the case, there is no case whatsoever for retaining it on this ground.
  • The previous Central coast councils own Airport Master Plan of 2017 attracted 137 expression of interest (EOI’s) & 17 Memorandums of understanding (MOU’s) these are real businesses that wanted to relocate to the Central coats airport. Enormous interest & potential that was rejected by our current councillors without putting the master plan out to public comment. Those businesses could be operating right now on the CC.
  • The act prevents the Airport from thriving as a general aviation hub with economic and other benefits flowing to the local community
  • The Airport is used for training the next generation of Australian pilots, as well as enabling medical evacuations and bushfire emergency responses to occur. It’s vital that we support the continued operation of this important asset.
  • Our community has sent a strong message that it wants Warnervale Airport retained and accessible for public use by community groups like the Aero Club. The very small minority anti-airport campaigners do not represent the wider community’s views.
  • Aviation businesses are very low impact and by their nature, are generators of highly skilled employment. They also generate synergies in other sectors and can be a boon for existing Central Coast businesses.
  • Appropriate planning protections are already included which make destruction of the surrounding conservation lands very difficult. Central Coast Council, as the region’s largest employer, has access to an army of committed, hard-working people who have the ability to craft a solution which contains both the Wetlands and the surrounding environmental lands and a job-generating Airport. The Airport and the Wetlands have existed symbiotically for over 47 years, and limited, sensible development of the Airport site will continue this tradition.
  • Repealing the Act is vital to the preservation of the Airport which is a vital community asset for the 340,000 residents of the Central Coast. The Airport:-
  • Supports emergency service operations such as police, air ambulance, RFS water bombing and fire reconnaissance,
  • Provides aviation related education and skills training (including qualification of commercial pilots and instructors)
  • Provides youth opportunities hosting the Australian Air League the Scouts
  • Provides skilled employment opportunities (such as the current thriving maintenance operation conducted at the airport)
  • Facilitates tourism, benefitting local small businesses through fly ins, open days etc
  • Supports charitable works such as the Club’s annual community open days providing free flights for disabled and disadvantaged children and their families
  • Provides recreational flying opportunities for local residents.
  • If allowed to develop, a future aviation school of excellence