25/02/2024
Neil BourkeNeil Bourke
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Senator Susan McDonald
We need your help. Re Merimbula Airport Master Plan.
I declare an interest here. I am a pilot. I am an airport tenant, I am an airport lessee, I am a local government rate payer and state tax payer and a federal tax payer including income tax, PAYG and capital gains tax.
There are questions we would like answered by the author of the Masterplan for Merimbula Airport which is Bega Valley Shire Council.
There is not one current stakeholder who will benefit from the draft master plan in its current format.
So…. if the draft Master plan is not to benefit the key stakeholders’ who will it benefit from the proposed changes and how can BVSC justify the need for change?
Who are the stakeholders’ council are consulting with in their design of the draft master plan?
Has anyone involved in the design of this plan had anything to do with General Aviation?
If council is determined to continue down this path to stifle general aviation in the southeast of NSW why did they accept nearly 18 Million dollars from NSW and Federal governments to create a General Aviation Precinct at Merimbula Airport?
The four most imposing buildings at the airport are aircraft hangars. All have been advised their current leases will end without the possibility of renewal. They will need to remove their structures at their own expense.
Every other tenant at the airport has been advised they will need to vacate at some stage. Those other tenants employ about 30 locals.
The largest structure at the airport, currently an aircraft maintenance business, has been advised that while the structure may stay it will not be approved for the maintenance of aircraft. Council has advised it may be approved for other purposes. This hangar was built with councils’ approval at a location that council insisted on with a streetscape at councils’ direction at the expense of the owner of Merimbula Aircraft Maintenance.
If council go ahead with the eviction of the aircraft maintenance business every private pilot and aircraft owner will seek to hangar their aircraft at an airport with an aircraft maintenance facility. They need to be at an airport with a maintenance facility to avoid time sensitive activities, like 100 hourly servicing, 50 hourly oil changes and annual maintenance releases that could see their aircraft grounded and unable to fly to another destination with aircraft maintenance facilities.
If Merimbula lose their aircraft maintenance facility, due to councils inability to co-operate, Merimbula will become like Mallacoota, Cooma, Goulburn, Tumut and Jindabyne with no possibility for aircraft maintenance.
This will leave the SouthEast and Snowy regions without an aircraft maintenance facility.
Why is BVSC unable to grasp the potential for growth in general aviation with the current maintenance facility the only one in this corner of Australia?
Council accepted tens of millions of dollars to add runway extensions and terminal improvements from State and Federal Governments that benefit the rate payers of the BVSC and regular passenger transport (RPT) passengers on Qantas and REX airlines.
Separate to this Council also accepted tens of millions of dollars to create a General Aviation Precinct to benefit general aviation participants.
Council continuously advises general aviation pilots, who pay local, state and federal tax’s which were the original source of the almost 30 million dollars in grants council spent, that council must get a good return for their investment. Tax payers’ see their tax’s granted to councils to build infrastructure for tax payers to use leveraged against them so council can gain a market return on the infrastructure built by granted funds?
Why is council not willing to work with the current stakeholders to come up with a Master Plan to benefit the ratepayers and NSW and Federal tax payers and all airport users?
if you could come up with some answers for us we would much appreciate it.
Thank you
Neil Bourke 0413 02 8080
