Roskill Community Voice candidate Harry Doig went to a very revealing public meeting on
Thursday night called to discuss the new aircraft flight paths over Auckland.
Auckland Airport, Airways NZ and Air NZ are trialing new routes (SMART Approaches) into
the Auckland airport with the aim of reducing the miles flown by
aircraft, reducing fuel consumption and carbon emissions, and (supposedly) better
managing noise for residential communities!
300
residents were present at the meeting - very impressive. Not so
impressive was the attitude of officials from Auckland Airport and
Airways NZ who were there. "Very arrogant" and "patronising" were the
words used to describe their
stance. People reporting increased noise levels were accused of
"imagining things" and being "led on" by articles in the Central Leader.
Comment of the evening came from Judy Nichol (Auckland Airport) "We
didn't tell anyone about the trial because we wanted to see whether
anyone noticed any difference in noise levels." What! "But we do want to
consult with the community now." A bit late Judy. The trial finishes in October this year.
Intriguingly what developed during the meeting were questions about what other changes are being trialed alongside the SMART Approaches? The officials were quick to put down many noise complaints because
they weren't part of the new approach routes. If this is the case then
something else is going on because thousands of residents are being
affected by increased aircraft noise from aircraft evidently on the old routes as well as the new routes .
What we want is meaningful consultation including information that hasn't been massaged to suit the proposed changes. And a cost benefit analysis that includes the impact on our communities. We could do without the green-washing as well.
Thank
you The Plane Truth Action Group for organising the meeting and all the
work that you are putting in to try and get some real information out
about what is going on. Sign their petition!
http://www.thepetitionsite.
and visit their face book page:
