As a result of the West Australian Route Review Project (WARRP), three new flight paths are now directly over Roleystone – two for large commercial jets and one for turbo prop aircraft. There is also another one 3 to 5 km to the North.
The result of these changes has meant dramatically increased noise over our suburb. The arriving jets fly directly overhead at lower altitudes than should reasonably be expected in a Hills suburb 30km from the airport. They are also decelerating as they descend, thereby increasing the noise level.
The Councils of Bayswater, Belmont, South Perth, Canning, Gosnells, Kalamunda and Mundaring have all been involved in the WARRP since 2006 when the first consultations and discussions began. The City of Armadale however was never invited to be involved.
A recent Senate Committee Hearing into Aircraft noise was held in Perth on April 28, and as a result of that Hearing, the City of Armadale has now been invited to send a representative to the Committee. This is Cnr, Jeff Munn and I suggest you keep in contact with him.
According to Air Services Australia, there were no complaints about the new routes, therefore they assumed acceptance of them. It was a bit hard to complain when neither you nor your Council knew what was happening.
Many Roleystone residents forwarded complaints to our Federal Member, Mr Don Randall and also registered complaints via the Fair Skies Website and subsequently made submissions to the Senate Committee Hearing.
Air Services Australia log every complaint and only take action based upon the number of complaints received. I would urge concerned residents to register a complaint via the Air Services Australia Webtrak site:
www331.webtrak-lochard.com/webtrak/per3 each time that they are affected by excessive aircraft noise. I report every one that disturbs me, even though it can be time consuming, I think it worth the effort. Also keep your local Councillor and MPs informed. (WebTrak is a Community Web replay which shows all flights). The arriving jets pass over with a frequency of less than three minutes apart at peak times when they are landing in the S to N direction on the main runway. This situation will worsen with the planned increases in air traffic over Perth. Flights are also allowed to arrive in the early hours of the morning and there will be no curfew in Perth as there is in Sydney and Adelaide. It should be noted that a very slight shift in the flight paths to the East would take the jets over uninhabited areas and avoid Roleystone altogether. Your complaint may help achieve this.
We are privileged to live in one of the most beautiful places on Earth. Don’t let the bureaucrats and general apathy rob us of this wonderful life style. If we want to preserve it, we’re going to have to fight for it. It is interesting to note that recent statistics from ASA showed that in 2010 there were 12 incidents and near misses, whilst in 2008 (prior to paths changes) there were 7. Whatever was causing the problems, it seems evident that it wasn't the flight paths.
Anyone interested in reading the transcripts of the Senate Committee Hearing can do so at:
www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/rrat_ctt...e/hearings/index.htm
As a result of the Senate Cttee hearings a new independent Ombudsman for Aircraft Noise has been appointed (Mr. Ron Brent) and I would suggest that if you are not receiving satisfactory answers to your questions from ASA, then send a report to him. I am planning to do this as I cannot get any direct answers as to why the aircraft can't fly over the forest area slightly to the East which is unpopulated.
Keep up the fight or we will lose our beautiful lifestyle.
Pat Horne
