Mayors Seek Govt Aid For Homes Near Flight Paths

Sydney Morning Herald

Friday September 8, 1989

By NATASHA BITA Local Government Reporter

The mayors of towns and cities near Australia's busy airports are seeking compensation from the Federal Government to help people living under aircraft flight paths to soundproof their homes.

The Australian Mayoral Aviation Council (AMAC) will ask the Government to help home owners pay for double or triple glazing, solid-core doors and wall and ceiling insulation to block out aircraft noise.

The lobby group will argue that because airports benefit the entire nation, all taxpayers must share the cost of compensation.

The AMAC has 40 members, including 14 local NSW councils, and some of its members toured airports in the United States in July.

The group's research officer, Mr Henry Cruise, said yesterday that the Government could fund a compensation scheme by placing a surcharge on airline tickets.

In the US, he said, a surcharge raised enough money for an $8 million national "compensation kitty".

Parts of the US also let local councils set a "hotel tax" to help pay for the cost of soundproofing and relocation, he said.

"Local communities realise airports are terribly important for tourism and the economy but they don't want to be the ones that pay the price," Mr Cruise said.

"The benefit of an airport is borne by the whole of the nation and the State but the downside is borne entirely by the community around it."

He said aircraft noise "bothered" about 2 million Australians.

In Sydney, the noise seriously affects 56,200 people, according to the Civil Aviation Authority.

A recent Federal Government study estimated that 141,436 people were seriously or moderately affected by aircraft at Mascot.

Mr Cruise said the AMAC had yet to estimate how much money would be needed for an Australian "compensation kitty" but he envisaged that such a scheme would be phased in gradually.

Home owners should be made to pay back a portion of the compensation if they sold their house within 10 years, he said.

The executive director of the AMAC, Mr Bruce McGregor, said it was unlikely that landlords would be entitled to compensation as they already had the benefit of a tax deduction for property improvements.

A spokesman for the Minister for Aviation Support, Mrs Kelly, said the Minister would not comment on the scheme until she had time to study the AMAC's submission, which is expected to be ready next month.