PRIME MINISTER
FOR PRESS: PM. NO. 101/ 1971
MASTER PLAN FOR BRISBANE AIRPORT
Joint Statement by the Prime Minister, Mr. William
McMahon and the Premier of Queensland, Mr. J.
Bielke-Petersen
The Joint Coimmonwealth/ State Advisory Committee on
Brisbane Airport has completed the first major step in developing
a master plan for the future of Brisbane Airoort. This was
announced today by the Prime Minister, Mr. McMahon and the Premier
of Queensland, Mr. Bjelke-Petersen.
The Committee comprises representatives of the
Commonwealth and State Governments and the Brisbane City Council.
In a joint statement today, the Prime Minister,
Mr. McMahon and the Premier of Queensland, Mr. Bjelke-Petersen,
said: " The Committee's chief object was to devise a master plan
which took into account the foreseeable qrowth of aviation in
Brisbane, the latest plans for the further development of the
Brisbane metropolitan area, including port development in the
Brisbane River, the Nudqee area, and the Serpentine Scheme, and
plans for improving the highway network.
" The ecological problems must be considered and it also
had to remove the noise nuisance to the south-west of the Airport
without causing unacceptable noise levels in other closely settled
areas. " It also had to take regard of the need to lift the
building height restrictions over the heart of Brisbane which at
the moment lies below the approach oath of the main runway at
Eagle Farm. " The Conmittee had also to consider that a larger
terminal area would be needed to handle the volume of passengers and
freight which must be expected in the not too distant future".
The Prime Minister and the Premier said. " The
Committee has recommended that the runway system should be moved to
the position astride the existing northern boundary of the airport
and that the runways should be so re-aligned as to avoid noise in
any nearby populated area. / 2
" This means that the building height limit over the
central business district would be abolished.
" In the lone term the Committee recommended that
there could be widely spaced parallel runways and it was with this
in mind that it is proposed that the new terminal area should be
located in a central position between the runways with direct and
convenient surface access from the south-west side of the airport.
" This is a most modern concept". The Prime Minister
and the Premier added that the master plan involved the diversion
of the floodway. However this would not present any major engineering
problem. The floodway would be maintained by appropriate
earthworks and outlet control works to ensure that the probability
and level of flooding upstream of Nudgee Road would not increase.
They added that a more detailed assessment of the
environmental effect on the foreshore would also be made.
The Prim . e inister and the Premier said: " It is
recognised that this future development would be a very extensive
project with the Commonwealth virtually creating a new airport and
with the State and the City of Brisbane financing bigger highway
projects which would not only better serve the general area but which
will also meet the need for speedy -ccess to the airport".
The Prime Minister and the Premier said that their
Governments would give prompt consideration to the Committee's
recommendations. Mcanwhile the Prime Minister has asked the Departments
concerned to accelerate the detailed planning of the airport and
see what can be done to provide preliminary estimates as quickly as
possible. CA3NBERRA 16 December, 1971.