Brimbank and Hume residents that will be affected by additional aircraft noise from Melbourne Airport’s third runway have expressed concerns over ministerial conditions for the noise amelioration program.
The program is designed to mitigate the impacts of aircraft noise for residents and sensitive public buildings in the Hume and Brimbank communities.
Ministerial conditions for the third runway outline that only residents living within the ANEF25+ (Australian noise exposure forecast) contour will be eligible for the program.
Keilor Valley local and former GP Dr Michael Howson believes this condition should be reduced to ANEF15+.
“The noise harm I’m concerned about is all the people who live beyond that [ANEF25+ contour],” Dr Howson said.
“They’re in the ANEF15+ level but they’re still going to experience interrupted sleep and be annoyed by the noise, especially at night. That’s when most of the health harm occurs.”
Dr Howson said the noise at night can trigger the body’s fight or flight response.
“When you‘ve got planes flying over every half hour the body never gets to a resting stage,” he said.
Dr Howson said this often leads to an increase in blood sugar, blood pressure and pulse rates, and that it can also lead to hypertension and other health problems later on.
Another ministerial condition outlines that requested noise amelioration works on eligible properties need to be completed no later than 12 years from the date the noise amelioration plan is finalised.
The noise amelioration plan is expected to be finalised in September, 2026.
Dr Howson is concerned eligible residents will not sign up for amelioration works before the third runway opens in 2031, potentially exposing them to years of noise harm.
“People are just going to wait and see if it annoys them or keeps them awake but it can be causing noise harm without them knowing about it,” Dr Howson said.
“One thing we can do as a community is as soon as [the program is] happening, we can drop pamphlets right through Keilor and any area that’s within the ANEF25+.”
The federal government said experience from similar programs suggested a number of eligible people will not enrol in the program until they experience the impacts of aircraft noise, while some properties will take longer to ameliorate.
It said the objective behind the noise amelioration program timeline condition aimed to balance the requirement to put a time limit on the program, while giving eligible residents ample opportunity to participate in the program.
A spokesperson for the Infrastructure and Transport Minister Catherine King told Star Weekly the government aims to minimise the impact of aircraft noise on the community wherever possible through airspace design, noise abatement procedures and land use planning.
“Managing the impacts of aircraft noise on communities is a challenging issue and we acknowledge the concerns raised by some residents in Keilor and Bulla,” the spokesperson said.
The federal government stated that the purpose of the condition requiring the completion of noise amelioration works for at least 70 per cent of eligible properties before the third runway opens was to ensure that a core number of properties would be protected from noise before aircraft began using the new runway.
