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Ondanks vele rechtzaken met bewoners en lokale boeren heeft de regering besloten om alsnog een tweede vliegveld te bouwen

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Updated May 02, 2017 16:22:42

The Australian Government has announced it will build Sydney's second airport, the Western Sydney Airport, at Badgerys Creek.

Since the 1940s, federal, state, coalition and Labor governments have been grappling with the need to build a second Sydney airport.

Facilities at the current Kingsford-Smith Airport have long been considered strained and a total of 19 sites have been considered for the second airport.

The economic benefits the airport would bring have been touted for a long time, but its impact on the environment and local communities has been controversial over the years.

January 1969: Badgerys Creek first proposed

A federal government advisory committee began considering a number of locations and among them was Badgerys Creek.

Over the next two decades, sites at Wilton and Holsworthy in Sydney's south-west, and Wattamolla to the south, were also considered.

February 1986: Badgerys Creek announced

It was the Hawke government that chose Badgerys Creek as the site of Sydney's second airport and soon after began buying up land.

The decision met fierce opposition and locals mounted a major campaign against it.

June 1992: Construction commences

Then-aviation minister Bob Collins turned the first sod at Badgerys Creek and declared it would become one of the most important airports in the southern hemisphere.

It was anticipated the Badgerys Creek airport would be operational in 1995.

March 1995: Badgerys Creek puts Labor in power

Bob Carr led the Labor Party to victory at the NSW election on a tide of resentment over aircraft noise.

He was able to form majority government four days after the election when one seat, Badgerys Creek, finally fell to Labor candidate Diane Beamer.

May 1996: Holsworthy considered

John Howard's government claimed victory in the federal election and began investigating Holsworthy Army Base as an alternative site for a second airport.

March 2000: Badgerys Creek put on ice

The Howard government abandoned plans to build at Badgerys Creek but retained ownership of the site.

July 2003: Labor drops Badgerys Creek

Then-opposition leader Simon Crean made the commitment to drop Badgerys Creek as an option for the Labor Party.

But Mr Crean's announcement caused friction within the ALP. A number of city-based MPs complained they had been left out of the decision-making process.

Labor later agreed to find a new site within six months.

December 2007: Second airport still on cards

Kevin Rudd leads the Labor Party to victory in the federal election.

The need to service Sydney's rapidly expanding population saw support for a second airport gain momentum once again.

March 2012: Airport needed by 2030

A joint state and federal report found Sydney would need a second airport by 2030 and listed Badgerys Creek and Wilton as potential sites.

At the time, federal infrastructure minister Anthony Albanese ruled out Badgerys Creek as an option, but stressed the cost of inaction on a second airport would be enormous.

February 2013: Western Sydney in support

Support for Badgerys Creek grew again when the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils reversed 30 years of opposition and voted to back the plan.

Months later, a report found Wilton had considerable subsidence problems that would be too expensive to overcome.

March 2014: Cabinet approval of Badgerys Creek

New South Wales premier Barry O'Farrell gave his strongest indication yet that he would support a Badgerys Creek airport.

Mr O'Farrell was initially a long-term opponent to any second facility.

Prime minister Tony Abbott and infrastructure minister Warren Truss soon after announced Federal Cabinet's approval of Badgerys Creek as the site of the new airport.

The Government estimated 4,000 jobs would be created in the construction phase and 35,000 could be generated by the development of the airport by 2035.

April 2014: Road investment

The federal and New South Wales governments announced they were spending nearly $3.5 billion on roads to support the construction of the airport.

May 2014: Sydney Airport considers plan
The Sydney Airport Corporation flagged interest in building and running the Badgerys Creek airport.
In 2002, the corporation acquired the first right to develop and operate the second airport as part of its privatisation deal.

December 2014: Residents given deadline to move

Residents at Badgerys Creek in Sydney's west were given a deadline of June 15 to move so construction could start on the proposed airport.

The Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, which is overseeing the project, aimed to start construction in 2016.

March 2015: Need for rail?

Labor promised rail links to the second Sydney airport would be built before it opened if they won the next state and federal elections.

But the federal government dismissed the need for high-speed rail to connect the airport to the city, saying most of the people who would use the new airport would be from western Sydney.

June 2015: Fights against eviction

A group of Badgerys Creek tenants, whose homes will be demolished to make way for the airport, launched court action to push out the June 15 move-out date.

Farmers in the area also called for an extension on their eviction notice, saying they had not been given enough time to move without suffering financial losses.

The farmers' requests for extensions were later rejected with the federal government saying agricultural tenants were given "well in excess of the required timeframes to make arrangements".

October 2015: Environmental assessment released

The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the airport was released which found the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, just kilometres away, would not be harmed.

However, Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill said five flight paths would converge over the lower Blue Mountains and "we're looking at about 70 decibels all day, every day".

February 2016: Residents successful in appeal

Badgerys Creek residents facing eviction won a Federal Court stay of proceedings which halted the legal process and allowed them to remain for now.

March 2016: Turnbull flags rail

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he was working towards making sure there was a rail link to the Badgerys Creek airport by the time it opens.

April 2016: Labor backs no-fly zone

Labor announced if they won the federal election they would implement a no-fly zone between 11:00pm and 6:00am for Badgerys Creek airport.

May 2016: Flights won't converge

The Federal Government said plans for flights to converge at a single point over the Blue Mountains had been scrapped.

However, Mayor Greenhill said the announcement was not a win as there would still be planes flying over the lower Blue Mountains at very low altitudes.
Mr Greenhill later said the EIS was a "con job".
November 2016: Environmental protections

Federal Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg said more than 40 environmental conditions for the Badgerys Creek airport would minimise noise on residential areas and address biodiversity and heritage concerns.

He said it meant the first stage of the development could now be authorised by the Minister for Urban Infrastructure, Paul Fletcher.

December 2016: Airport approved

The second airport is locked in as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and the Federal Infrastructure Minister sign off on the Badgerys Creek plan.

Stage one of Western Sydney Airport is due to be operational in the mid 2020s, with a single runway and facilities for about 10 million passengers a year.

March 2017: Residents lose appeal

Badgerys Creek residents lost an appeal to allow them to stay in their homes which sit in the path of the airport.

One month later they launched a High Court appeal in a last-ditch effort to stop their eviction.

May 2017: Sydney Airport walks away

Sydney Airport declined to build the airport, citing the "risks" on monetary return for investors.

The company negotiated in 2002 the first right of refusal to build a second airport.

Due to their refusal, the Federal Government confirms they will build the airport.

Topics: air-transport, industry, business-economics-and-finance, federal---state-issues, government-and-politics, badgerys-creek-2171, sydney-2000, nsw

First posted April 15, 2014 00:19:29

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Look back at the Badgerys Creek airport debate

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Updated May 02, 2017 16:22:42 The Australian Government has announced it will build Sydney's second airport, the Western Sydney Airport, at Badgerys Creek. Since the 1940s, federal, state, coalition and Labor governments have been grappling with the need to build a second Sydney airport.