AAT (Legal) action
What legal action occurred?
Gold Coast Lifestyle Association Incorporated (for Stop the Flight Path) and the Tugun Cobaki Alliance Inc requested a review of the Federal Government’s approval of the ILS and new flight path by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT).
The AAT conducts independent reviews of decisions made by Australian Government ministers, departments and agencies (www.aat.gov.au). To see what the AAT review process of the ILS decision involved, please click here.
The reasons for our opposition are available on this website here.
Legal proceedings commenced in April 2016
On 24 August the Association's statement of facts, matters and contentions, along with expert witness report and witness statements were presented to the AAT. Discussions between the parties continued until a mediation process and a hearing by the two different community groups occurred in late November and early December 2016.
It was a long and sustained legal battle for small community volunteer organisation against such huge and well-funded organisations, and one that involved substantial involvement, and fund-raising to cover the costs of barristers, lawyers, aviation experts, noise experts etc. Our efforts to fight the Government’s ILS approval relied entirely on those funds provided by the community and we believe we pursued this action to the fullest extent that the funding enabled us.
A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who contributed funds for these services or in kind support.
ILS APPROVAL upheld but significant restrictions imposed
The outcome of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) legal challenge against the Government’s ILS unconditional approval was announced 2 March 2017.
While the ILS approval decision was upheld, the AAT restricted the ILS by an agreement intended to limit its use - a significant win for the community to be impacted by the ILS. Prior to the AAT legal action, the ILS approval did not include any restrictions.
The ILS is only to be used in circumstances where increased cloud coverage and reduced visibility can require the use of vertical guidance in landing, provided that other flight paths are unavailable. It can also be used if operationally required or in emergencies, as well as by training flights.
Click here for the details on how the ILS can be used and its restrictions.
The ILS became operational in February 2019.
background to challenging the government’s DECISION
Despite 6,500 submissions against the ILS direct to the airport during its public consultation phase and other online and hard copy petitions presented to Parliament, the then Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Warren Truss, approved the ILS for Gold Coast Airport on 25 January 2016.
We believe Mr Truss should have rejected the proposal as it has created significant burden to the environment and the people of the Gold Coast for minimal if any benefit. The Airport conceded that the ILS does not guarantee any additional landings in bad weather.
This new flight path brings planes over the most densely populated parts of the Gold Coast and its world renown beaches that have never had planes over them before.
As well, the associated runway extension also approved by the Government as part of the plan was questioned, as public land was leased to the privately owned airport without public consultation and works have come at the cost of significant environmentally sensitive land on the Tweed side of the border (source).
The Federal Government and Gold Coast Airport claimed the introduction of the ILS would enable more planes to land in inclement weather, thereby reducing the number of flights diverted to other airports such as Brisbane, however in 2014 only 13 fights out of 34,000 were diverted and they have refused to release diversion data since then.
Based on independent research, it appears the ILS would have delivered little or no benefit in most of the weather-related diversions that the Airport says occurred between 1 January-13 May 2015, as weather conditions were too extreme for landing regardless of the technology.
The Airport and Airservices states “Gold Coast Airport is operating safely without an ILS” (source). An ILS depends upon a straight line approach from its runway for 18km to Surfers Paradise. All former flight paths were east over the ocean but the new flight path takes, for the first time, jet aircraft over additional residents and key tourist spots never before affected by airport operations – subjecting them to noticeable noise increases and pollution among other impacts. Qantas/Jetstar stated in its objection to the ILS that the cost of the ILS would not justify the benefits and better alternatives exist.
media coverage
Links to some media coverage follow. (click article name)
Keep ILS under control, Tweed Daily News, 7 December 2016
Concerns for health of the last Gold Coast creek that flows freely into ocean, Gold Coast Sun, 8 July 2016
Work on GCA ILS has been suspended until after appeal hearing Gold Coast Bulletin, 30 June 2016
Airport future remains in limbo after no decision made on instrument landing system, Gold Coast Bulletin, 24 June 2016
