Page 1053 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 20 April 1994
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Riverina Air Freight Study
MS SZUTY: Madam Speaker, my question without notice is addressed to the Chief Minister, Ms Follett. I refer to an article entitled "Riverina's on the right track" which appeared in the Sunday Telegraph of 17 April 1994. I did fax a copy of this article to Ms Follett's office in fairly recent times. In the article it is stated that the Riverina Regional Development Board is looking at ways to maximise the area's export potential via a local international air freight terminal. My question of the Chief Minister is: Can she inform the Assembly how far this idea has been progressed by the Riverina Regional Development Board and what implications there may be for the airport development that is currently being considered for the ACT?
MS FOLLETT: Madam Speaker, I thank Ms Szuty for the question and thank her also for drawing this article to my attention. I have to admit that the Sunday Telegraph of 17 April 1994 is one of a vast number of newspapers that I have not read. Madam Speaker, I do understand that over the years quite a number of studies have been conducted on the feasibility of an international air freight terminal at the Narrandera-Leeton Airport. I further understand that there is now some additional work under way to assess the viability of such a proposal. Members will be aware, of course, that similar studies have been done in relation to the Canberra Airport and the possibility of it becoming an international freight terminal. Those studies, as far as I am aware, have not actually borne fruit for the ACT.
Like the ACT or the south-east region of New South Wales, the Leeton area has products which are potentially suitable for international airfreight - products such as fruit, vegetables and cut flowers. However, Madam Speaker, we would need to await the outcome of this additional study before we could assess any implications of the proposal for Canberra.
My department has commissioned a consultant's report on the potential for development of Canberra Airport for international traffic. We have been looking predominantly at passenger traffic rather than confining ourselves to the freight terminal idea - which, as I say, we have studied before but so far without it bearing fruit. The consultant's report that I refer to will be used as input to the submission which the Government will be making to the Legislative Assembly Standing Committee on Tourism and ACT Promotion. As members will be aware, that committee has an inquiry under way into the tourism benefits of an international airport, so I will be putting forward a submission to the Assembly's inquiry. But, in brief, in relation to the Riverina proposal, Madam Speaker, I think we will have to wait and see what the study comes up with and whether there is a plan to implement the results of that study, before I could say with any great certainty what might be the implications for Canberra.
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