SPENDING as little as $150 million could see a million passengers a year getting on and off Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Blue planes at RAAF Richmond as the base once more comes into the spotlight.
And this time around the RAAF – reeling under defence budget cuts of over $5 billion announced in the federal budget last Thursday– is not objecting to dual military and civilian use, which could happen sooner rather than later.
In the Australian Defence Posture Review, released just last week, the Defence department said the Department of Infrastructure and Transport would likely take action to progressively open Richmond “to a level of civil air traffic using the existing east-west runway”.
Defence said it would be “possible to reduce the air force’s footprint at Richmond after the retirement of the C-130H fleet by 2015 [now said by the government to be within the next 12 months, and their replacement with new Italian-built aircraft] and the C-130J fleet by 2026, and thus allow the base to be used by a civilian operator”.
The Joint Study on aviation capacity for the Sydney region, compiled by an independent steering committee of government and industry experts, has also been presented to the federal government as part of the discussion over expanding airfields in the Sydney basin.
It said RAAF Richmond could be modernised for as little as $150
million to handle around a million passengers a year. If $500 million was spent on upgrading runways and facilities then five million passengers could be arriving at or leaving Richmond every year.
And the RAAF, which in the past has not weighed into the debate, is now on the side of sharing its facilities with domestic passengers.
“The RAAF supports opening up the Richmond base to civil access, as it is compatible with its plans for a reduced presence and would extend the life of the RAAF base at the location,” the authors of the Joint Study said.
The Tourism and Transport Forum (TTTF) – a body that lobbies on behalf of the tourism industry – has also called on Defence Minister Stephen Smith to allow RAAF Richmond to be used as a spill-over domestic airport as Sydney airport reaches saturation point.
In a letter to Mr Smith, TTTF boss, John Lee, said that Richmond would be an ideal place to land.
“A site like Richmond, which already has aviation services, is a pragmatic and sensible solution to ensure seats for customers and capacity to grow in future years,” Mr Lee said.
In the Joint Study it was also revealed that “better noise outcomes and additional capacity could be achieved if additional land was acquired and a new runway was constructed on a north-south alignment. This would provide a major airport able to service all market segments. However, it could cost around $4 billion for a single 2600-metre runway with a terminal suitable for up to 20 million passengers per year, or around $10 billion for a single 4000-metre runway and terminal facilities suitable for 30 million passengers per year.”
The report did caution it would be challenging to radically develop RAAF Richmond into a parallel runway airport of the size required to shift 30 million passengers.
“RAAF Base Richmond has significant operational limitations, including fog at certain times of the year and its relative closeness to the Blue Mountains,” it said.
Aircraft taking off from Richmond crossing flight paths of aircraft approaching or leaving Sydney Airport was also named as an issue.
“In addition, the communities of Richmond and Windsor, which are located close to the ends of the current east-west runway, would experience a level of additional aircraft noise from civil operations,” the study said. “However, providing civilian access to the site based on use of the existing runway would serve the growth of North West Sydney and Western Sydney.”
Macquarie MP, Louise Markus, a vocal critic of expanding RAAF Richmond for civilian use, said she has asked the government for clarity. “I have been a strong advocate for keeping the RAAF a permanent operational base at Richmond,” she said. “The Minister now needs to explain what Labor’s real plans are for Richmond. Labor has said in the past that Richmond has been ruled out as Sydney’s second airport. Will this latest interest in the base lead to another broken promise?
“I note that 250 jobs are likely to evaporate at Richmond Air Base with the early retirement of the C-130H aircraft – has the Minister taken the time to respectfully inform those good people?”
In the federal budget it was announced that ageing C-130H transport planes headquartered at Richmond would be retired over the next 12 months.
In their place – and also to be based at Richmond – will be 10 new Alenia C-27J Spartan Battlefield Airlift aircraft, costing $1.4 billion.
“The Labor government has to come clean and confirm the permanency of the RAAF Base without delay and I call on the government and the Minister to reassure the local community that the RAAF Base will remain as a permanent, fully operational air base,” Mrs Markus said.