Anthony Albanese entered parliament in 1996 as the Member for Grayndler. In his maiden speech, he called Sydney Airport’s noise pollution “enormous” and praised government measures that included buying out 151 homes, insulating schools, childcare centres, places of worship, nursing homes, and thousands of residences.
In his maiden speech, he said: “… the solution must be to lower the number of aircraft movements over the inner west. It must not be forgotten that this area is the most densely populated in Australia.“
Later that year, he introduced the Sydney Airport (Regulation of Movements) Bill 1996, which proposed capping aircraft movements at 80 per hour.
In his Second Reading speech on 18 Nov 1996, Albanese said: “Despite policies of sharing the noise, there is no doubt that thousands of residents in my electorate are still subjected to excessive aircraft noise.
“In fact, many hundreds of people in my electorate who sold their homes under the old flight path, at a massive loss, and moved to unaffected neighbouring areas are now being plagued with the noise that they paid dearly to escape.
“…A vote for this bill is a vote for a limit to noise at KSA [Kingsford Smith Airport].”
Although his private member’s bill failed, John Howard’s government legislated the same cap in the Sydney Airport Demand Management Act 1997.
This remains in force today, protecting Sydney residents from unlimited aircraft noise.
Fast forward nearly 30 years, and now Prime Minister Albanese presides over a majority government that has rejected a curfew, a flight cap, and other measures that would protect Brisbane families.
More than 220 suburbs, from the inner city through Samford Valley to Moreton Bay, are enduring relentless aircraft noise and sleepless nights.
The hypocrisy is stark: what was good enough for his seat of Grayndler and John Howard’s seat of Bennelong is apparently not good enough for Brisbane.
Nearly a year has passed since the 2024 Senate Inquiry confirmed the severity of the problem, yet the government has not responded.
Instead of real reforms, communities have been offered spin, silence, and a mental health hotline.
Enough is enough. Brisbane deserves the same protections Sydney has enjoyed for decades. It’s time to demand action: bfpca.org.au/take-action.
