Latham Coy on Sydney Airport Site

Latham Coy on Airport Site
The Australian, Australia

January 14, 2004


LABOR leader Mark Latham remained coy today on his
party's preferred Sydney second airport site, but said
it would be located outside the city's basin area.

Mr Latham was tight-lipped amid speculation Labor had
endorsed an area near Wilton, 65km south-west of
Sydney, for the airport.

He said an announcement would be made at Labor's
national conference later this month.

"We have always had a schedule of announcing our
second Sydney airport site at the end of the month at
the conference, and that's what we'll be doing," Mr
Latham told reporters in Adelaide.

Acting Prime Minister John Anderson said today that a
second airport outside the Sydney basin wouldn't work.


However Mr Latham disagreed.

"Well, I tell you what won't work – and that is having
an airport in the basin. That would add to
environmental concerns and air and water quality
concerns in Sydney," he said.

Asked if Wilton was inside or outside the basin, Mr
Latham said: "... I think in the conventional wisdom
it's seen as just outside, on the Nepean River, but
the Nepean River itself is very fragile in terms of
water quality."

Mr Latham said Labor's priority in determining its
preferred site was protecting Sydney's environment.

"One of the reasons I say to move migration settlement
out of Sydney is because of overgrowth and
environmental sustainability concerns," he said.

"And we'll be putting our second airport site outside
the Sydney basin along those lines." 


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