NSW: Fahey says success of Olympics led to airport rethink

AAP General News (Australia)
12-11-2000
NSW: Fahey says success of Olympics led to airport rethink

SYDNEY, Dec 11 AAP - Sydney Airport's success in dealing with increased traffic during
the Olympics had led to a rethink of its capacity, Finance Minister John Fahey said today.

Mr Fahey was commenting as federal cabinet met to discuss proposals to transform the
Kurnell peninsula into a second international airport as an alternative to the Badgery's
Creek option, which would affect his south western Sydney seat of Macarthur.

Mr Fahey said prime minister John Howard was right when he said Sydney Airport coped
extraordinarily well during the Olympics, having nine of its ten busiest days on record
during the Games period.

"It did a magnificent job," he told reporters today.

"It's a very good airport and in the context of that, there was a rethink of its capacity
and its efficiency.

"All of these are simply realistic facts which are taken into account in any discussion
that occurs.

Mr Fahey said the business and tourism communities agreed that it was convenient to
have an airport in Sydney.

"I don't think anybody expects Sydney to go away ... as an airport is always going
to be there," he said.

"It's a question of its capacity to deal with an ever-increasing amount of air traffic."

However, Mr Fahey said there were a lot of options and Cabinet was yet to make a decision.

He said the question was a very difficult one and a decision would have been made long
ago had it not been so hard.

There were bound to be people who were unhappy with whatever the final announcement was, he said.

AAP jjs/jw/gmw

KEYWORD: CABINET FAHEY

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