Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Catherine King earlier this month asked for more information on the Moorabbin Airport master plan.
The original Preliminary Draft Master Plan envisaged significant loss of aviation infrastructure, but was rejected in March 2022 by then minister Barnaby Joyce, forcing Moorabbin Airport Corporation (MAC) to present a Fresh Draft Master Plan (fdMP) in March this year.
In a letter sent to the Moorabbin Airport Community Aviation Consultative Group (CACG) on 3 May, the department said it was seeking more information about consultation, something aviation businesses on the airport have consistently criticised.
"On 28 April 2023, under ss.80A(2) of the Airports Act 1996, the Minister’s delegate requested further information from MAC about the consultation undertaken on the fdMP," the letter says.
"MAC have been requested to provide this information by 26 May 2023.This request for additional information ‘stops the clock’ on the 50-business day statutory timeframe in which the Minister has to make a decision on whether to approve or refuse to approve the fdMP."
The department has said that if MAC hits the deadline for providing the information, Minister King will make a decision whether or not to approve the fdMP by 6 July this year.
In December last year, MAC told airport businesses that the revised master plan would use the original western boundary, which effectively reprieved hangars and apron area from planned destruction.
MAC also promised GA growth initiatives at Moorabbin Airport during the life of the new master plan, including apron and aircraft parking enhancements with more than 10,000 sqm to be improved.