00:00:13
S1: Well, there's huge things happening at the Melbourne airport. Let's find out a bit about it from Rosie Offord, who's the head of planning at Melbourne Airport. Rosie, lovely to meet you. Thank you for your time.
00:00:23
S2: My pleasure Peter, lovely to meet you too.
00:00:25
S1: Now there's so much to get through, so I'm sure we'll have you back on a semi-regular basis for the next little while. But give us a bit of a thumbnail sketch of what is happening. And then I guess what you're looking for as far as feedback goes, but just a bit of a, an idea of what is happening and when.
00:00:39
S2: Okay, so Melbourne Airport is on the cusp of significant change. In 2024, we had our third runway approved by Minister King. That was a really exciting development because that signals the transition from Melbourne moving from a two runway airport to a three runway airport when that opens in 2031. What we have coming up in September, in August, sorry, is our public exhibition of our master plan. The Melbourne Airport Master Plan is a five is a, is a is something we we update or redo every five years. It's a 20 year master plan that sets out our intent for the airport estate. So that's not just the airfield and the terminals, but also the land bank. We have to, in terms of the business park and the ground transport and the way in which people access the airport, we're expecting a significant and prolonged increase in passenger numbers. And to accommodate that demand, we've got a huge programme of capital investment coming up over the next decade or so. About $10 billion worth of investment that includes the third runway, which I mentioned before, but also a significant international terminal expansion. And in the very near term, excitingly, a big change in the way pick up and drop off works at the airport with the opening of our new stage two in October this year.
00:02:06
S1: Okay. And I guess that's where our listeners come in, because they're going to be coming in and out. And obviously there's going to be changes that might impact upon them either whether they're coming in or going out.
00:02:15
S2: That is correct. So it's the pick up and the drop off. So at the moment, and this has been the case since Melbourne Airport opened back in in the 1950s at the moment. Uh, pick up and drop off for terminals one, two and three. So that's the Qantas terminal. The international terminal and Virgin has been along departures drive, which is a road that goes across the front of the terminal that has long been at capacity. And we've seen queuing bank back almost at times right down to the freeway. And so what we need to do to expand the capacity for that pick up and drop off function is move it into the terminal one, two, three car park in front of the terminals. And so with pick up and drop off moving in there, the benefit really is that we'll have a much smoother process for passengers picking passengers being dropped off either by family, friends, loved ones, Uber, taxi, whatever. So the drop off will work much smoother because we'll have much more capacity for that. And also the pickup should work much smoother as well, because people will be able to come in and wait for a short amount of time for the person they're picking up from the airport.
00:03:26
S1: So everyone is going to be impacted there kind of regardless of how you're either getting there or being picked up. I'm thinking cabs, rideshare, private people, private cars, etc. everyone is going to be impacted.
00:03:38
S2: That is correct. I would note, however, the terminal for pick up and drop off is remaining exactly as it is. So the term for terminal four, which is um, Jetstar and Rex are there. Pick up and drop off has been in the terminal car park for well for a very long time now and that will remain as is. But yes, the terminals one, two and three, there is a significant change and that will impact everyone being picked up and dropped off at terminal one, two and three, regardless of their mode.
00:04:06
S1: When might these changes be? Well, A started and B completed.
00:04:10
S2: Well, the construction has been going on for a number of years now, and the change will be implemented in early October. So what our communications team are doing are trying to get is trying to get the word out to Melbourne far and wide so that everyone is ready and anticipating this significant change to how people will access and exit Melbourne Airport. We've got 55 years of habit that we need to change in one day.
00:04:36
S1: And you know, if people like me, Rosie, we don't like change, but if it's for the better, then in a few weeks time, we won't even know that it will happen and we'll all be very happy. What about from August the 10th? What's happening there, Rosie?
00:04:50
S2: Sorry. Okay, great. So from August the 10th, the the community. So the public will have their chance to review our master plan and provide feedback or comment. And there'll be comment period. It's called a public exhibition. And that isn't, um, that's where we're open for public comment for a period of 60 business days. So that's about three months. It'll run right into the beginning of November and there will be. Our master plan is on public exhibition and also we are consulting on our noise sharing plan. So in other words, how the airspace will work once the third runway opens. That consultation, those two consultations will run in parallel. They are linked to an extent, and we will have lots of material available on our website. We will have webinars that people will be able to join, and we will also have community engagement events sort of in person pop ups, markets and so on, where people have the chance to come, come in and speak to Melbourne airport staff and understand, sort of share their concerns and understand the project better. But really, the first point of contact for anyone looking to get involved or understand more is our major projects hub. The Melbourne Airport Major Projects Hub is online, and that has all the information that people will need to start their engagement with the master plan and the knowledge sharing plan.
00:06:18
S1: All right, well, I'll get you to send me a link to that so we can put that up with our show notes. Yeah. Regarding the knowledge sharing plan, I can let you know that we've got someone lined up to speak to you in a couple of weeks about that. That was really fascinating that I guess these sort of things have to be considered. But you know, when you're not on the inside, as it were, you don't kind of think of it, but obviously very, very important. Rosie, what about in terms of accessibility and sort of the ease to navigate for people with disabilities, people who might be blind or have low vision A consulting and B, has that been taken into account up until now?
00:06:50
S2: Yes. We want to hear from community on what they need to be able to engage appropriately with both the master plan and knowledge sharing plan, public exhibition, but also what would be helpful for them. Um, when Naarm Way stage two opens. So the pick up and drop off changes. We'd also love to hear what would be helpful for your community listening to this session in terms of being able to help them adjust to the change and navigating the airport.
00:07:17
S1: And I guess people can contact you in all sorts of ways as far as giving their feedback goes. I mean, I guess from your point of view, it's probably a bit of a delicate balance because different stakeholders, if I can put it that way, are going to have different needs and requirements. So I guess your job, in a sense, is to kind of, uh, sort of make as many people happy as, as much of the time as you can.
00:07:39
S2: We do our best. We're also conscious that we can't get it right first time for everyone. So we really do want to hear from people. Um, and you can, you can find the community email address on the major projects hub for community members interested in hearing more or providing feedback. And we've also got a master, a specific email address for the master plan public exhibition, which is masterplan2027@melair.com.au
00:08:06
S1: Alright. And I'll get you to send me those as well so we can put them up with our show notes. What about in terms of, um, the, the, the way you consult or the way that you get feedback? So I'm thinking you might get it from individuals, but you might get it from organizations as well. So is it kind of a one vote, one value, one submission, one value? I guess you got to kind of balance all that up as well as, you know, if an organization says, well, this is what we think. And an individual says, so this is what I think that, you know, they might be a little bit different, but I guess that's part of your role to kind of go through the information and then sort of glean what you can from it.
00:08:41
S2: That's a really good point, Peter. So, yes, the consultation is far and wide. The consultation involves everyone from federal government agencies, state government, local councils, businesses, if they're interested, and yes, community members. And we really want to hear from individuals and groups. It's the same submission process. Regardless of how you want to engage. You can submit a comment through the Major Projects Hub. You can email the master plan 2027@mail.com.au, you email address, or you can send a letter and we'll provide you with the address for that letter. After this interview.
00:09:20
S1: Okay. Which is an old fashioned letter. That's that's very that's very, uh, 20, 27 in a way, isn't it? No, but in the future, uh, because I also think obviously in terms of, uh, people who might be listening to this, they might be, uh, dog guide users, it might be people with assistance animals. It might be people who just use a cane. I mean, people might use, um, uh, meeting assist at the airport. So again, there's so many different points of view that are going to have to be taken into account.
00:09:50
S2: That is right. And just to reiterate, we just really want to hear from you about what we can do to make your life easier.
00:09:57
S1: How will it work in terms of feedback? Will you kind of respond to people, uh, on an individual basis? If I email you as an individual, will I get a, a personal response or how would that kind of work out? Or I guess it just depends on how it all turns out because I'm expecting that you're going to get, um, you know, because as we kind of touched on, change is always a little bit tricky. So you're going to get plenty of feedback? I would think.
00:10:19
S2: So. Yes, we are expecting to get plenty of feedback. And no, unfortunately we cannot respond to individuals. However, you will get individuals or any, um, any um organization that submits or group that submits will receive an acknowledgement of that submission. And then this, this bit's really important. As part of the approval process for our master plan, we have to submit not just the master plan, but also something called a supplementary report, which lists out every single piece of feedback we've received and how we dealt with that feedback. So for Minister, for the Minister for infrastructure up in Canberra, when she's reviewing the master plan and she's considering whether to approve it or not, she looks at all that feedback and determines whether we've appropriately taken into taken it into account. And if we haven't, if we've, you know, made that position clear, sufficiently clear.
00:11:13
S1: I guess people can take some solace from that fact that, you know, regardless of whether you get responded to or not, your feedback will be taken into account. Now you've got you've got some videos out, haven't you at the moment as well.
00:11:24
S2: We do. Yes.
00:11:26
S1: Just about those. And what about in terms of I guess uh, them being um, well, uh, described for people who might not be able to see them.
00:11:34
S2: Okay. Sure. So the videos we've got out are all about, you know, all about the master plan and the noise sharing plan. They're trying to provide communities with an understanding of these documents and processes at a high level, because there's some technical information included in them. So we're trying to provide as much sort of depth and insight as we can to help community as they go through the process to engage with these documents. We also, in those videos, talk about our Australian noise exposure forecast and the and above contours. Now, what those two complicating sounding things are are noise contours. So those are contours around the airport that give an indication of how much aircraft noise, uh, a dwelling or a person is likely to experience on an average day if they live or work, or indeed spend time in that contour.
00:12:27
S1: Just go back to the feedback. Can people kind of. Is there a desk at the airport that people can give feedback to, or is it all kind of all online email, etc.?
00:12:35
S2: Yes, absolutely. So we do need to have written feedback to provide that, you know, as part of the supplementary report and the process to Minister King. But feedback can be provided in terminal at our reception desk. So you can come to reception in terminal three or terminal four. We have two offices at the airport. There'll be a copy of the master plan and the noise sharing plan available at reception, a hard copy for anyone who wishes to read it, and we can coordinate if there's any particular feedback that needs to come in. We can coordinate from that point on.
00:13:07
S1: Okay. I'm just thinking, obviously, if you're there and, uh, at the, at the spot, uh, you know, you might think, gee, you know, this isn't good or, you know, could this be done a bit better? You know, you can be kind of getting some information on the spot.
00:13:20
S2: Yeah, absolutely.
00:13:21
S1: Alright, now there's so much more we could have covered. So as I said, we're probably going to have to get you back on a semi-regular basis over the next, well, maybe four years or five years. Right now, just in short. So August the 10th is when this kind of, uh, information will be made more public. Is that right?
00:13:36
S2: That's correct. So August 10th is when public exhibition commences, and that is everything will be available on our website until the 4th of November.
00:13:45
S1: Alright. And the kind of changes for terminal three and four they are in October.
00:13:51
S2: Yes. So the pick up and drop off changes for terminals one, two and three, uh, where drop off moves from in front of the terminals into terminal one, two and three car park. That happens in early October.
00:14:03
S1: Sorry, that was the terminals one, two and three as you said.
00:14:06
S2: Yeah. Terminal four pick up and drop off is staying the same.
00:14:09
S1: Staying the same.
00:14:10
S2: Publicity about that that pick up and drop off change, um, over the coming months because we are very conscious. It's a huge change for Melburnians coming into the airport.
00:14:19
S1: You take that. I think you've explained that very, very well. There's a lot of detail there and a lot of complexity, but you're just the person to do it. So we'll get your details and put them up on our show notes as far as they're contacting us. Melbourne Airport as far as any of the changes go and the various aspects of those changes, we'll put those details up in our show notes, and if people have any issue accessing them, they can certainly call us through the radio station on 130847466, that's 130847466, and one of our friendly staff will certainly do their best to get that information to them as well. Rosie, thank you so much for your time. And as I said, we'll we'll make you a star by doing this on the radio, if nothing else.
00:15:02
S2: Thank you so much for having me, Peter.
00:15:04
S1: That's the Rosie I for that Rosie offered there from Melbourne Airport that master plan. It's underway and a few changes taking place from August, the public exhibition and then from October. So. Well, let us know what you think as well because we don't like change. But sometimes it's very important and hopefully it'll be changed for the better.
S1: Well, there's huge things happening at the Melbourne airport. Let's find out a bit about it from Rosie Offord, who's the head of planning at Melbourne Airport. Rosie, lovely to meet you. Thank you for your time.
00:00:23
S2: My pleasure Peter, lovely to meet you too.
00:00:25
S1: Now there's so much to get through, so I'm sure we'll have you back on a semi-regular basis for the next little while. But give us a bit of a thumbnail sketch of what is happening. And then I guess what you're looking for as far as feedback goes, but just a bit of a, an idea of what is happening and when.
00:00:39
S2: Okay, so Melbourne Airport is on the cusp of significant change. In 2024, we had our third runway approved by Minister King. That was a really exciting development because that signals the transition from Melbourne moving from a two runway airport to a three runway airport when that opens in 2031. What we have coming up in September, in August, sorry, is our public exhibition of our master plan. The Melbourne Airport Master Plan is a five is a, is a is something we we update or redo every five years. It's a 20 year master plan that sets out our intent for the airport estate. So that's not just the airfield and the terminals, but also the land bank. We have to, in terms of the business park and the ground transport and the way in which people access the airport, we're expecting a significant and prolonged increase in passenger numbers. And to accommodate that demand, we've got a huge programme of capital investment coming up over the next decade or so. About $10 billion worth of investment that includes the third runway, which I mentioned before, but also a significant international terminal expansion. And in the very near term, excitingly, a big change in the way pick up and drop off works at the airport with the opening of our new stage two in October this year.
00:02:06
S1: Okay. And I guess that's where our listeners come in, because they're going to be coming in and out. And obviously there's going to be changes that might impact upon them either whether they're coming in or going out.
00:02:15
S2: That is correct. So it's the pick up and the drop off. So at the moment, and this has been the case since Melbourne Airport opened back in in the 1950s at the moment. Uh, pick up and drop off for terminals one, two and three. So that's the Qantas terminal. The international terminal and Virgin has been along departures drive, which is a road that goes across the front of the terminal that has long been at capacity. And we've seen queuing bank back almost at times right down to the freeway. And so what we need to do to expand the capacity for that pick up and drop off function is move it into the terminal one, two, three car park in front of the terminals. And so with pick up and drop off moving in there, the benefit really is that we'll have a much smoother process for passengers picking passengers being dropped off either by family, friends, loved ones, Uber, taxi, whatever. So the drop off will work much smoother because we'll have much more capacity for that. And also the pickup should work much smoother as well, because people will be able to come in and wait for a short amount of time for the person they're picking up from the airport.
00:03:26
S1: So everyone is going to be impacted there kind of regardless of how you're either getting there or being picked up. I'm thinking cabs, rideshare, private people, private cars, etc. everyone is going to be impacted.
00:03:38
S2: That is correct. I would note, however, the terminal for pick up and drop off is remaining exactly as it is. So the term for terminal four, which is um, Jetstar and Rex are there. Pick up and drop off has been in the terminal car park for well for a very long time now and that will remain as is. But yes, the terminals one, two and three, there is a significant change and that will impact everyone being picked up and dropped off at terminal one, two and three, regardless of their mode.
00:04:06
S1: When might these changes be? Well, A started and B completed.
00:04:10
S2: Well, the construction has been going on for a number of years now, and the change will be implemented in early October. So what our communications team are doing are trying to get is trying to get the word out to Melbourne far and wide so that everyone is ready and anticipating this significant change to how people will access and exit Melbourne Airport. We've got 55 years of habit that we need to change in one day.
00:04:36
S1: And you know, if people like me, Rosie, we don't like change, but if it's for the better, then in a few weeks time, we won't even know that it will happen and we'll all be very happy. What about from August the 10th? What's happening there, Rosie?
00:04:50
S2: Sorry. Okay, great. So from August the 10th, the the community. So the public will have their chance to review our master plan and provide feedback or comment. And there'll be comment period. It's called a public exhibition. And that isn't, um, that's where we're open for public comment for a period of 60 business days. So that's about three months. It'll run right into the beginning of November and there will be. Our master plan is on public exhibition and also we are consulting on our noise sharing plan. So in other words, how the airspace will work once the third runway opens. That consultation, those two consultations will run in parallel. They are linked to an extent, and we will have lots of material available on our website. We will have webinars that people will be able to join, and we will also have community engagement events sort of in person pop ups, markets and so on, where people have the chance to come, come in and speak to Melbourne airport staff and understand, sort of share their concerns and understand the project better. But really, the first point of contact for anyone looking to get involved or understand more is our major projects hub. The Melbourne Airport Major Projects Hub is online, and that has all the information that people will need to start their engagement with the master plan and the knowledge sharing plan.
00:06:18
S1: All right, well, I'll get you to send me a link to that so we can put that up with our show notes. Yeah. Regarding the knowledge sharing plan, I can let you know that we've got someone lined up to speak to you in a couple of weeks about that. That was really fascinating that I guess these sort of things have to be considered. But you know, when you're not on the inside, as it were, you don't kind of think of it, but obviously very, very important. Rosie, what about in terms of accessibility and sort of the ease to navigate for people with disabilities, people who might be blind or have low vision A consulting and B, has that been taken into account up until now?
00:06:50
S2: Yes. We want to hear from community on what they need to be able to engage appropriately with both the master plan and knowledge sharing plan, public exhibition, but also what would be helpful for them. Um, when Naarm Way stage two opens. So the pick up and drop off changes. We'd also love to hear what would be helpful for your community listening to this session in terms of being able to help them adjust to the change and navigating the airport.
00:07:17
S1: And I guess people can contact you in all sorts of ways as far as giving their feedback goes. I mean, I guess from your point of view, it's probably a bit of a delicate balance because different stakeholders, if I can put it that way, are going to have different needs and requirements. So I guess your job, in a sense, is to kind of, uh, sort of make as many people happy as, as much of the time as you can.
00:07:39
S2: We do our best. We're also conscious that we can't get it right first time for everyone. So we really do want to hear from people. Um, and you can, you can find the community email address on the major projects hub for community members interested in hearing more or providing feedback. And we've also got a master, a specific email address for the master plan public exhibition, which is masterplan2027@melair.com.au
00:08:06
S1: Alright. And I'll get you to send me those as well so we can put them up with our show notes. What about in terms of, um, the, the, the way you consult or the way that you get feedback? So I'm thinking you might get it from individuals, but you might get it from organizations as well. So is it kind of a one vote, one value, one submission, one value? I guess you got to kind of balance all that up as well as, you know, if an organization says, well, this is what we think. And an individual says, so this is what I think that, you know, they might be a little bit different, but I guess that's part of your role to kind of go through the information and then sort of glean what you can from it.
00:08:41
S2: That's a really good point, Peter. So, yes, the consultation is far and wide. The consultation involves everyone from federal government agencies, state government, local councils, businesses, if they're interested, and yes, community members. And we really want to hear from individuals and groups. It's the same submission process. Regardless of how you want to engage. You can submit a comment through the Major Projects Hub. You can email the master plan 2027@mail.com.au, you email address, or you can send a letter and we'll provide you with the address for that letter. After this interview.
00:09:20
S1: Okay. Which is an old fashioned letter. That's that's very that's very, uh, 20, 27 in a way, isn't it? No, but in the future, uh, because I also think obviously in terms of, uh, people who might be listening to this, they might be, uh, dog guide users, it might be people with assistance animals. It might be people who just use a cane. I mean, people might use, um, uh, meeting assist at the airport. So again, there's so many different points of view that are going to have to be taken into account.
00:09:50
S2: That is right. And just to reiterate, we just really want to hear from you about what we can do to make your life easier.
00:09:57
S1: How will it work in terms of feedback? Will you kind of respond to people, uh, on an individual basis? If I email you as an individual, will I get a, a personal response or how would that kind of work out? Or I guess it just depends on how it all turns out because I'm expecting that you're going to get, um, you know, because as we kind of touched on, change is always a little bit tricky. So you're going to get plenty of feedback? I would think.
00:10:19
S2: So. Yes, we are expecting to get plenty of feedback. And no, unfortunately we cannot respond to individuals. However, you will get individuals or any, um, any um organization that submits or group that submits will receive an acknowledgement of that submission. And then this, this bit's really important. As part of the approval process for our master plan, we have to submit not just the master plan, but also something called a supplementary report, which lists out every single piece of feedback we've received and how we dealt with that feedback. So for Minister, for the Minister for infrastructure up in Canberra, when she's reviewing the master plan and she's considering whether to approve it or not, she looks at all that feedback and determines whether we've appropriately taken into taken it into account. And if we haven't, if we've, you know, made that position clear, sufficiently clear.
00:11:13
S1: I guess people can take some solace from that fact that, you know, regardless of whether you get responded to or not, your feedback will be taken into account. Now you've got you've got some videos out, haven't you at the moment as well.
00:11:24
S2: We do. Yes.
00:11:26
S1: Just about those. And what about in terms of I guess uh, them being um, well, uh, described for people who might not be able to see them.
00:11:34
S2: Okay. Sure. So the videos we've got out are all about, you know, all about the master plan and the noise sharing plan. They're trying to provide communities with an understanding of these documents and processes at a high level, because there's some technical information included in them. So we're trying to provide as much sort of depth and insight as we can to help community as they go through the process to engage with these documents. We also, in those videos, talk about our Australian noise exposure forecast and the and above contours. Now, what those two complicating sounding things are are noise contours. So those are contours around the airport that give an indication of how much aircraft noise, uh, a dwelling or a person is likely to experience on an average day if they live or work, or indeed spend time in that contour.
00:12:27
S1: Just go back to the feedback. Can people kind of. Is there a desk at the airport that people can give feedback to, or is it all kind of all online email, etc.?
00:12:35
S2: Yes, absolutely. So we do need to have written feedback to provide that, you know, as part of the supplementary report and the process to Minister King. But feedback can be provided in terminal at our reception desk. So you can come to reception in terminal three or terminal four. We have two offices at the airport. There'll be a copy of the master plan and the noise sharing plan available at reception, a hard copy for anyone who wishes to read it, and we can coordinate if there's any particular feedback that needs to come in. We can coordinate from that point on.
00:13:07
S1: Okay. I'm just thinking, obviously, if you're there and, uh, at the, at the spot, uh, you know, you might think, gee, you know, this isn't good or, you know, could this be done a bit better? You know, you can be kind of getting some information on the spot.
00:13:20
S2: Yeah, absolutely.
00:13:21
S1: Alright, now there's so much more we could have covered. So as I said, we're probably going to have to get you back on a semi-regular basis over the next, well, maybe four years or five years. Right now, just in short. So August the 10th is when this kind of, uh, information will be made more public. Is that right?
00:13:36
S2: That's correct. So August 10th is when public exhibition commences, and that is everything will be available on our website until the 4th of November.
00:13:45
S1: Alright. And the kind of changes for terminal three and four they are in October.
00:13:51
S2: Yes. So the pick up and drop off changes for terminals one, two and three, uh, where drop off moves from in front of the terminals into terminal one, two and three car park. That happens in early October.
00:14:03
S1: Sorry, that was the terminals one, two and three as you said.
00:14:06
S2: Yeah. Terminal four pick up and drop off is staying the same.
00:14:09
S1: Staying the same.
00:14:10
S2: Publicity about that that pick up and drop off change, um, over the coming months because we are very conscious. It's a huge change for Melburnians coming into the airport.
00:14:19
S1: You take that. I think you've explained that very, very well. There's a lot of detail there and a lot of complexity, but you're just the person to do it. So we'll get your details and put them up on our show notes as far as they're contacting us. Melbourne Airport as far as any of the changes go and the various aspects of those changes, we'll put those details up in our show notes, and if people have any issue accessing them, they can certainly call us through the radio station on 130847466, that's 130847466, and one of our friendly staff will certainly do their best to get that information to them as well. Rosie, thank you so much for your time. And as I said, we'll we'll make you a star by doing this on the radio, if nothing else.
00:15:02
S2: Thank you so much for having me, Peter.
00:15:04
S1: That's the Rosie I for that Rosie offered there from Melbourne Airport that master plan. It's underway and a few changes taking place from August, the public exhibition and then from October. So. Well, let us know what you think as well because we don't like change. But sometimes it's very important and hopefully it'll be changed for the better.
