Benalla Rent Hike 550%

[Jaba-who]

I believe any airport transferred from the commonwealth to local government must remain an airport unless re-use is signed off by the commonwealth. .....snip...

These agreements always have an out that allows the operator to move toward non aviation use if there is no demand for the facilities at an airport. It's easy to create a lack of demand. Simply crank up the rents, remove services and make life untenable for the avaiation tenants.

That's what is happening everywhere.

 

 

[turboplanner]

These agreements always have an out that allows the operator to move toward non aviation use if there is no demand for the facilities at an airport. It's easy to create a lack of demand. Simply crank up the rents, remove services and make life untenable for the avaiation tenants.That's what is happening everywhere.

There are agreements, and I think what you are talking about is covered and the aviation activities are protected, but the capital cities have certainly found ways to get commercial and industrial rents on what we would consider safety assets.

 

 

[Jaba-who]

There are agreements, and I think what you are talking about is covered and the aviation activities are protected, but the capital cities have certainly found ways to get commercial and industrial rents on what we would consider safety assets.

If only that were true. I don't know where you get your information from. But I have been involved in meetings with one such owner of an airport as a board member of an aero club and at another time pursuing plans for a set of T Hangars. . And what you are saying there is complete misinformation.

 

In Australia they are not protected at all. In the USA there was a both federal and some state legislations that protected some airfields - but with bizarre unexpected outcomes. Like people were fined for using their own hangars as storage for their own property or even more weirdly there were cases of people leaving their cars in the hangar when they went flying and being fined because car storage is not an aviation activity.

 

But back to the Australian situation.

 

Sorry about the length of what follows. But it's an epic subject.

 

The sale contracts essentially commonly had clauses that says platitudes like that where possible and prefentially the owners should endeavour to retain aviation activities as the prime function of the airport. But they always have had avenues for the owners to recoup their investments. The clauses generally were written in such a way that they could not directly close down an aviation business but there was nothing to stop them increasing costs such that the businesses were no longer viable. If the business themselves close down or move off field then the owner gets clear freedom to take in whatever commercial activity they can to get a return.

 

The use of many airports is moving at a fast pace toward non-aviation precincts and activities. And there are copious examples of nonaviation activities encroaching into airports. The only slow down has recently been a less than loud question about shopping precincts etc close to runways after the Essendon crash last year but the sounds of dissent are limited. This form of extortion is not just happening in capital cities although Bankstown is a prime example.

 

But places like Cairns for instance. Where it once cost $321 to park a plane on the grass in the open for a year now costs $6000 for a Private owned aircraft and $16,000 for a commercial aircraft. and costs $385 landing fees between 10 am and 2 pm for private aircraft.

 

So what has happened ? The airport owners were sold the airport with government assurance they could do what they liked. Right from the start they made noises of being supportive of general aviation but screwed everyone exponentially. The aero Club who had been on the field for 60 years was pushed out by taking away their main income stream and racking up rent.

 

Same with small GA businesses. Rents pushed up beyond actual income of the business ( not just above profit but above total gross income) Everyone except the bigger players ( eg Hawker Pacific) and the government backed training facilities and flying doctor etc. is gradually being forced off field to Mareeba, Atherton and Innisfail or close down.

 

And in Cairns eg. to prevent or satisfy the complaints of specifically targeting aviation - the owners claimed they would build up the other side of the runway for the aviation businesses. But of course it would cost $70 million to build up that infrastructure and the costs would be passed on to the aviation businesses on top of the existing extortionate rents. But surprise surprise - the leases are up on the GA side but the replacement infrastructure on the eastern side is still maybe a decade away - if it ever happens because it also requires filling in mangroves and which is Possibly never going to happen because of the environmental implications.

 

And what will happen to the empty hangars etc on the GA side - Half the GA side is now being closed down, leases ended and the area is planned for a non aviation commercial precinct.

 

On top of that they claim ownership of people's hangars, and take the actual hangar when the owners are pushed off field. But that's another side to the saga.

 

Sorry but what you say is factually incorrect.

 

 

[turboplanner]

If anyone wants FACTS about these agreements, or any specific agreement which the Commonwealth has made, the agreement will be on the Commonwealth record and open to public scrutiny, so you can easily do some research and find out the exact details for that airport.

 

Unfortunately this thread has gravitated into a denigration of John Anderson and generalised spits about unrelated airfields.

 

Benalla is not an airfield infested by DFOs; it may well be the key critical mass factor for gliding in Victoria, and from my observations, I would judge it as healthy in terms of its use for all types of aviation activities.

 

The key issue here is that the Council, which is a public entity and subject to quite detailed open scrutiny, has jacked up the rates, while at the same time having a history of a Prime Cost largely, if not all covered by donations from government, and some very large sums of money, also provided by government in recent times for maintenance and improvements.

 

The question is the and result; if your country airfield had just received that amount of money, and virtually had no Prime Costs outstanding, what would be the condition of your airfield, and what costs would need to be recovered?

 

 

[Jaba-who]

Ask the users of Mareeba airport.

 

Government ( sorry I don't recall whether it was state or federal) gave them $18 million for major works on the airport to upgrade it to regional hub status and take all the aforementioned companies who have been pushed out of cairns.

 

They canvased the users and were advised that it could not operate as a hub while it had no parallel taxiway ( current configuration now requires locking up the strip while aircraft backtrack full length on RWY 10 which is the active runway about 95% of the time. ) and a lengthened runway to accomodate dash 8 s and other mid sized commuter types.

 

So the council then spent the entire amount on roads in the vicinity - none required for the airport except one which crosses around the far end of the runway to some distant hangars BUT which will have to be bulldozed and moved when they lengthen the runway as advised they must. But did get votes from farmers around the area I suppose. And all work on the airport has ceased.

 

And now to replace and raise the funds to actually do the work -the scuttlebutt is the rates and charges on airport users is being raised. And no one is held accountable for it.

 

 

[turboplanner]

Ask the users of Mareeba airport.Government ( sorry I don't recall whether it was state or federal) gave them $18 million for major works on the airport to upgrade it to regional hub status and take all the aforementioned companies who have been pushed out of cairns.

They canvased the users and were advised that it could not operate as a hub while it had no parallel taxiway ( current configuration now requires locking up the strip while aircraft backtrack full length on RWY 10 which is the active runway about 95% of the time. ) and a lengthened runway to accomodate dash 8 s and other mid sized commuter types.

 

So the council then spent the entire amount on roads in the vicinity - none required for the airport except one which crosses around the far end of the runway to some distant hangars BUT which will have to be bulldozed and moved when they lengthen the runway as advised they must. But did get votes from farmers around the area I suppose. And all work on the airport has ceased.

 

And now to replace and raise the funds to actually do the work -the scuttlebutt is the rates and charges on airport users is being raised. And no one is held accountable for it.

Probably, none of the aviation people raised any issues. That would have required a vote by Councillors, and the Agenda item would have been published prior to the event.

Even then, it may well be that ghe decision was ulawful, but you need the documents relating to the airport and the funding.

 

 

[facthunter]

Direct Aviation users are a minority in any community, although some Aerodrome facilities benefit ALL inhabitants of surrounding areas with aeromedical , fire, employment etc. The pressures are always one sided, against aircraft noise/risk etc. Most ratepayer's Associations will tend to be anti aircraft, and anti development of any kind unfortunately, in many instances . This is because the "motivated " type of person takes leadership of those sort of organisations, whatever the direction and intent of the original group. Most Councils welcome development as it increases Rate Net income and "developing" types of people get on Councils to have THEIR Street resurfaced or pet project approved.. They often have more resources than the average U/L pilot, rec pilot , glider pilot.. Aerodromes are under threat everywhere and have been so for over 30 years at least. Land becomes more valuable and an old paddock at the edge of town vastly increases in value so the pressure is on to realise that value. People also buy land near current use aerodromes cheaply and then spend a lot of effort trying to get the aerodrome closed. Nev

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

Ask the users of Mareeba airport.Government ( sorry I don't recall whether it was state or federal) gave them $18 million for major works on the airport to upgrade it to regional hub status and take all the aforementioned companies who have been pushed out of cairns.

They canvased the users and were advised that it could not operate as a hub while it had no parallel taxiway ( current configuration now requires locking up the strip while aircraft backtrack full length on RWY 10 which is the active runway about 95% of the time. ) and a lengthened runway to accomodate dash 8 s and other mid sized commuter types.

 

So the council then spent the entire amount on roads in the vicinity - none required for the airport except one which crosses around the far end of the runway to some distant hangars BUT which will have to be bulldozed and moved when they lengthen the runway as advised they must. But did get votes from farmers around the area I suppose. And all work on the airport has ceased.

 

And now to replace and raise the funds to actually do the work -the scuttlebutt is the rates and charges on airport users is being raised. And no one is held accountable for it.

Jaba a depressing similar thing happened to my brother. After his years of campaigning, $20m was pledged to upgrade what must be the worst tar road in Australia. The money was allocated to the local council, which ignored the road concerned and spent the money on something else. No wonder good people give up.

 

 

[turboplanner]

Jaba a depressing similar thing happened to my brother. After his years of campaigning, $20m was pledged to upgrade what must be the worst tar road in Australia. The money was allocated to the local council, which ignored the road concerned and spent the money on something else. No wonder good people give up.

Edmund Burke said: All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

Smart man, old Ed

 

 

[turboplanner]

Intresting that the people most critical of the GFA are deathly silent. I’m going to back away from any action suggested in the OP until there’s some Benalla basef imformation

 

 

[robinsm]

self interest and greed are alive and well and thriving in the OZ system...lol