We need your help. Re Merimbula Airport Master Plan.
I declare an interest here. I am a pilot. I am an airport tenant, I am an airport lessee, I am a local government rate payer and state tax payer and a federal tax payer including income tax, PAYG and capital gains tax.
There are questions we would like answered by the author of the Masterplan for Merimbula Airport which is Bega Valley Shire Council.
There is not one current stakeholder who will benefit from the draft master plan in its current format.
So…. if the draft Master plan is not to benefit the key stakeholders’ who will it benefit from the proposed changes and how can BVSC justify the need for change?
Who are the stakeholders’ council are consulting with in their design of the draft master plan?
Has anyone involved in the design of this plan had anything to do with General Aviation?
If council is determined to continue down this path to stifle general aviation in the southeast of NSW why did they accept nearly 18 Million dollars from NSW and Federal governments to create a General Aviation Precinct at Merimbula Airport?
The four most imposing buildings at the airport are aircraft hangars. All have been advised their current leases will end without the possibility of renewal. They will need to remove their structures at their own expense.
Every other tenant at the airport has been advised they will need to vacate at some stage. Those other tenants employ about 30 locals.
The largest structure at the airport, currently an aircraft maintenance business, has been advised that while the structure may stay it will not be approved for the maintenance of aircraft. Council has advised it may be approved for other purposes. This hangar was built with councils’ approval at a location that council insisted on with a streetscape at councils’ direction at the expense of the owner of Merimbula Aircraft Maintenance.
If council go ahead with the eviction of the aircraft maintenance business every private pilot and aircraft owner will seek to hangar their aircraft at an airport with an aircraft maintenance facility. They need to be at an airport with a maintenance facility to avoid time sensitive activities, like 100 hourly servicing, 50 hourly oil changes and annual maintenance releases that could see their aircraft grounded and unable to fly to another destination with aircraft maintenance facilities.
If Merimbula lose their aircraft maintenance facility, due to councils inability to co-operate, Merimbula will become like Mallacoota, Cooma, Goulburn, Tumut and Jindabyne with no possibility for aircraft maintenance.
This will leave the SouthEast and Snowy regions without an aircraft maintenance facility.
Why is BVSC unable to grasp the potential for growth in general aviation with the current maintenance facility the only one in this corner of Australia?
Council accepted tens of millions of dollars to add runway extensions and terminal improvements from State and Federal Governments that benefit the rate payers of the BVSC and regular passenger transport (RPT) passengers on Qantas and REX airlines.
Separate to this Council also accepted tens of millions of dollars to create a General Aviation Precinct to benefit general aviation participants.
Council continuously advises general aviation pilots, who pay local, state and federal tax’s which were the original source of the almost 30 million dollars in grants council spent, that council must get a good return for their investment. Tax payers’ see their tax’s granted to councils to build infrastructure for tax payers to use leveraged against them so council can gain a market return on the infrastructure built by granted funds?
Why is council not willing to work with the current stakeholders to come up with a Master Plan to benefit the ratepayers and NSW and Federal tax payers and all airport users?
if you could come up with some answers for us we would much appreciate it.
I declare an interest here. I am a pilot. I am an airport tenant, I am an airport lessee, I am a local government rate payer and state tax payer and a federal tax payer including income tax, PAYG and capital gains tax.
There are questions we would like answered by the author of the Masterplan for Merimbula Airport which is Bega Valley Shire Council.
There is not one current stakeholder who will benefit from the draft master plan in its current format.
So…. if the draft Master plan is not to benefit the key stakeholders’ who will it benefit from the proposed changes and how can BVSC justify the need for change?
Who are the stakeholders’ council are consulting with in their design of the draft master plan?
Has anyone involved in the design of this plan had anything to do with General Aviation?
If council is determined to continue down this path to stifle general aviation in the southeast of NSW why did they accept nearly 18 Million dollars from NSW and Federal governments to create a General Aviation Precinct at Merimbula Airport?
The four most imposing buildings at the airport are aircraft hangars. All have been advised their current leases will end without the possibility of renewal. They will need to remove their structures at their own expense.
Every other tenant at the airport has been advised they will need to vacate at some stage. Those other tenants employ about 30 locals.
The largest structure at the airport, currently an aircraft maintenance business, has been advised that while the structure may stay it will not be approved for the maintenance of aircraft. Council has advised it may be approved for other purposes. This hangar was built with councils’ approval at a location that council insisted on with a streetscape at councils’ direction at the expense of the owner of Merimbula Aircraft Maintenance.
If council go ahead with the eviction of the aircraft maintenance business every private pilot and aircraft owner will seek to hangar their aircraft at an airport with an aircraft maintenance facility. They need to be at an airport with a maintenance facility to avoid time sensitive activities, like 100 hourly servicing, 50 hourly oil changes and annual maintenance releases that could see their aircraft grounded and unable to fly to another destination with aircraft maintenance facilities.
If Merimbula lose their aircraft maintenance facility, due to councils inability to co-operate, Merimbula will become like Mallacoota, Cooma, Goulburn, Tumut and Jindabyne with no possibility for aircraft maintenance.
This will leave the SouthEast and Snowy regions without an aircraft maintenance facility.
Why is BVSC unable to grasp the potential for growth in general aviation with the current maintenance facility the only one in this corner of Australia?
Council accepted tens of millions of dollars to add runway extensions and terminal improvements from State and Federal Governments that benefit the rate payers of the BVSC and regular passenger transport (RPT) passengers on Qantas and REX airlines.
Separate to this Council also accepted tens of millions of dollars to create a General Aviation Precinct to benefit general aviation participants.
Council continuously advises general aviation pilots, who pay local, state and federal tax’s which were the original source of the almost 30 million dollars in grants council spent, that council must get a good return for their investment. Tax payers’ see their tax’s granted to councils to build infrastructure for tax payers to use leveraged against them so council can gain a market return on the infrastructure built by granted funds?
Why is council not willing to work with the current stakeholders to come up with a Master Plan to benefit the ratepayers and NSW and Federal tax payers and all airport users?
if you could come up with some answers for us we would much appreciate it.
Sign up and grab your popcorn
With the Merimbula airport planning debacle heading towards a parliamentary enquiry, a local insider reviews the upcoming show.
Cast:
REX KOERBIN, the hero. Owner of a small town aircraft maintenance business. All round good guy, does charity work on weekends. Rex has been advocating for justice and accountability at Merimbula airport for many years, much to the annoyance of the BEGA COUNCIL who hoped to get away with wasting our ratepayers money.
BEGA COUNCIL. Obvious villain complete with beaurocrats and paperwork. Has long been annoyed with REX KOERBIN for holding them accountable at Merimbula airport.
Plot:
With the new Master Plan for the airport, Bega Council has found a way to be rid of the pesky aircraft maintainer for good and free to waste ratepayers money at will.
When word gets out, locals start rallying to help and the case gets heard at Parliment.
Watch with delight when it comes out that Bega Council officials didn't declare the existing conflict, and now are on the hook for bullying, adverse action, and jeopardising the airport for a personal vendetta.
A must watch for anyone who has ever felt powerless at the hands of beaurocracy. A feel good show where the bullies get what they deserve and the good guys win.
Admission is by simply adding your name to the petition to hold the council accountable.
https://www.change.org/p/save-aircraft-maintenace-services-at-merimbula-airport
So sign up, and wait for the show, coming to all good news services
With the Merimbula airport planning debacle heading towards a parliamentary enquiry, a local insider reviews the upcoming show.
Cast:
REX KOERBIN, the hero. Owner of a small town aircraft maintenance business. All round good guy, does charity work on weekends. Rex has been advocating for justice and accountability at Merimbula airport for many years, much to the annoyance of the BEGA COUNCIL who hoped to get away with wasting our ratepayers money.
BEGA COUNCIL. Obvious villain complete with beaurocrats and paperwork. Has long been annoyed with REX KOERBIN for holding them accountable at Merimbula airport.
Plot:
With the new Master Plan for the airport, Bega Council has found a way to be rid of the pesky aircraft maintainer for good and free to waste ratepayers money at will.
When word gets out, locals start rallying to help and the case gets heard at Parliment.
Watch with delight when it comes out that Bega Council officials didn't declare the existing conflict, and now are on the hook for bullying, adverse action, and jeopardising the airport for a personal vendetta.
A must watch for anyone who has ever felt powerless at the hands of beaurocracy. A feel good show where the bullies get what they deserve and the good guys win.
Admission is by simply adding your name to the petition to hold the council accountable.
https://www.change.org/p/save-aircraft-maintenace-services-at-merimbula-airport
So sign up, and wait for the show, coming to all good news services
Dear Ms Symons,
Please allow me to express in the strongest possible terms my disbelief and disappointment at several aspects of the Merimbula Airport Master Plan. In particular I am opposed to the plan’s failure to provide for the operation of Merimbula Aircraft Maintenance (MAM).
I should point out that I am a Bega Valley rate payer and I have considerable aviation experience. I believe I am eminently qualified to offer you my opinion for the following reasons;
# I have 10,000 hours of command time in an aeroplane.
# I have operated as a commercial pilot from Merimbula Airport for the past 38 years.
# I hold an Air Transport Pilots License.
# I am a Grade 1 Flight Instructor.
# I am a Flight Examiner.
# I was the CASA approved Chief Pilot of Merimbula Air Services from 1996 until 2022 (Now designated as Head of Flying Operations) and Chief Flying Instructor also from 1996 until 2022 (now designated as Head of Operations).
# I hold a Masters Degree in Aviation from The University of NSW. The subject of the Masters Degree included Aviation Safety, Security and Airport Management and planning.
Evicting Merimbula Aircraft Maintenance will most likely result in the closure of that business and the permanent loss of any aircraft maintenance organisation from the airport. Merimbula is fortunate to have a Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer where many similarly sized airports do not.
I can say with certainty that having operated the Merimbula Air Services flying school for over 30 years and personally contributing hundreds of thousands of dollars into the towns economy, without a maintenance organisation on the field, I would not have been able or willing to run my business.
It is a failure of the Master Plan that it does not account for the implications of the forced closure of MAM. The closure will invalidate the Master Plan’s projections for the growth of general and private aviation, therefore it is obvious that the plan is constructed around a false premise. One could suggest that the Master Plan is effectively ’throwing the baby out with the bathwater’.
General aviation and private aircraft arrivals add to Merimbula’s economy and has a considerable ‘multiplier effect’ throughout the community, far in excess of the landing fees, fuel sales and other direct expenses incurred by the aircraft. The importance of MAM cannot be overemphasised in encouraging pilots to choose Merimbula as a destination.
Few towns in Australia offer a better destination for pilots, both in terms of natural beauty, proximity to the town and facilities provided. I believe Merimbula can look forward to future growth of aviation tourism. Everything possible should be done to maintain and improve these natural advantages to encourage visiting pilots. The closure of the maintenance facility is a retrograde step in this regard.
As with so many highly skilled trades and professions, there is a dearth of Licensed Aircraft Engineers in Australia, particularly outside major cities. It would be highly unlikely that any other aircraft maintenance facility would be established in the foreseeable future, should MAM close.
To add insult to injury, having removed the Merimbula Aircraft Maintenance building, the plan has no clearly identifiable vital aviation related activity that requires the site.
I therefore believe that its removal is not justifiable.
A maintenance organisation directly brings income into the area through visiting aircraft, it provides employment and adds efficiency and safety to the operation of the airport. To quote just one example, Merimbula Aircraft Maintenance has been able to quickly respond and remove disabled light aircraft from the active runway that have experienced a mechanical failure such as a flat tyre. This not uncommon occurrence would otherwise have resulted in an extended airport closure and the diversion of scheduled passenger flights. Merimbula Airport’s excellent ground staff will confirm this fact.
In developing The Management Plan it is easy to become overly focused on the ‘vision splendid’ of a bustling RPT airport of the future but in doing so ignore and destroy the existing thriving General Aviation activity. Of course Merimbula Airport must prepare for the arrival of larger RPT aircraft but also harmonise it with General Aviation.
Finally, I would point out that any level of government in Australia that become bedazzled by a grandiose future vision and chooses to trample over the interests of individuals and small businesses, to the advantage of larger operators, does so at their own risk. It is beholden on local government to support and do what is possible to encourage local businesses. To force a viable enterprise to shutdown without a demonstrable, unavoidable and imperative reason to do so represents a travesty of basic justice and is contrary to the ethos of Bega Valley Council.
I would welcome further discussion with the Bega Valley Council on anything that I have put forward in this letter.
Please allow me to express in the strongest possible terms my disbelief and disappointment at several aspects of the Merimbula Airport Master Plan. In particular I am opposed to the plan’s failure to provide for the operation of Merimbula Aircraft Maintenance (MAM).
I should point out that I am a Bega Valley rate payer and I have considerable aviation experience. I believe I am eminently qualified to offer you my opinion for the following reasons;
# I have 10,000 hours of command time in an aeroplane.
# I have operated as a commercial pilot from Merimbula Airport for the past 38 years.
# I hold an Air Transport Pilots License.
# I am a Grade 1 Flight Instructor.
# I am a Flight Examiner.
# I was the CASA approved Chief Pilot of Merimbula Air Services from 1996 until 2022 (Now designated as Head of Flying Operations) and Chief Flying Instructor also from 1996 until 2022 (now designated as Head of Operations).
# I hold a Masters Degree in Aviation from The University of NSW. The subject of the Masters Degree included Aviation Safety, Security and Airport Management and planning.
Evicting Merimbula Aircraft Maintenance will most likely result in the closure of that business and the permanent loss of any aircraft maintenance organisation from the airport. Merimbula is fortunate to have a Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer where many similarly sized airports do not.
I can say with certainty that having operated the Merimbula Air Services flying school for over 30 years and personally contributing hundreds of thousands of dollars into the towns economy, without a maintenance organisation on the field, I would not have been able or willing to run my business.
It is a failure of the Master Plan that it does not account for the implications of the forced closure of MAM. The closure will invalidate the Master Plan’s projections for the growth of general and private aviation, therefore it is obvious that the plan is constructed around a false premise. One could suggest that the Master Plan is effectively ’throwing the baby out with the bathwater’.
General aviation and private aircraft arrivals add to Merimbula’s economy and has a considerable ‘multiplier effect’ throughout the community, far in excess of the landing fees, fuel sales and other direct expenses incurred by the aircraft. The importance of MAM cannot be overemphasised in encouraging pilots to choose Merimbula as a destination.
Few towns in Australia offer a better destination for pilots, both in terms of natural beauty, proximity to the town and facilities provided. I believe Merimbula can look forward to future growth of aviation tourism. Everything possible should be done to maintain and improve these natural advantages to encourage visiting pilots. The closure of the maintenance facility is a retrograde step in this regard.
As with so many highly skilled trades and professions, there is a dearth of Licensed Aircraft Engineers in Australia, particularly outside major cities. It would be highly unlikely that any other aircraft maintenance facility would be established in the foreseeable future, should MAM close.
To add insult to injury, having removed the Merimbula Aircraft Maintenance building, the plan has no clearly identifiable vital aviation related activity that requires the site.
I therefore believe that its removal is not justifiable.
A maintenance organisation directly brings income into the area through visiting aircraft, it provides employment and adds efficiency and safety to the operation of the airport. To quote just one example, Merimbula Aircraft Maintenance has been able to quickly respond and remove disabled light aircraft from the active runway that have experienced a mechanical failure such as a flat tyre. This not uncommon occurrence would otherwise have resulted in an extended airport closure and the diversion of scheduled passenger flights. Merimbula Airport’s excellent ground staff will confirm this fact.
In developing The Management Plan it is easy to become overly focused on the ‘vision splendid’ of a bustling RPT airport of the future but in doing so ignore and destroy the existing thriving General Aviation activity. Of course Merimbula Airport must prepare for the arrival of larger RPT aircraft but also harmonise it with General Aviation.
Finally, I would point out that any level of government in Australia that become bedazzled by a grandiose future vision and chooses to trample over the interests of individuals and small businesses, to the advantage of larger operators, does so at their own risk. It is beholden on local government to support and do what is possible to encourage local businesses. To force a viable enterprise to shutdown without a demonstrable, unavoidable and imperative reason to do so represents a travesty of basic justice and is contrary to the ethos of Bega Valley Council.
I would welcome further discussion with the Bega Valley Council on anything that I have put forward in this letter.