​Court order and C4 report

So “the community” are to be guinea pigs!

From what little information has been given to “the community” (see below) we can only deduce that the very community people who have led the charge against the council-approved anti-social anti-wildlife helicopter aerodrome will now be subjected to a taste of what’s threatened!

And at your expense - whether by the Council spending your rates to defend their decision, or by your donations towards paying to reverse that decision.

Community opposition is not limited to the acoustic impacts the developer might admit to. In any case, the integrity of the acoustic testing depends on the integrity of the developer and his application - and we’ve already lost faith in that. We don’t have any faith that the limitations he’s agreed with the Council will not be exceeded once his business is installed. Remember the Application and the boat washing facility included in the fine print?

So he’s not likely to disclose future bigger aircraft he’s actually got in mind: why would he invite further community opposition?

All the community can know is that C4 and the developer have now agreed to “an approach” to acoustic testing; this being a negotiated outcome, there must be something in this “approach” for the developer (or he wouldn’t have agreed to it), presumably his opportunity to produce a rosy picture of noise impacts or of mitigation measures. Given the size and tentacles of Mission Helicopters and related business, it would be prudent to guess he’s done all this before.

Within the limits of the “agreed approach”, C4 and the developer have further agreed to prepare terms of reference for the acoustic testing; ie they have agreed to limits as to what and how helicopter “noise” will be measured, and under what conditions. We have no information about these tor, nor what expert advice went into them, but we can be sure the MH knows all about this stuff - after all,  it’s his business.

See invitation below to  contact C4 for more information.

Margaret Moorhouse
Alliance to Save Hinchinbrook (ASH)

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In the Planning and Environment Court
            No 34 of 2021
Held at: Cairns
 
Between:
COMMUNITY FOR COASTAL AND CASSOWARY CONSERVATION INC IA13634
                Appellant
And:          
CASSOWARY COAST REGIONAL COUNCIL
   Respondent 
And:
MISSION HELICOPTERS PTY LTD
ACN 636 565 083            
          Co-Respondent

ORDER 
Before His Honour Judge Morzone QC
Date of Hearing: 3 September 2021
Date of Order: 3 September 2021

IT IS ORDERED  THAT: 
Proposed helicopter flight trial
1.      On or before 7 October 2021, the acoustic experts will meet to determine the terms of reference, minimum requirements, methodology and reporting for the proposed helicopter flight trial [“agreed approach”]. 
2.      On or before 29 October 2021, the proposed helicopter flight trial will occur pursuant to the agreed approach.
3.      On or before 22 November 2021, the data obtained from the proposed helicopter flight trial will be analysed pursuant to the agreed approach and the acoustic experts will provide to the parties’ solicitors a copy of their reporting pursuant to the agreed approach. 
Review
4.      The appeal will be reviewed on 3 December 2021.

Video source: Mission Helicopters facebook page