Constituents have raised concerns with Independent Liberal Member for Alfred Cove Dr Janet Woollard about air traffic noise over the Alfred Cove electorate.

“Several residents have complained about being woken up in the early hours of the morning, due to the noise caused by planes flying over their homes,” said Dr Woollard.

“The level of air traffic noise appears to have increased over the last few months.

A study into the effects of aircraft overflight noise conducted by Professor Stephen Emery, a civil engineer in New South Wales, found that external noise exceeding 70 decibels can lead to disruption in the home.

“According to Airservices Australia, the number of days that air traffic noise was recorded at being over 70 decibels increased from 41 days in the final quarter of 2007, to 55 days over the same period in 2008,” said Dr Woollard.

“While I understand that air traffic noise cannot be entirely avoided, air traffic is expected to increase in the future and there should be a more proactive measure to prevent the escalation of this noise at night in suburban areas.”

Information from Airservices Australia indicates that there has been a steady increase of arrivals and departures from Perth Airport. When comparing statistics from the final quarter of 2007 to the final quarter of 2008, there were almost 3,600 more flight arrivals and departures.

As the Federal Government is responsible for management of airports, Dr Woollard has written to the Federal Minister to highlight this issue and to request his intervention in alleviating the noise level caused by the planes.

Dr Woollard is encouraging constituents who are disturbed by air traffic noise to make their concerns known to the relevant authorities. Constituents can phone the Noise Complaints Line on 1800 802 584 or make a complaint on the Air Services Australia website at www.airservicesaustralia.com.