All the talk recently about developing land around the Western Sydney Airport and the aerotropolis at Badgerys Creek has been about owners of large property parcels.
The focus of the spotlight has mostly been on governments buying land within the so called Leppington Triangle.
But owners of small plots of a few acres who haven’t got the resources to hire an army of lobbyists, consultants and legal eagles have largely been ignored.
Until now.
One federal Labor MP has now spoken in the parliament about the plight of these people who need to negotiate with massive bureaucracies regarding the acquisition of their properties.
Anne Stanley, the member for Werriwa, has joined forces with Liverpool Labor councillor Nathan Hagarty in calling for a fair go for these small land owners.
Some of these owners already know their properties will be required for the aerotropolis, while others know that they will be affected a little later down the track.
With recent revelations involving the Leppington Triangle and the ICAC hearings into disgraced former Liberal MP Daryl Maguire, Ms Stanley last week spoke in Federal Parliament on the treatment received by smaller local landowners near the airport.
“What about the smaller landowners? Do they get access to the corridors of Macquarie Street? Do they get to set sale prices?” Ms Stanley told parliament.
While the State Government have announced plans for a strategy to outline ownership arrangements, Ms Stanley has called on the State Government to do more.
“This is causing unnecessary stress and anguish. Land owners’ demands are not unreasonable. They want some certainty for their future and some transparency and confidence in the process,” Ms Stanley said.
Councillor Hagarty said he and Ms Stanley had met with a number of small landowners.
“Some in Thomson’s Creek have already been contacted about acquisition, others along South Creek are in the corridor earmarked to eventually be acquired and others are not,’’ Cr Hagarty said.
“We’ve got a semi-rural area being transformed into a city the size of Adelaide. We need to get this right and we need to make sure everyone gets a fair go along the way. And that must include the existing landowners and residents,” he said.
