The Moree-Sydney air route license is progressing to the next phase, with a meeting of the Transport for NSW evaluation committee set to review applications for the license Wednesday, August 1.
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The meeting follows an expression of interest period and will assess the formal applications from a number of carriers who progressed through to the application stage.
The community has not been advised of the details of the applicants, however Council’s General Manager Lester Rodgers will attend the meeting as a non-voting advisory member of the evaluation committee.
Mayor Katrina Humphries has expressed her concerns regarding the process saying, “it’s great that our route has had so much interest from carriers, which is testament to the ongoing prosperity of the Moree Plains. However, I do not want our community to take it for granted that we will end up with the same operator”.
“There have been a number of applications made, meaning any one of them could be awarded the contract, as long as they satisfy the merit criteria.
“The decision will ultimately be made by Transport for NSW, not the people of the Moree Plains. However, we need to ensure that Minister Constance and representatives from Transport for NSW have the best information at hand when making that decision.”
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Councillor Humphries thanked all those in the community that have already had their say via Council’s survey and written submission process, explaining that the results would be provided to the panel and Minister in an in-depth Community Consultation Report.
“We’ve had over 700 responses to the survey alone, which truly shows that this is a matter of huge importance to our residents.
“We’ve been through the fiasco of an unreliable carrier, and are adamant that it simply cannot happen again.
“We don’t want this left to chance, so I am urging our community and surrounds to write to Minister Constance, stating in their own words the issues surrounding landing slots, reliability, functional disability access, interstate/ international connectivity, security, fleet capacity, historical service, cabin support (particularly for unaccompanied minors), luggage allowance and anything else that they feel is relevant.”
Residents are asked to direct all correspondence to Minister for Transport and Infrastructure, Andrew Constance office@constance.minister.nsw.gov.au, and cc Member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall northerntablelands@parliament.nsw.gov.au and Moree Plains Shire Councilspeakupmoree@mpsc.nsw.gov.au.
