SAFETY concerns are rife at Bacchus Marsh Airport, one of Victoria’s most neglected regional airstrips.
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The airfield, currently leased from Moorabool Shire to the Bacchus Marsh Aerodrome Management Inc, has not received any government funding since 1990.
Electricity supply is minimal and water is non-existent at the site, which caters to recreational fliers.
Bacchus Marsh Aerodrome Management chairperson Roger Druce said he was concerned the Labor government had a less-than-detailed commitment to aviation.
He said the previous aviation minister, Gordon Rich-Phillips, visited the site before the November election with a view to providing funds for runway resealing and improving drainage.
Funding would ameliorate some “long-
term issues” at the site, 10 kilometres south of Bacchus Marsh, according to Mr Druce.
East Moorabool Ward councillor Allan Comrie said Bacchus Marsh was overlooked when funds for regional aviation was divvied out.
“They (progressive governments) normally spend money on bigger airfields than Bacchus Marsh,” he said.
Ballarat Airport has also missed out on government funding, but has benefited from council funds pumped into the Ballarat West Employment Zone.
In April, a hand-built plane flipped on the Bacchus Marsh runway while trying to land.
Mr Druce said the crash was due to a mechanical fault that did not reflect on the aerodrome conditions.
The lack of security at the airfield was demonstrated when this reporter drove through the aerodrome almost onto the runway without being detected.
william.vallely@fairfaxmedia.com.au