Battlers get a win.

King of Castle defies Gladstone airport
Author: Peter Morley
Publication: The Courier Mail
Date: 10 September 2008

The following story highlights what can be achieved when, in unity, we stand up for our rights and fight the battle that lesser people would walk away from.

A family of real-life "Kerrigans" have won the battle to keep their castle beside Gladstone Airport safer - and a great deal quieter - for the family of seven.

Gladstone Regional Council had wanted to use a taxiway as a temporary runway while the main one was upgraded and lengthened.

But the Civil Aviation Safety Authority has ruled this would be unsafe, exposing the Chinerys and other residents to possible danger and unacceptable noise.

Like the Kerrigans in the classic Australian movie The Castle, Jamie Chinery and his wife, Tasha, had threatened the highest legal action to stop an airline using the taxiway while they lived in Aerodrome Rd, just 75m from the proposed temporary strip.

"It has taken since April but we have stopped this threat to our safety from a plane veering off the taxiway and ending up in our lounge room," said Mr Chinery, a father of five.

A CASA spokesman said: "We knocked back the taxiway's use for a range of safety issues, one of which was proximity to homes."

The council said it was "disappointed" CASA had not accepted consultants' reports that QantasLink could safely use the taxiway while the runway underwent a $60 million redevelopment.

The problem facing the council is how to upgrade the runway while maintaining regular services to the industrial city where passenger numbers are increasing.