Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Forrest. That trans-Tasman travel of course will be greatly impacted upon by the Civil Aviation Legislation Amendment (Mutual Recognition with New Zealand) Bill 2005. The travel and tourism website Asmal.com has documented the trends in air travel between Australia and New Zealand in the June 2006 quarter. Figures on the website are quite interesting. They show that the number of Australians who travel to New Zealand increased by two per cent in that reporting period over the same period last year, while the number of New Zealanders coming to Australia increased by one per cent. While these are not huge increases, Australia and New Zealand remain very high on each other’s lists of top 10 favoured overseas destinations.

The member for Stirling has entered the chamber. The member for Stirling represents his Western Australian electorate very well, I might say, and he will continue to do so for many years. But it is a fact of life that it actually costs very much more money to travel to Western Australia from Queensland than it does to travel to New Zealand from Queensland. So the logic of having harmonised civil aviation safety arrangements between Western Australia and Queensland is as relevant as the need to have those harmonised arrangements with New Zealand.

The ties that we have today have their origins a long way back in our histories and it is important that the relationship between the two nations continues to be nurtured and supported. The Civil Aviation Legislation Amendment (Mutual Recognition with New Zealand) Bill 2005 builds on the relationship in a perhaps routine but important manner in the area of air travel. The bill will allow the recognition in Australia of air operator certificates issued by the New Zealand equivalent of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand. The air operator certificates, or AOCs, are the documents issued to aircraft operators or carriers that give authority for passenger charter or regular public transport operations. This bill provides for the amendment of the Civil Aviation Act 1988 to permit the recognition by both countries of AOCs related to the operation of aircraft with a mass greater than 15,000 kilograms or with more than 30 passenger seats.

Across the world, Australians and New Zealanders are recognised as having many similarities, including a commitment to air safety. I want to defend the air safety record of the New Zealand Labour government. I do not want to criticise it—the way the member for Batman did. I believe that the New Zealand authorities are as dedicated to air safety as the Australian authorities are. The mutual recognition, as is included in the title of this bill, refers to the recognition that each of our respective aviation laws is fundamental in delivering a safe operation of aircraft in our respective jurisdictions.

With so much travel between Australia and New Zealand, it is not difficult to see what the ongoing impact would be to continue having AOCs that are recognised by one country but not the other. The impact is increased costs for operators who are forced to meet the requirements of both CASA and CAANZ to permit their planes to operate commercially in both air spaces. This results in duplication and repetition in the areas of administration and financial outlays, for example. The bill removes that burden by recognising the AOCs issued by both of the aviation authorities and builds on the agreement between the two countries—the 1996 Australia-New Zealand single aviation market arrangements.

The bill does not create the amalgamation of the aviation authorities of New Zealand and Australia—and I think that it is unfortunate that the bill does not do that. We do have a number of joint amalgamated regulatory authorities on both sides of the Tasman, and I cannot, for the life of me, see the logic in not having that in the area of aviation. But this bill is a step forward. Hopefully, that complete amalgamation will ultimately occur.

Following the passage of this bill, Australian laws will still have to be obeyed by New Zealand carriers operating in our controlled air space, and the authorities will continue to have specific responsibilities for their own aircraft operations, including responsibility for safety audits and surveillance. The granting of operating permits and other safety oversights will remain the responsibility of the home authority. In addition, rules governing the manner and conduct of aircraft operations are also to be administered by the home authority.

Aviation authorities will still have the power to issue temporary stop notices to aircraft operating in Australia that hold AOCs with New Zealand privileges. As host to a New Zealand carrier, CASA can issue stop notices if the carrier is deemed to pose an aviation safety risk. The home safety regulator, CAANZ, will then take steps to take any necessary action.

This bill will encourage the greater ease of operations between airline operators in both Australia and New Zealand, and similar legislation in New Zealand recognising AOCs issued by the Australian authorities was introduced in early 2004. This bill is one of the first steps that will, in my view, ultimately result in umbrella recognition for the aviation requirements and regulations of both nations. My view, as I said before in this speech, is that there really ought to be one set of rules for operating on both sides of the Tasman. I am pleased to be able to commend the Civil Aviation Legislation Amendment (Mutual Recognition with New Zealand) Bill to the chamber.

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