Richard Marles (Corio, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I think this is the first occasion on which I have followed my colleague and neighbour the member for Corangamite either in the House or here in the Main Committee. Clearly it is Geelong day today in the Main Committee, as evidenced by the member for Corangamite and me being here now—as it will be of course at the MCG in just over a month! We wait with great anticipation for that event. I congratulate the member for Corangamite on what he has just said about Avalon and echo his sentiments in relation to that. What you have just heard is a very erudite rendition of the issues which face Avalon and why Avalon is so important for the Geelong region, and I completely concur with my colleague’s statements in relation to that. I will refer to Avalon a bit later in my speech, but I think he has put the issues very well and it is very important for us as a country to deal with that.

I rise today to speak in support of the Aviation Legislation Amendment (International Airline Licences and Carriers’ Liability Insurance) Bill 2008. It seeks to amend the Air Navigation Act 1920, the Civil Aviation (Carriers’ Liability) Act 1959 and the Civil Aviation Act 1988. This bill will introduce and amend measures in relation to international airline licences and carriers’ liability insurance. On international airline licences, in essence this bill moves the regulatory framework into the Air Navigation Regulations 1947, which exist as part of the Air Navigation Act 1920. It will put into the power of the Secretary of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government the ability to deal with licence alterations. It will also update existing administrative deficiencies in the international airline licence system. In relation to insurance, this bill will toughen, it will improve, the insurance requirements for international airlines and it will enable CASA to have better abilities to audit and enforce those insurance requirements while also improving the administrative processes which surround that. The culmination of all of this will be to provide greater clarity and assistance to Australian aviation operators in dealing with all of these administrative processes. It will enhance insurance provisions and it will ensure the interests and safety of the Australian travelling public.

The aviation industry, in particular the international aviation industry, is a growing industry worldwide—it is certainly a growing industry in this country. The first scheduled international service arrived in Australia in December 1934, and the international aviation industry as it stands now would be beyond the wildest imaginations, one expects, of the pilots who flew that first plane back then. Just over 50 years later, in June 1985, there were 30 licensed international carriers trafficking just under five million passengers in and out of Australia. Now, two decades on from that, we see that these figures have grown exponentially again: in 2007, 22.7 million passengers travelled with 55 licensed carriers on almost 120,000 separate flights in and out of Australia. This is an industry which is growing despite the whole lot of adversity it has experienced over the last decade. We have seen jet fuel prices in Australia more than double in the five years from June 2002. We saw rising insurance costs in the wake of September 11 2001, and we saw a decline in international aviation travel as a result of that event. And we have seen increased airport usage costs which, in turn, when one thinks about security, relate to that event as well.

But in the face of that we have seen an industry which has continued to grow such that in the June quarter of last year the aerospace industry in this country accounted for almost three-quarters of one per cent of national GDP. Yet it is an industry which was consistently let down by the former government, and the delay in this needed legislation reaching this parliament is another example of that. On 28 May this year I rose to speak in support of the Civil Aviation Amendment (1999 Montreal Convention and Other Measures) Bill 2008. That was in essence a bill which ratified Australia’s obligations in relation to international carrier liability insurance as prescribed under the Montreal convention. It was in June 1999 that the then Minister for Transport, the then leader of the National Party and Deputy Prime Minister, John Anderson, the former member for Gwydir, announced a consultative process with a view to ratifying the Montreal convention. That occurred in June 1999. Yet by the time of the November election last year, in 2007, absolutely nothing had been done to ratify that convention. It took this government to pull that off the shelf, dust it off and put it into action. The Civil Aviation Amendment Bill was ultimately passed by this parliament on 26 June this year.

In this bill we have another example of failure on the part of the previous government to do anything meaningful for the aviation industry in this country. We have seen a complete lack of will on the part of the conservative parties in this country to put their shoulder to the wheel and do some hard work in the area of aviation. We saw an inability on their part to commit resources to assisting one of this nation’s most important and growing industries to conduct their business better and to conduct it with greater security and at the same time with less red tape.

The origins of this bill in relation to international airline licences can be traced back to September 2005 when the then government released a discussion paper. Shortly after that the feedback from the stakeholders was received and collated; it was positive in relation to moving down the path that we are currently moving down today. So from the start of 2006 until the end of the Howard government in November 2007 they were completely aware that the aviation industry wanted the measures that we have before us today, yet they did absolutely nothing. For more than half of their final term in office, the Howard government did absolutely nothing on the issue that we are talking about today except squabble amongst themselves as to who should be the leader and look in desperation at the election which they had to face at the end of last year. While busy with its infighting, the Liberal Party did nothing to help an industry which now represents almost three-quarters of one per cent of national GDP—an industry which, as I said, ferries 22 million international travellers in and out of this country. It is an industry which is absolutely integral to the future of this country, and the Howard government did nothing about it. But this country can now relax in the knowledge that the Rudd government is in place and is here to support the nation’s aviation industry and the nation’s travelling public. That is what we did when we passed the civil aviation bill earlier this year and that is what we are doing in dealing with this bill today, the Aviation Legislation Amendment (International Airline Licences and Carriers’ Liability Insurance) Bill 2008.

Going to the bill specifically, previously I noted that this can be thought of in two distinct parts. The first is in relation to improving the system of international airline licences and the second is in relation to improving the system of mandatory airline insurance. I will start with international airline licences. The international airline licence system that we have in this country was established under the Air Navigation Act 1920. The licences which are provided under that act serve an important purpose. They serve for scheduled international air services the function of making sure that there is compliance with bilateral air service agreements and with the arrangements which exist between Australia and its international aviation partners. As well they provide a final checking device to ensure that the safety and security obligations of the international airlines which currently operate in our skies meet the obligations under those airline licences. So these international airline licences, as a piece of architecture, are clearly critical to the whole system of air safety in this country. The amendments in this bill in relation to that system will strengthen the existing provisions and safety guards which are provided under those licences and in the same breath remove the excessive complexity which exists around them.

The current situation pertaining to international airline licences is one which sees international airline licences, once given, remain in force indefinitely—barring, of course, a contravention by the licence holder of any of the obligations contained in the licence. That has over the years become out of date, if you like, and created a range of anomalies. It has given rise to the situation where a number of licences exist for airlines which no longer operate in Australian skies. It has also given rise to other anomalies by virtue of the changing nature of the regulatory regime over the years. Depending on when a licence was given, the obligations under it may differ from those of a licence given at a different time. So for each of the licences that now apply there are different obligations. That gives rise to inconsistent regulation across the whole sector. It also gives rise to a nightmare for the regulatory authorities trying to audit these licences and ensure that there is compliance, because the obligations under the regulations differ from one licence to the next.

This bill, first of all, seeks to rectify that situation. It does so through a number of means, and there are two that I specifically want to refer to. Firstly, it moves the regulatory framework for all international aviation licences into the Air Navigation Regulations. In doing so, it gives the power to the Secretary of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government for the granting, variation, suspension and cancellation of international airline licences. That is an important administrative step forward. Significantly, this bill will also provide for time constraints on the licences—that is, the licences will exist for a particular period of time and there will be an obligation on the part of the holders of international airline licences to have those licences renewed on a periodic basis. That in turn will mean that the regulations and obligations which flow from those licences will be consistent from one carrier to the next.

This begs the obvious and important question about whether or not that will increase regulatory burden on the licence holders. But I am happy to report to the Committee that there has been extensive consultation with the currently operating international airlines in this country on this provision. They do not anticipate that there will be any problems with complying with these requirements and they are quite happy to do that. It is important to note that, in circumstances where for whatever reason a licence is withheld as a result of measures in this bill, an appeal process will allow review by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The government believes that the provisions contained in this bill, as they relate to international airline licences, will provide the travelling public with much greater safety by standardising the requirements of international carriers operating in Australia and will assist the operators themselves in clarifying and simplifying their regulatory and administrative obligations under the international airline licence system. As I stated, this is a measure which is long overdue.

In relation to airline carriers’ liability insurance, the existing provisions can be found in the Civil Aviation (Carriers’ Liability) Act 1959, which are supplemented by provisions in the Civil Aviation Act 1988. These acts in combination require that carriers operating in Australia maintain minimum levels of insurance to cover passengers for loss in relation to any accident. They also enable CASA to enforce insurance requirements as part of the air operators certificate process. This bill also puts in place important reforms in relation to that process. It will make it absolutely clear that an air operators certificate is only valid—and, as a consequence, the operator is only legal to fly—if there is insurance maintained under it. If, for whatever reason, that insurance lapses then the certificate lapses and it becomes illegal for operators to fly in those circumstances. It becomes illegal in circumstances where there will be significant penalties imposed upon the operators themselves—penalties which ultimately go to criminal sanctions. So this is a very important strengthening and toughening of the regime in relation to insurance.

To complement that, this bill also provides for improved auditing powers on the part of CASA in relation to enforcing air operators’ insurance requirements. We are beefing up the powers of the regulatory authority to ensure that the insurance is in place. In the same breath as doing that we are easing the regulatory burden and cutting the red tape for these airline operators when it comes to meeting their insurance requirements. Currently it is incumbent upon these airlines to obtain a certificate of compliance from CASA in relation to their insurance. What will be sought as a result of this bill is simply a declaration from the operators that they have that insurance in place. Indeed, a failure to meet that particular notice requirement will be met with a small administrative penalty, but it will not prevent an airline from flying—provided, of course, that the insurance is actually in place. So while on the one hand we are toughening up the substance of this regime, on the other hand we are actually cutting the red tape to make it easier to comply with on the part of the airlines.

The member for Corangamite, who has just spoken, mentioned Avalon Airport. I want to briefly mention it as well. He has said how important Avalon Airport is to my electorate of Corio, to his electorate of Corangamite and to the entire Geelong region. At the moment it is a domestic airport which links into an international network. But, as the member for Corangamite said, we have very strong aspirations for this airport to in time become an international airport. I have spoken on that often in this place and I do not intend to repeat that now other than to say that it is absolutely imperative, as the member for Corangamite has said, that Avalon does become an international airport.

In that context, this bill becomes very important. If Avalon becomes an international airport we will of course see as a result more Geelong people travelling internationally. So this regime, which puts in place more secure and safer airline travel—and airline travel which has more comprehensive insurance requirements as part of it—will be very important for both my constituents and the constituents of my colleague, the member for Corangamite. It is a very important measure for our country; it is a very important measure for the city of Geelong.

In conclusion, this is another piece of legislation which should have been before the House years ago. It has a very small impact on the public purse. It is ultimately another example of the failure of the Howard government; it is another example of the inaction of the Howard government—particularly during its death throes in its last term in office. This is something that has been sitting on the books for years now and should have been before us way before this time. But it is good news that it is before this chamber now and that we have in place a government which is committed to ensuring the future of the Australian aviation industry. It is doing the detailed work to make sure that we have a safer and more secure industry for those who are travelling on airlines but also an industry which has the red tape removed from it so it is easier for those airlines to conduct their business in this country. This bill supports the interests of the aviation industry. This bill also increases the safety of travel for the Australian travelling public. I commend this bill to the House.

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