Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

in reply—I thank members, including the member for Lyne, for their comments in contribution to the debate on this bill. The Aviation Legislation Amendment (2008 Measures No. 2) Bill 2008 makes four key amendments to aviation safety and security legislation.

One amendment to the Aviation Transport Security Act 2004 will expand the information collection and delegation powers of the secretary of my department. The sort of information to be collected may include information relating to the screening of people, vehicles, goods or cargo. The other amendment to the Aviation Transport Security Act 2004 will improve the robustness and flexibility of the aviation security framework to ensure a timely response to threats of unlawful interference with aircraft.

The amendment to the Civil Aviation Act 1988 will improve the reliability of cockpit voice recorder information for future safety investigation purposes by clarifying the legality of necessary maintenance practices. On many occasions, cockpit voice recorder information is the essential piece in the puzzle to determine why an accident occurred. We must make sure the source of this information is functioning and reliable and that the information is used only for legitimate testing and maintenance purposes.

Lastly, the amendments to the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003 will improve the workability of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s accident and incident reporting scheme. It is essential that safety data is reported on accidents and incidents for the improvement of future transport safety.

The amendments contained in this bill will further enhance Australia’s aviation security and safety regime, and I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

Ordered that the bill be reported to the House without amendment.

See this speech in context