Kerry O'Brien (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Transport) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In May this year, my colleague Mr Kelvin Thomson brought to the attention of the other place his concern about Mr John Anderson’s trading in AWB shares in the period immediately before the release of the Volcker report in 2005. Mr Anderson’s explanation of his behaviour, both publicly and in the parliament, has been unsatisfactory. Tonight, I bring before the Senate another serious matter—one that calls into serious question the propriety of Mr Anderson’s conduct when he was the Minister for Transport and Regional Services. This matter does not concern money; it concerns safety. In March 2002, Mr Anderson announced that the government was considering changes to Australia’s airspace management. He told the parliament that the National Airspace System model under consideration was closely related to the North American model. On at least six further occasions, between March 2002 and November 2003, Mr Anderson told the parliament that the reform model was the American national airspace system, or one closely related to it, and he made the same claim in at least three media statements between August and December 2003.

Senators will recall that the introduction of the National Airspace System by the Howard government has not been without controversy for good reason. The simple fact is that Mr Anderson bungled the design and implementation of the new arrangements. Rather than involve aviation professionals in the design and implementation, Mr Anderson relied on the advice of enthusiastic amateurs, including Australia’s most enthusiastic amateur aviator, Mr Dick Smith. In so doing, the former minister compromised the integrity and safety of our airspace. How badly the integrity and safety of our airspace was compromised was revealed in February 2004, when Airservices Australia conceded it had failed to discharge its statutory obligation to undertake a design safety case on the reform model.

Tonight, I will reveal some of the unsavoury details of Mr Anderson’s behaviour behind the scenes—behaviour that displays an excessive regard for the former minister’s ego and complete disregard for the safety of aviators and the air travelling public. On 3 April 2003, Mr Anderson communicated with the then director of aviation safety, Mr Mick Toller, on the subject of airspace reform. Mr Anderson sent Mr Toller an email, which was copied to the then secretary of his department, Mr Ken Matthews. The email began like this:

Dear Mick

Recent events reduce my comfort level with the way CASA is handling my airspace reform agenda.

It went on:

... I am getting a strong impression that some of your middle ranking people are still opposed to the changes.

And it directed Mr Toller as follows—and this is quoting the then minister, Mr Anderson:

I want you to give a blunt warning to the people concerned that I will not tolerate them playing politics or destabilising this project in any way.

Mr Anderson then delivered a blunt warning of his own, telling Mr Toller:

I want you to take direct charge of this matter and as such I will hold you personally responsible for ensuring that CASA provides the appropriate level of cooperation and completes its part of the project on time.

The email concluded with this intemperate outburst:

I am not impressed—I want action and I want it fast, Mick.

It is important to remember that Mr Anderson’s direction to Mr Toller did not concern a minor administrative matter. Mr Anderson was bullying CASA to deliver a green light for significant changes to the administration of Australia’s airspace. The ministerial email was complemented by a browbeating of senior CASA officers by Mr Matthews.

It is deplorable and downright dangerous for the former Minister for Transport and Regional Services to behave in this way. Bullying of this kind would not be tolerated inside the Public Service. A private pilot that issued threats to the director of aviation safety would be dealt with quick smart. But, sadly, bullying of this kind is acceptable, apparently, when the perpetrator is a senior minister.

The bullying behaviour had two direct consequences. The first was that the safety case for the National Airspace System model was bungled, badly. When Airservices Australia’s muck-up was exposed in February 2004, one of the agency’s excuses was that it had relied on advice from CASA. The second consequence was Mr Toller’s sacking. Mr Anderson made good his threat to Mr Toller, who found himself out on his ear just three months later. Before he was sacked, Mr Toller responded to Mr Anderson’s threat with a detailed and considered rebuttal. By letter dated 22 April 2003, Mr Toller told Mr Anderson this:

I am aware of the accusations of a conspiracy within the authority to undermine the process. There is nothing new about these accusations: various officers, including myself, have suffered them repeatedly over the years. I have never been able to find any evidence to support the allegations, other than officers sticking to their beliefs of what is correct and safe regardless of the pressure put on them by others with different motives.

In other words, CASA was doing its job and was not going to be intimidated by threats of retaliation. It is no wonder that Mr Toller got the chop.

In his email to Mr Toller, Mr Anderson said:

Frankly, given that in essence we are really only aligning our air space arrangements more closely with the world’s biggest aviation nation, the U.S., those responsible for making the changes are beginning to look more than a little ineffective, and are beginning to look a bit ridiculous.

In his reply, Mr Toller countered Mr Anderson’s claim in this way:

I make one more comment. You stated that in essence, we are only aligning our airspace arrangements with the world’s biggest aviation nation, the U.S. In reality, nothing that is currently being done aligns with the U.S. model, and this is where … the difficulties arise.

Mr Toller’s advice on this matter stands out because Mr Anderson repeatedly claimed, inside and outside the parliament, that his airspace changes would align Australia with airspace management arrangements in the United States. We now know that, as long ago as April 2003, CASA’s Director of Aviation Safety advised the minister that his claim was bunkum. On at least seven occasions, Mr Anderson told the other place that his new system would implement ‘the American national airspace system’ or one closely related to it. The claim was made on at least five occasions after the receipt of Mr Toller’s advice. It was made on 28 May 2003, 7 November 2003, 25 November 2003 and twice on 26 November 2003. Mr Anderson repeated the claim in ministerial media statements on at least three occasions—28 August 2003, 7 November 2003 and 1 December 2003.

It is clear that Mr Anderson misled the Australian people in this matter. In doing so, he breached his obligations under the ministerial code of conduct. That code is not observed much by ministers in this government, but it requires them to be honest in their public dealings. Mr Anderson should have revealed the truth about his changes. He should have acknowledged that his system did not implement the United States regime. He should have allowed Australia’s aviation safety regulators to do their job without threats of retaliation. The decisions made by Mr Anderson as Minister for Transport and Regional Services continue to impact on aviation safety in this country.

Tonight I call on Mr Anderson to explain his conduct. On what basis did Mr Anderson think it was appropriate to bully CASA into approving his airspace management changes? Did Mr Toller lose his job because he stood up to the minister? Were executives at Airservices Australia also threatened with the sack? Did those matters cause Airservices Australia to fail the travelling public by neglecting to conduct a design safety case of the full National Airspace System? Mr Anderson owes the public and this parliament answers to those questions. Mr Acting Deputy President, I seek leave to table a copy of an email from Mr Anderson to Mr Toller, copied to Mr Ken Matthews and dated 3 April 2003, and a reply by Mr Toller to Mr Anderson dated 22 April 2003, copies of which I have already shown to the acting whip in this chamber.

Leave granted.