Civil Aviation Amendment Bill 2003 - second reading speech

Mr ANDERSON  (Gwydir—Minister for Transport and Regional Services) (9.40 a.m.) —I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

This bill represents a significant milestone in the implementation of the government's aviation reform agenda. It follows the most comprehensive review of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority since its inception—a review and reform process which has been conducted in an atmosphere of calm deliberation. I think all would acknowledge that there have been times in the past when changes to civil aviation safety arrangements have been made in a highly charged atmosphere, because aviation accidents or incidents are always emotive, understandably. We were able to conduct this one in an atmosphere of calm deliberation. I extend my thanks to those who have made that possible. There are a number of them, but they particularly include the members of the board and the chairman, Ted Anson.

The bill reinforces the Civil Aviation Safety Authority's (CASA) role as Australia's aviation safety regulator by introducing a package of reforms relating to CASA's corporate governance and enforcement procedures.

The bill takes into account the outcomes of the review of CASA's governance and enforcement regime undertaken by Ted Anson, the current Chairman of CASA. It also takes into account industry concerns with CASA's regulatory powers. I believe that these initiatives will result in a fairer regulatory system for industry and will have a safety benefit for the travelling public by providing the means for CASA to conduct best practice safety regulation and to utilise new enforcement processes. The passing of the bill will serve to maintain and improve the already excellent safety outcomes of Australian aviation.

The bill demonstrates the government's continued commitment to Australian aviation safety reform. The government has been committed to reform for a long time. In 1999 I released A Measured Approach to Aviation Safety Reform, our policy on aviation safety reform, which spelt out the government's priorities in the area of aviation safety. The measures in the bill attest to how seriously the government takes aviation safety and confirm that aviation safety reform continues to be a priority for me and for this government.

The government has been undertaking a number of reforms which are intended to simplify air safety laws, decrease the number of accidents and incidents, and reduce the cost of air traffic services. As a result, CASA's performance has improved and is now among the best in the global aviation industry. By the grace of God, we have not in recent times had any ugly incidents that have filled our front pages. I believe that CASA, as an extraordinarily important body in preserving the safety of the travelling public in Australia, ought not to be occupying the front pages of the nation's newspapers. When it is doing its job quietly and professionally, there is not the need for controversy and there is a reduced chance of the accidents that none of us want to see. That is what its job is all about.

It is essential that we have effective governance arrangements for Australia's aviation safety regulator in line with the government's commitment to ensure that Australia has a world-class aviation regulator.

Currently, the minister remains publicly accountable for CASA's performance, as I have been reminded many times, but lacks the necessary direct authority to improve its performance as he has general powers of direction only.

The bill will abolish the CASA board but retain CASA as an independent statutory authority. I pay tribute to the members of the board, present and past, for their contribution. The changes go to the issue of the government's views on governance and not in any way to their competence or their decency. I record my appreciation to all of them, particularly during the difficult transition period, for the role that they played. But under the new arrangements, the Director of Aviation Safety (the Director) will hold office at the pleasure of the minister. The minister may appoint or terminate the director after receiving a report from the secretary of the Department of Transport and Regional Services.

The director will become CASA's chief executive officer and will be directly accountable to the minister for CASA's performance. However, the director's role in regulating aviation safety will not change as the CEO—the director—will also be responsible for managing CASA's governance arrangements.

The changes effected under this bill will provide stronger and more direct powers to the minister over CASA's governance and accountability by enabling the minister to, for example, enter into a binding agreement with the director on matters such as CASA's policy directions, priorities and performance standards; determine arrangements for CASA to report to him on its work and outputs; determine CASA's consultation machinery and processes; and establish industry and stakeholder advisory machinery.

The bill also introduces new enforcement measures, which will provide CASA with a wider range of enforcement tools to better match the regulatory action to the seriousness of the breach. These measures will help to ensure that justice is not only done but seen to be done by providing a range of options for CASA to vary, suspend or cancel aviation authorisations such as licences and air operators certificates. This is consistent with a risk based approach to safety management, and I have spent a lot of time talking to industry players about this matter.

Very importantly, included in these enforcement tools will be a scheme to allow an automatic `stay' of CASA's final decision to vary, suspend or cancel an authorisation in cases other than a serious and imminent risk to air safety. The automatic stay will enhance fairness by reducing the time an authorisation holder is grounded while awaiting a review of CASA's decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The bill introduces the concept of a Federal Court exclusion order, where there is a serious and imminent risk to air safety. Under the new enforcement regime, CASA will retain the power to immediately suspend an authorisation where there is a serious and imminent risk to safety, but it will be required to apply to the Federal Court within five days of its decision for the court to adjudicate the suspension.

These new reforms address the perception in aviation circles that CASA is somehow judge, jury and executioner. I believe they address them in a way that will, on the one hand, facilitate the aviation industry in its objectives of growth, of service to the community and so forth whilst, on the other hand, give CASA a balanced but very measured capacity to make the tough decisions when they have to be made to enforce aviation safety. The bill provides specific provisions for a demerit point system for minor infringements of aviation safety rules. The scheme is a non-discretionary tool for dealing with minor breaches similar to the NSW demerit point system for motor vehicle drivers licences.

A scheme will also be introduced that will provide a protection for an authorisation holder from administrative action where they voluntarily disclose minor safety breaches to an independent body through a confidential reporting system within 10 days of the breach.

This scheme, which is world's best practice, will encourage a culture of reporting breaches without fear of reprisal and will help CASA identify patterns that may indicate areas that have a need for training. However, it will not be available for deliberate breaches of regulations, breaches of the act, breaches that seriously endanger the safety of fare-paying passengers, other aircraft or people on the ground, fraudulent behaviour and breaches that cause or contribute to an accident or serious incident before or after the breach is reported.

A system of enforceable voluntary undertakings will be introduced to allow CASA to accept written undertakings from operators who voluntarily agree to rectify safety deficiencies that have been identified by CASA.

Enforceable voluntary undertakings will address infringements where prosecution or licence action would be disproportionate to the breach or would be unwarranted. I believe that the use of enforceable voluntary undertakings will encourage operators to take direct responsibility for their safety and compliance. However, where an operator does not comply with an undertaking freely given, the bill does allow CASA to seek an order from the Federal Court requiring the operator to abide by the undertaking.

The new enforcement measures do not in any way dilute CASA's powers to act when there is a serious and imminent risk that could jeopardise air safety. It is important that CASA has sufficient power to act quickly in such cases, and the community would expect nothing less. I am confident that these new enforcement measures will strike the right balance—because that is what it is about—between enhancing natural justice and maintaining CASA's powers to take action on safety breaches.

I am genuinely delighted today to be able to introduce this series of bold measures which will retain CASA as a robust, independent safety regulator, build on the strengths it has established but at the same time ensure increased fairness for the aviation industry and build a greater degree of trust and confidence between industry and the regulator. I say to both sides of the equation, industry and the regulator, that I expect the building of a greater degree of trust and confidence. To use a rough analogy, the bobby on the beat is there to keep the peace in an amicable and confidence inspiring way: he must always carry a truncheon in his back pocket, but it is there for those who flout the rules, not to intimidate the people who want to do the right thing. I believe it is imperative for the safety of our airways that industry and CASA work together in a spirit of cooperation and of realism to maintain our high standard of aviation safety. I sincerely hope that both sides of this equation get the buzz, get the message, on what I expect out of this.

I believe that the proposals in the bill will reduce incidences of unsafe behaviour and improve both the safety environment and the safety record in Australia. This will encourage greater confidence by the public in air travel and will offer safer skies for all. I present the explanatory memorandum.

Debate (on motion by Mr Rudd) adjourned.