WARNING:
This Digest is prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as
introduced and does not canvass subsequent amendments.
This Digest was available from 12 July 1996
CONTENTS
Date Introduced: 22 May 1996
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Transport and Regional
Development
Commencement: Royal Assent
To increase the maximum size of the Board of the Civil Aviation
Safety Authority (CASA).
CASA, together with Airservices Australia, was formed in 1995
from the previous Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The creation of
CASA was the result of concerns raised over safety regulation
following the Monarch and Seaview fatal accidents (for more
information on the formation of CASA, refer to the Digest for the
Civil Aviation Legislation Amendment Bill 1995, which is available
on the ISR database).
CASAs main function is to conduct the safety regulation of
Australian aviation through the development and enforcement of
standards; the issue of certificates, licences and permits;
industry surveillance; and the monitoring of safety related trends.
CASAs senior management, the Board of CASA, consists of a
Chairperson, the Director of Aviation Safety and between one and
three other members appointed by the Minister. The Civil
Aviation Act 1988 (the Principal Act) sets no prerequisites or
qualifications for those who may be appointed to the Board. The
grounds on which members of the Board may have their appointment
terminated are listed in section 42 of the Principal Act and relate
to:
- the member becoming bankrupt;
- a full time member, other than the Chairperson, engaging in
paid employment that the Minister considers to be in conflict with
the performance of the duties of the member;
- a full time member being absent, without being granted
approval, from 3 consecutive meetings;
- the Minister being of the opinion that the performance of the
member has been unsatisfactory for a significant period of time;
or
- the Chairperson engages in paid employment without the
Ministers approval or is absent, except on leave, for 14
consecutive days or for 28 days in any year.
The Principal Act also provides that if the Minister is of the
opinion that the performance of the Board or CASA has been
unsatisfactory for a significant period of time the Minister may
terminate the appointment of all, or specified, members of the
Board (section 42).
The Board of CASA currently comprises:
Chairperson - Mr Justice Fisher, President of the NSW Industrial
Relations Commission;
Director of Aviation Safety - Mr Leroy Keith - 31 years of
experience with the US Federal Aviation Authority;
Members - Captain Geoff Molloy, former 747 captain and Flight
Safety Manager with Qantas;
Dr Clare Pollock, expert in system safety and human factors;
and
Mrs Gabi Hollows, consumer representative.
There have been two recent disputes between the government and
CASA, relating to Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELTs) and the
decision of the Board not to resign when requested by the Minister
to do so.
ELTs
ELTs transmit location signals in the advent of an aircraft
emergency and are principally of use when an aircraft has crashed.
ELTs can facilitate the location of a crashed aircraft, leading to
quicker rescue for survivors of a crash and a consequential
reduction in the cost of a search. In January 1996, CASA announced
that it intended to require most aircraft to be equipped with a
fixed ELT that conformed to certain requirements, with a sturdier
ELT being required to be fitted in most cases. CASA estimated the
cost of the requirement would be approximately $6.5 million. CASA
also stated: 'The proposed legislation mirrors United States
Federal Aviation Regulation 91.207, with some minor exemptions'.(1)
The recommendation followed significant consultation with industry
and other groups, which commenced in 1992, with over 800
submissions received on a Discussion Paper distributed on the
matter.(2)
The proposal for mandatory fixed ELTs was opposed by the Airline
Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) which campaigned for portable
ELTs, which could be activated in the event of an emergency. AOPA
argued that fixed ELTs were likely to be destroyed in a crash and
would be ineffective in locating survivors in the event that an
aircraft crashed into the sea, survivors left the aircraft and it
subsequently sank. Contrary arguments were that the newer, sturdier
ELTs would be able to survive most impacts, an injured or shocked
survivor may not be able to activate a mobile ELT and that a small
proportion of accidents were likely to occur over the sea. It may
also be noted that the mobile ELT proposed by AOPA costs
significantly less than the sturdier type of fixed ELT recommended.
Media reports suggest that a mobile ELT would cost approximately
$300, while the recommended fixed ELT would cost approximately
$2000 including fitting costs.(3)
It is reported that the then Opposition spokesman for aviation
supported AOPAs arguments and promised that if elected the
requirement for fixed ELTs would not be implemented.(4) In June
1996, the Minister announced that CASAs recommendation regarding
fixed ELTs would not be accepted and that portable ELTs would
satisfy the regulatory requirements.
Non-resignation of the Board
In its Aviation policy released before the 1996 General
Election, the Coalition stated: 'We will appoint Board members who
are competent, and who have practical aviation industry
experience'. The policy also promised to 'investigate the
establishment of a Board Appeals Committee, which will act as a
readily accessible appeals tribunal for cases concerning the
suspension, variation, or cancellation of licences and
certificates'.(5)
It is reported that in early April 1996 the Minister approached
members of the Board asking them to resign to enable people with
more experience in the aviation industry to be appointed to the
Board and, at the same time, the Minister expressed support for the
Director of CASA. It is also reported that the Board members
refused to resign and threatened legal action if measures were
taken to dismiss members of the Board other than in accordance with
he Principal Act.(6) The Minister is quoted as saying that the
Director:
needs a Board that can give him 110 per cent support, that
can help him implement change in his organisation. To do that, we
have got to have people who can talk the language of the people in
the organisation, who understand the issues, who understand the
history, who understand the personalities of CASA and the broader
aviation community.(7)
The Board's reported response to the Minister centred on the
past composition of the Board of the CAA and the degrading of
safety that occurred in the past. The Minister is quoted as
saying:
He [the chairperson] highlighted (the fact) that the CAA had
been run by people with aviation experience in times past and it
had got into a mess.(8)
Later in April 1996, the Minister addressed the prospect of the
Board members refusing to resign, stating:
There are certain powers that are available to the Minister
to terminate their appointment. I don't choose to do that at this
stage.(9)
The next step in the dispute occurred in late April 1996 when
the Chairperson issued a statement to various media outlets. It is
reported that the statement accused the Minister and the president
of AOPA, Dick Smith, of destabilising the Board. It was also
reported that the statement alleged the Ministers actions were to
repay a political obligation to AOPA.(10)
The next major step in the dispute occurred on 25 June 1996,
when the Minister made a statement to the House of Representatives
on Aviation Safety Regulation. In the Statement, the Minister
affirmed the governments view that the Board did not contain
sufficient members with expertise in the aviation industry and
noted that the non-executive members of the Board had failed to
comply with the request that they resign. The Minister then
stated:
In putting their own interests ahead of the need to have the
best available people with appropriate expertise and
qualifications, the board members were effectively putting their
own needs ahead of aviation safety.
The Chairperson's response to the Statement are contained in a
Media Release dated 26 June 1996, the main points of which
alleged:
- that the part of the Statement relating to Board members
putting their own interests ahead of safety was defamatory,
unworthy and unsupportable and should be withdrawn; and
- that CASA was in a rebuilding process and staff needed support
to achieve the rebuilding.
The Media Release also states:
The Minister was not given power [by the Principal Act] to
dismiss the Board except on an attenuated basis not suggested to be
available here. The responsibility for conducting safety regulation
is vested in CASA as a separate statutory authority, not the
Minister.
The Minister's response was released on the same day, 26 June
1996, and, after stating that the Chairpersons public comments were
'definitively disloyal', continued:
The Board is responsible to the Minister and Mr Justice
Fisher [the Chairperson] should clearly understand that, not
withstanding his statutory duties as Chairman, he is in the
exercise of them responsible to the Minister.(11)
Items 3 and 4 of the Schedule to the Bill will
amend section 33 of the Principal Act to provide for a Deputy
Chairperson to be appointed to the Board and to increase the
maximum number of members that may be appointed to the Board from 3
to 4.
(1) CASA, Media Release, 15 January 1996.
(2) Ibid.
(3) The Australian, 16 January 1996.
(4) The Canberra Times, 16 January 1996.
(5) Soaring into Tomorrow, 13 February 1996, p. 4.
(6) The Australian, 18 April 1996, The Sydney
Morning Herald, 19 April 1996.
(7) The Australian, 19 April 1996.
(8) The Australian, 20 April 1996.
(9) The Australian Financial Review, 25 April 1996.
(10) The Australian Financial Review, 29 April 1996,
The Canberra Times, 2 May 1996.
(11) Media Release, 26 June 1996.
Chris Field Ph. 06 277 2439
11 July 1996
Bills Digest Service
Parliamentary Research Service
This Digest does not have any official legal status. Other
sources should be consulted to determine whether the Bill has been
enacted and, if so, whether the subsequent Act reflects further
amendments.
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with Senators and Members and their staff but not with members of
the public.
ISSN 1323-9032
© Commonwealth of Australia 1996
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Published by the Department of the Parliamentary Library,
1996.
This page was prepared by the Parliamentary Library,
Commonwealth of Australia
Last updated: 1 July 1996
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