WARNING:
This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as
introduced and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest
does not have any official legal status. Other sources should be
consulted to determine the subsequent official status of the
Bill.
CONTENTS
Sydney Airport Demand Management Bill 1997
Date Introduced: 25 September 1997
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Transport and Regional
Development
Commencement: On the day the Act receives the
Royal Assent, except for Part 2 The maximum aircraft movement
limit at Sydney Airport and Part 3 Penalties, which
commence on Proclamation, or if no Proclamation is made, six months
after the Act receives the Royal Assent.
The Bill imposes a legislative cap on aircraft movements
(maximum of 80 per hour) for Kingsford-Smith Airport in Sydney by
the introduction of a management system (including a slot
management scheme) to be administered by a corporate Slot Manager
and enforced by a Compliance Committee.
Kingsford-Smith Airport (KSA) in Sydney is Australia's primary
international airport and domestic hub.During peak periods the
airport handles up to 75 aircraft movements per hour.The need to
provide fair access for international, domestic and regional
flights is important.The present system includes cluster scheduling
where a group of flights are scheduled with the same arrival or
departure time.If applied on a literal basis, the practice of
cluster scheduling would be well beyond the capacity of KSA to
manage.The Bill imposes a slot management scheme (SMS) which will
spread aircraft movements evenly across each hour of operation of
KSA.
KSA is run by the Commonwealth's Federal Airports
Corporation.Three other capital city airports, Melbourne, Brisbane
and Perth were privatised (by way of long-term lease) in June
1997.They were sold for in excess of $3.3 billion.Brisbane will be
run by Scihphol Amsterdam Airport and Melbourne will be run by
Britain's BAA.Perth has been bought by a consortium which includes
US investor George Soros and aviation giant Lockheed Martin.(1)
The SMS has been developed in cooperation with the aviation
industry.It limits the number of scheduled aircraft movements in
any five-minute period.Aircraft movements are spread more evenly
over the hour.The system includes a compliance requirement which
penalises airlines for poor on-time performance.The system also
includes the setting aside of dedicated regional slots for regional
airlines.These regional slots are not available for swapping or
sale to domestic interstate operators or international services.New
entrants will have access to slots.
This airport demand management scheme will be confined to
KSA.
Clause 3 explains that relevant definitions are
found in Schedule 1 to the Bill.An asterisk in the front of a word
or term (first occurring) in the legislation means that it is a
defined term.Some very basic words or terms are defined but because
of their prevalence they are not preceded by an asterisk.These
terms are aircraft, slot and Sydney
Airport.
Digest Note: Sydney Airport is defined
in Schedule 1 as Sydney (Kingsford-Smith) Airport.It is referred to
in this Digest and in the Explanatory Memorandum to the Bill as
KSA.
Clause 4 is a summary of the Parts contained in
the Bill.
Clause 6 is the key provision in the Bill.It
limits aircraft movements at KSA to no more than 80 aircraft
movements in any regulated hour of airport operation.Hourly
movements are measured at 15 minute intervals.A regulated hour is
defined to exclude any curfew period.Regulation within the curfew
period is covered by a separate statute, the Sydney Airport
Curfew Act 1995.Aircraft movements caused by an emergency
(e.g. medical emergency, search and rescue or natural disaster) can
be excluded from the movement count (see also
Clauses 29 and
30).
Clause 7 empowers the Minister to set a lower
maximum movement limit.The Minister's determination is a
disallowable instrument.Under Clause 8, the
Minister must consult with specified persons (by giving notice in
the Gazette) of his or her proposal to issue a
determination.Clause 8 becomes redundant if the
requirements of the proposed Legislative Instruments Act
1997 (now before Parliament) come into force.
Clause 9 makes it obligatory for the
Commonwealth's Airservices Australia to monitor compliance with the
maximum aircraft movement limit and to report to the Minister,
quarterly.These quarterly reports to the Minister must be tabled in
Parliament.
Clauses 10 to 32 comprise the penalty regime
which will apply under the SMS.The SMS is controlled by a Slot
Manager who may declare in writing that certain aircraft movements
do not have to fall within their allocated slot, thus avoiding a
penalty.The Slot Manager is actually a body corporate appointed
under the legislation (see Clause 60).The
penalties imposed are civil penalties which may be the subject of
an order by the Federal Court.The penalties are set-out in
Clause 14 and range from $22,000 to
$220,000.Clause 19 empowers a Compliance Committee
to direct the Slot Manager to issue an infringement notice.The
penalty is either paid by the airline or the airline may prefer the
matter to go to the Federal Court.The Compliance Committee is
appointed by the Minister pursuant to Regulations (see
Clause 67).Penalties are payable to the Slot
Manager which collects the penalty on behalf of the
Commonwealth.
Clauses 33 to 37 establish the Slot Management
Scheme (SMS).It is, essentially, a system for the allocation of
permission for an aircraft movement at KSA within the maximum
movement limit (a maximum of 80 per regulated hour).The slot is
really a technical word substitution for 'permission'.A
slot is issued for a specified aircraft movement at a specified
time on a specified day.A slot is not transferable but
there is scope for swapping under the SMS.The SMS will include
provisions for variation, suspension, cancellation, surrender or
swapping of allocated slots.The SMS must be consistent with any
relevant Regulations and any determination issued by the Minister
(see Clauses 35 and 36).The SMS
is approved in draft form by the Minister (Clause
40).The SMS and the Minister's approval comprise a
combined determination which is a disallowable instrument.Both the
Minister and the Compliance Committee have additional powers i.e.
the Minister can direct the Slot Manager to vary the SMS, and the
Compliance Committee can recommend to the Slot Manager that
variations to the SMS should be made (see Clauses
46 and 47, respectively).
Clauses 48 to 59 establish the
Compliance Scheme for KSA.The Compliance Scheme contains an
identification of the circumstances which may give rise to an
infringement notice.The Compliance Scheme sets out the amounts of
penalties applicable and provisions for reconsideration of
decisions made under the Compliance Scheme.The Compliance Scheme
must be consistent with relevant Regulations and any determination
imposing additional requirements applied by the Minister.The
Minister's determination is a disallowable instrument.The
Compliance Scheme is developed by the Compliance Committee and
approved in draft form by the Minister (see Clauses
52 and 54, respectively).The Compliance
Scheme and the Minister's approval comprise a combined
determination which is a disallowable instrument (Clause
54).The Minister may also request the Compliance Committee
to develop amendments (Clause 57).
Clauses 60 to 65 cover the
establishment of the Slot Manager.As noted above, the Slot Manager
is a body corporate which is subject to civil action, in limited
circumstances.It is specifically excluded from status as a
Commonwealth authority, except for certain provisions of the
Crimes Act 1914 (e.g. the fraud and corruption
provisions).The Slot Manager has immunity from legal actions for
loss or damage caused in the performance of its functions, but not
from liability caused by negligence (Clause
64).
Clauses 66 to 69 establish the
Compliance Committee for KSA.The members of the Compliance
Committee are appointed by the Minister.The Compliance Committee is
not a Commonwealth authority.The Compliance Committee has immunity
from legal actions for any loss or damage caused in the performance
of functions, but not from liability caused by negligence.
Clause 73 provides the legislation with
extra-territorial effect.
Schedule 1 to the Bill contains relevant
definitions.
Schedule 2 to the Bill contains minor
consequential amendments to the Airports Act 1996.
There is speculation that the enforcement of a slot management
system for aircraft movements at KSA may tend to assist the
competitiveness of the privatised airports in Brisbane and
Melbourne, particularly for international carriers.A counter
argument is that the congestion at KSA is only at peak times and if
congestion alone was the determining factor, then it has not
diminished the efficiency and attractiveness of London's Heathrow
airport which has long faced a problem with congestion.(2)
- See Tom Ballantyne, 'Come Fly With Me', The Bulletin,
Sydney, 1 July 1997: 38.
- Ibid
Brendan Bailey
30 September 1997
Bills Digest Service
Information and Research Services
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.
IRS staff are available to discuss the paper's contents
with Senators and Members and their staff but not with members of
the public.
ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 1997
Except to the extent of the uses permitted under the
Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be
reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
information storage and retrieval systems, without the prior
written consent of the Parliamentary Library, other than by Members
of the Australian Parliament in the course of their official
duties.
Published by the Department of the Parliamentary Library,
1997.
This page was prepared by the Parliamentary Library,
Commonwealth of Australia
Last updated: 30 September 1997
Back to top