Chapter 1 - Introduction

Chapter 1 - Introduction

1.1 On 24 March 2004, the Senate referred the provisions of the Civil Aviation Amendment (Relationship with Anti-Discrimination Legislation) Bill 2004 (the Bill) to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 30 June 2004.

Key provisions of the Bill

1.2 The Bill amends the Civil Aviation Act 1988 to:

  • empower the Governor-General to make regulations that may be inconsistent with current Commonwealth anti-discrimination legislation, provided the inconsistency is necessary for aviation safety; and
  • validate existing regulations and past actions based on those regulations in accordance with safety regulations and standards, which may appear to be inconsistent with anti-discrimination laws.

1.3 The objective of the Bill is to enable Australia to comply with its international obligations to meet safety standards and practices set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). The Explanatory Memorandum to the Bill states that 'as a member state, Australia is obliged to implement ICAO standards in its aviation regulations.'[1]

Conduct of the inquiry

1.4 The Committee advertised the inquiry in the Australian newspaper on 7 April, 21 April and 5 May 2004, and wrote to over 80 individuals and organisations inviting submissions. The Committee received 13 submissions and one supplementary submission; these are listed at Appendix 1.

1.5 The Committee held a public hearing in Canberra on 16 June 2004. A list of witnesses who appeared at the hearing is at Appendix 2 and copies of the Hansard transcript are available through the internet at: http://aph.gov.au/hansard.

Acknowledgment

1.6 The Committee thanks those organisations and individuals who made submissions and gave evidence at the public hearing.

Notes on references

1.7 References in this report are to individual submissions as received by the Committee, not to a bound volume. References to the Committee Hansard are to the proof Hansard: page numbers may vary between the proof and the official Hansard transcript.