Dissenting Report by Coalition Senators
Coalition Senators note in relation to Recommendation 2
1.1
The management of private companies and decisions determined during the
course of running their business should be the exclusive remit of that company.
Government, or indeed any party, should not sit in subjective judgement to
negotiate on, and interfere with, management decisions unrelated to the
functions of that party.
1.2
This recommendation would constrain management’s capacity and
flexibility to effectively function in the market place.
1.3
This recommendation illegitimately impinges on a company's ability,
specifically in this case Qantas, to make decisions in order to facilitate the
effective management and running of their business.
1.4
It is for this reason that it should not be supported by the Committee
and is opposed by the Coalition. An individual or any other business entity
should not be subjected to any legislation that removes their pre-eminent and
indisputable right to run itself.
1.5
Further, the aviation safety culture is often held up as a benchmark,
due in large part to its "no-blame" (sometime called "just
culture") approach to encouraging open reporting. Aviation safety
management systems encourage, if not require, employees or management at any level
to be prepared to highlight an actual or potential safety issue, even if that
means interruptions to planned operations until the issue is investigated.
1.6
The Civil Aviation Act 1988 (Section 28E) place specific
requirements upon the holder of an Air Operators Certificate (AOC) in regards
to safety. Civil Aviation Orders (CAO) 82.3 and 82.5 supported by Civil
Aviation Advisory Publication (CAAP) SMS-1(0) expand on the specific
requirements of a safety management system for regular transport operations.
1.7
A CEO or delegated officer (e.g. chief pilot) frequently has to make
safety decisions under real-time pressure, often with incomplete information.
The long term success and value of Australia’s aviation safety depends on such
decisions being made with the confidence of knowing that erring on the side of
safety will be supported in a no-blame culture. The introduction of the threat
of judicial review—some months after an incident by a judge acting with the
benefit of hindsight—will compromise Australia’s aviation safety for the crews
and travelling public.
Coalition Senators note in relation
to Recommendation 3
1.8
That a review of the Fair Work Act 2009 and the Workplace
Relations Amendment (Transition to Forward with Fairness) Act 2008 is
currently underway. This review is being undertaken by Reserve Bank Board
Member John Edwards, former Federal Court Judge, Hon. Michael Moore and
Professor Ron McCallum AO.
1.9
The Review Panel has received evidence from a significant number of
stakeholders and it is anticipated that they will finalise their investigation
by the end of May this year.
1.10
In light of this, Coalition Senators believe that another separate
examination of the Act as it applies to foreign-based employees on Australian
domestic flights duplicates this effort and as such these matters would be
better addressed by the Review Panel.
1.11
Notwithstanding the fact that comments of Panel Members made prior to
their appointment suggests that the findings of the Review will be unremarkable
and predictable, the Coalition remains hopeful that it will recommend solutions
to the practical problems caused by the Fair Work Act which are
increasingly self-evident.
1.12
In that context, the Coalition notes that several stakeholders who have
given evidence to the Committee have also provided submissions to the Fair Work
Review Panel. Those submissions cover many of the aspects considered by this
Committee.
1.13
As such, Coalition Senators believe that it is not appropriate to
duplicate these efforts.
1.14
The Coalition Senators do not support the proposed mechanism
of making industrial relations changes by stealth under the guise of
aviation legislation due to the detrimental effect on aviation safety.
1.15
In conclusion, Coalition Senators oppose Recommendations 1, 2 and
3 of the majority report.
Senator the Hon. Bill Heffernan Senator
Sean Edwards
LP Senator for New South Wales LP Senator for South
Australia
Senator David Fawcett Senator
Fiona Nash
LP Senator for South Australia NATS Senator for
New South Wales
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