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2002-2003
THE PARLIAMENT OF THE
COMMONWEALTH OF
AUSTRALIA
SENATE
CIVIL
AVIATION LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL
2003
SUPPLEMENTARY EXPLANATORY
MEMORANDUM
Amendments to be Moved on Behalf of the
Government
(Circulated by
authority of the Minister for Transport and Regional Services,
the
Honourable John Anderson, MP)
CIVIL AVIATION LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL 2003
The purpose of the Government amendment to the Civil Aviation Legislation
Amendment Bill 2003 is to amend the Air Services Act 1995 (the
Act) to expand the scope of Airservices Australia (AA) statutory
functions so that it may pursue additional commercial opportunities overseas and
in Australia.
The primary purpose of AA remains to give effect to
Australian obligations under the Chicago Convention through providing services
and facilities to permit the safe, regular and efficient navigation of aircraft
in Australian administered airspace. In addition, the Act was intended
to allow AA to pursue commercial opportunities through providing its services
and facilities both within and outside Australia, including under contract to
other Governments, or the agencies through which those Governments have chosen
to discharge their responsibilities.
This was made clear in a Charter
letter from the Minister for Transport and Regional Services to the Chairman of
the AA Board in October 1999, which encouraged AA to take up export and local
development opportunities where they are consistent with AA’s core
business, and also the Explanatory Memorandum to the original Bill, which noted
that AA would be able to provide its services and facilities both within and
outside Australian territory.
These amendments will allow AA to export
its facilities and services, including consultancy and management services,
relating to the safety, regularity and efficiency of air navigation and the
protection of the environment from the affects of aircraft outside Australia.
The amendments will also allow AA to use spare capacity to provide other
services and facilities within Commonwealth constitutional limits, which are not
covered by the Act, provided that this does not impede AA’s
capacity to perform its core functions.
However, the amendments also
make it clear that, despite the new commercial opportunities that the amendments
to the Act offer AA both domestically and overseas, AA’s priority
remains the provision of services and facilities in relation to air navigation
within Australian administered airspace.
It is expected that the financial impact of the Bill will be minimal,
other than through the consequence to revenue of a more commercial application
of Airservices skills and infrastructure.
The Office of Regulation Review has been consulted and it has confirmed
that a Regulation Impact Statement is not required.
CIVIL AVIATION
LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL 2003
Item 1
This item will repeal paragraphs 8(1)(a), (aa) and
(b) and replace them with new paragraphs 8(1)(a) and (b) that allow AA to export
the services and facilities it provides in Australia to foreign countries giving
effect to the Chicago Convention, and to foreign countries giving effect to
other agreements relating to the safety, regularity or efficiency of air
navigation or otherwise for purposes relating to the safety, regularity or
efficiency of air navigation.
This item will also allow AA’s
functions to be performed where the country has not yet become a party to the
international agreement, for example, where AA might be assisting a country to
the point where it can become a party to either the Chicago Convention or
another agreement relating to the safety, regularity or efficiency of air
navigation.
The proposed sub paragraph 8(1)(a)(iii) will also allow AA
to enter into commercial arrangements with entities other than countries for
purposes relating to the safety, efficiency or regularity of air navigation, and
to promote and foster civil aviation both within and outside Australia.
The new paragraph 8(1)(a) will allow AA to provide either services or
facilities, or both, as defined in the new subsection 8(1A) (see item
4).
This item will repeal paragraph 8(1)(d) and replace it with a paragraph
that will allow AA to carry out activities to protect the environment from the
operation of aircraft both within or outside Australia. These include such
activities as noise abatement and noise monitoring.
This item will also
repeal paragraph 8(1)(e) and replace it with a paragraph that will allow AA to
perform any functions prescribed by regulations relating to the effects of, and
affects associated with, the operation of Commonwealth jurisdiction aircraft,
whether in or outside Australia, or other aircraft outside Australia.
This item adds a new paragraph (j) to subsection 8(1), which allows AA to
provide services and facilities not mentioned or implied in other paragraphs
under Subsection 8(1). This means that functions under other paragraphs of
subsection 8(1), whether or not they expressly refer to the provision of
services and facilities, would fall outside the spare capacity function. AA
staff have technical expertise, for example, in radio communications, or
facilities, for example, uninterruptable power supplies, that can be applied to
a range of functions not specified under the Act.
However, these
services and facilities not mentioned or implied in other paragraphs under
subsection 8(1) can only be performed with spare capacity, and must be within
Commonwealth power to provide; must develop or maintain technical skills of AA
employees and must not impede AA’s capacity to provide other services and
facilities mentioned or implied in other paragraphs under subsection 8(1).
The new paragraph 8(1)(j) will allow AA to provide either services or
facilities or both, as defined in the new subsection 8(1A) (see item 4).
This item inserts a new subsection at 8(1A) that contains the definitions
of “facilities”, “provide” and “services”
for the purposes of the new paragraphs 8(1)(a) and (j).
“facilities” is defined as including equipment, to make it clear
that AA is also able to provide what otherwise might be interpreted as part of a
facility - for example, runway lighting;
“provide” in
relation to facilities and equipment is defined to include the normal range of
contract activities relating to this term; and
“services”
amends the list of services previously provided in the Act to make it
inclusive, rather than exhaustive, to cover all the services that AA might
provide to give effect to the Chicago Convention or other international
agreements or otherwise for the purposes relating to the safety, regularity and
efficiency of air navigation.
This item modifies subsection 8(3) to note that, while the extent to
which AA provides services and facilities is subject to AA’s discretion,
this discretion is subject to subsection 8(5) (see item 6), as well as
subsection 9(1) and section 16.
This item adds a new subsection 8(5) to ensure that despite the new
opportunities that the amendments to the Act offer AA both domestically
and overseas, AA’s priority remains the provision of services and
facilities in relation to air navigation within Australian administered
airspace.
Having determined which functions it will perform in accordance
with the new subsection 8(5), AA would, in carrying out any particular function,
be subject to the requirement under subsection 9(1) to regard the safety of air
navigation as the most important consideration.
“Australian
administered airspace” has been used in this item to reflect the current
situation where infrastructure is no longer provided solely along airways or air
routes between centres, but across the whole of the airspace administered by
Australia through a combination of ground and satellite based facilities. The
air services are provided into oceanic regions and may be provided to assist
neighbouring states.