Duynhoven Harry: Aviation Security Legislation Bill — First Reading 
Duynhoven Harry: Aviation Security Legislation Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:638;Page:8104] 
Hon HARRY DUYNHOVEN (Minister for Transport Safety) 
: 
 I move  
That the Aviation Security Legislation Bill be now read a first time. 
 At the appropriate time I intend to move that the Aviation Security Legislation Bill be referred to the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee that the committee reports finally to the House on or before 16 July 2007 and that the committee have the authority to meet at any time the House is sitting except during oral questions during any evening on a day on which there has been a sitting of the House and on the Friday in a week when there has been a sitting of the House despite Standing Orders 192 and 195(1)(b) and (c). 
In today’s aviation security environment we are faced with new and evolving threats to personal and national security. Such threats are dynamic can be highly sophisticated and are difficult to predict. Aviation remains an attractive target because of the disruption that can be caused. Each State must consider the implications of these ongoing threats not only to itself but to its neighbours and the wider international community. We must ensure that New Zealand’s reactions are appropriate for our circumstances and that we are not out of step with the approaches taken by our closest neighbours and the international community. In addition we must be mindful of the impact on the aviation industry and on the passengers. 
New Zealand has long been a contracting State to the International Civil Aviation Organization which is known as ICAO. As a contracting State New Zealand is expected to conform to International Civil Aviation Organization safety and security standards. This Government does not believe that non-compliance with International Civil Aviation Organization standards is an option for New Zealand. Non-compliance would undermine international confidence in New Zealand’s aviation security and would damage our ability to maintain air links with other countries. The provisions contained in the bill will enable New Zealand to continue to comply with the International Civil Aviation Organization standards and strengthen our own aviation security. The bill will therefore help ensure continued confidence in the security of New Zealand’s aviation services both domestically and abroad. It will also strengthen the legal framework for New Zealand’s aviation security system. 
The bill is consistent with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act and does not in any way target or profile ethnic religious or political groups. The main elements and objectives of the bill are to provide aviation security officers with the power to search for and seize items prohibited or restricted from being taken on aircraft; to enable the screening and searching of airport workers; to provide a power for aviation security officers to search passengers’ outer garments and undertake pat-down searches; to require that airlines deny carriage to passengers who refuse to be searched; to provide a power for aviation security officers to seize potential weapons; to enable foreign inflight security officers to enter and depart New Zealand and enable New Zealand to deploy inflight security officers should the Government decide to do so in the future; to formalise the process for checking the background of people working in areas critical to aviation security; and to provide a general regulation-making power to ensure that the law is able to respond to new aviation matters in a timely fashion. 
The bill is an omnibus bill that amends the Civil Aviation Act 1990 the Aviation Crimes Act 1974 the Arms Act 1983 and the Civil Aviation Rules. Recent threats to international aviation security have drawn attention to new groups of items that may need to be prohibited or limited from being taken on aircraft by passengers or crew. These include components of weapons such as chemicals and electronic components and items that are not weapons but that look like or could be used to disguise weapons such as a liquid explosive disguised as a sports drink. 
Existing aviation security legislation clearly prohibits dangerous goods and traditional weapons such as firearms from being taken on aircraft. However there is a lack of clarity regarding whether potential weapons are also covered. Recent consideration following the alleged UK terrorist plot shows that the legislation is not sufficiently clear on this particular point. To address this the bill clarifies the position around items that have an innocent purpose but that could be used as weapons such as for example cricket bats or scissors. It also ensures that items or substances that could be the ingredients of weapons are prohibited where there is an intention that those items or substances will be used as weapons. 
In the past no formal procedures have been in place for screening and searching people who work at airports. Although passengers and crew boarding aircraft are screened those who have access to baggage and in-service aircraft are not. The International Civil Aviation Organization has introduced a standard that New Zealand is required to meet to ensure that a proportion of people with access to secure airport areas undergo the same screening and searching as passengers and crew. The bill provides a mechanism for this to occur. However searching and screening by themselves are not likely to be enough. There is a need to formalise the process for checking the background of people who work in areas critical to aviation security. In any case of background checking it is necessary to provide appropriate natural justice provisions for people whose backgrounds are checked and the bill fulfils this need. 
The bill also establishes a power for aviation security officers to search passengers’ outer garments and conduct pat-down searches. Currently the search power is limited to searching a passenger’s “coat or similar article”. The limited scope of the current search power creates a risk to New Zealand’s aviation security as passengers could carry non-metallic potential weapons on board aircraft concealed in garments other than coats. The extension of search powers to include outer garments will allow more effective searching to be carried out by aviation security service staff. 
Further it has become evident that there is a need for legal clarification regarding the powers of aviation security officers to seize potential weapons. Prohibited items pose a security risk because they could be used to hijack or damage an aircraft. Aviation security officers are responsible for preventing prohibited items such as potential weapons from being taken into the cabin of aircraft. However they do not currently have the power to seize such items discovered during screening in order to prevent this offence from occurring. Instead they rely on passengers voluntarily relinquishing items subject to the airlines’ refusal to carry passengers who do not comply. The bill formalises requirements for dealing with potential weapons and for airlines to deny carriage to passengers who refuse to be searched. 
Existing legislation does not permit foreign inflight security officers to enter New Zealand. This would pose a problem if an aircraft carrying foreign inflight security officers diverted to New Zealand or if another country wanted to deploy inflight security officers on its aircraft at short notice. Under our air services agreements that enable us to fly to other countries we are obliged to consider security requests from those countries. This could include a request for inflight security officers to be on board foreign aircraft flying into New Zealand. New Zealand has not received any such request to date but the Government does not want to be in a situation where flights are cancelled because we do not have the right legislation in place. 
New Zealand does not currently possess an inflight security officer capability as part of its aviation security regime and this position is not changed by the bill. The Government has decided that inflight security officers should not be deployed on New Zealand aircraft at this time but that we should continue to rely on ground-based security measures. However as we have seen in the past the global aviation security environment can deteriorate very rapidly. Therefore the bill allows New Zealand to respond quickly to worsening conditions. Future-proofing provisions in the bill will allow foreign inflight security officers to enter and depart New Zealand and allow the deployment of inflight security officers on New Zealand aircraft should the Government decide to do so in the future. 
I want to be clear that Cabinet would need to approve any agreement between New Zealand and another State seeking to deploy inflight security officers on its aircraft flying into New Zealand. In addition in the unlikely event that New Zealand deploys inflight security officers on New Zealand aircraft this will also require Cabinet approval. This role would be undertaken by specially trained members of the New Zealand Police. The current rule-making powers can be time-consuming and can limit the Government’s ability to make rapid changes to aviation security legislation in response to international security events or short-notice changes to international practice. The bill therefore includes a general regulation-making power to ensure that the law is able to respond to new aviation security matters in a timely fashion. At stake is the economic and trade security of the country. The Government would welcome a discussion at the select committee on the advantages and disadvantages of this provision. 
I consider that the amendments contained in the bill provide an appropriate balance between the rights of New Zealanders to travel to destinations of their choice their expectations of privacy and the need to ensure that aviation security measures meet international requirements. I commend the Aviation Security Legislation Bill to the House.