Duynhoven Harry: Civil Aviation Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
Duynhoven Harry: Civil Aviation Amendment Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:616;Page:11814] 
Hon HARRY DUYNHOVEN (Associate Minister of Transport) 
: 
 I move  
That the Civil Aviation Amendment Bill be now read a third time 
. I wish to thank members of the House and of the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee for the careful consideration they have given this bill. The bill amends the Civil Aviation Act of 1990 and provides a number of changes that support the objectives of the New Zealand Transport Strategy: assisting economic development assisting safety and personal security and improving access and mobility. It enables New Zealand to implement mutual recognition of aviation-related certification between Australia and New Zealand. It introduces a regime to deal with unruly passengers and it consolidates civil aviation law. 
With regard to mutual recognition on 20 November 2000 the New Zealand and Australian Ministers of Transport signed a memorandum of understanding on open skies. That reaffirmed the commitment of New Zealand and Australia to adopt mutual recognition of aviation-related safety certification. The mutual recognition provisions in the bill make the legislative changes required to implement this Government to Government commitment. Under mutual recognition New Zealand airlines wishing to operate in Australia will benefit from reduced compliance costs as they will be able to operate under their New Zealand certification and will not have to obtain separate Australian certification. Airlines will no longer face the costs associated with dual certification like for example insurance accident compensation and compliance with differing requirements for airline operations. 
The Australian Parliament is considering a similar bill which is expected to be debated later this month. The mutual recognition provisions in this bill will come into force by Order in Council once the Australians have passed their legislation. 
In recent years there have been a number of high-profile incidents of unruly passenger behaviour on board aircraft. Those incidents range from offensive language and behaviour to those raising serious safety concerns such as tampering with smoke detectors. As many of us have experienced I am sure such incidents can be distressing and frightening for both passengers and crew. The present law has not been adequate to ensure firm and effective enforcement action and has not covered unruly behaviour occurring on international flights coming to New Zealand. 
 Under this bill a coherent regime of offences and penalties that has an extraterritorial effect comes into force on 1 June 2004. This enables New Zealand to prosecute passengers committing offences on domestic aircraft and on aircraft of any country flying en route to New Zealand. The new regime brings New Zealand into line with international practice in countries such as Australia the United Kingdom and Canada and the expectations of the International Civil Aviation Organisation will be met. The bill also brings into force an accelerated infringement offence procedure to ensure that as much as possible visitors on a short-term stay in New Zealand do not escape enforcement provisions of the law. 
The bill transfers the liability provisions for passenger delay from the Carriage By Air Act of 1967. This means that if a passenger is delayed the airline is presumed liable for the delay. Liability is capped at 10 times the fare paid for the journey or the total cost of the damage sustained—whichever is the lesser amount. The airline is not liable for damages for delay or for events that are beyond the control of the airline—for example natural disasters weather and safety considerations. Although some airlines expressed concern over these provisions the select committee and this House have accepted the need for passengers to continue to have this right. 
In addition the bill makes a number of minor amendments to civil aviation legislation to further enhance aviation safety and personal security. It provides for the Aviation Security Service to provide security support services to the police when requested. The Aviation Security Service will provide this support only if in doing so it does not compromise its core airport security services. This provision comes into force the day after the date of the royal assent. 
The bill increases the maximum fines for various offences against the Act to ensure that they act as an effective deterrent. This amendment takes account of inflation since 1990 and brings the fines into line with the penalties for similar offences created subsequently. The bill also responds to a need to update consolidate and ensure consistency across different legislation. For example it includes a minor amendment to the definition of dangerous goods to align it more closely with the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation. 
In conclusion this bill reinforces the Government’s commitment to improving aviation safety by extending the measures to deal with unruly passenger behaviour. It encourages economic development by removing regulatory barriers to the development of the Australian and New Zealand single aviation market. It provides benefits to passengers the airlines and the public and supports the objectives of the New Zealand Transport Strategy. 
Finally I would like to thank all the officials particularly the Ministry of Transport officials: Glen-Marie Burns Nigel Mouatt and Lisa Nickson; the Civil Aviation Authority officials; all of those who submitted their views to the select committee and the members of the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee who worked so hard to process the bill in a timely and efficient manner. I also thank the members from the other parties of this House who have been most supportive of the provisions of this bill.