Hughes Darren: Civil Aviation (Cape Town Convention and Other Matters) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Hughes Darren: Civil Aviation (Cape Town Convention and Other Matters) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
[Sitting date: 22 June 2010. Volume:664;Page:12010. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon DARREN HUGHES (Labour) 
: 
 I rise to speak in support of the Civil Aviation (Cape Town Convention and Other Matters) Amendment Bill. I congratulate my local MP Nathan Guy on how well his reading is coming on. He read that speech beautifully. Maybe the national standards will help some people after all. In that respect he brought energy to legislation that the House finds itself in urgency to consider today. 
Hon Member 
: Where did you get your suit? 
Hon DARREN HUGHES 
: The question is where he got his suit from. I bet it is a foreign suit. I bet it is an import. I can guarantee that it will not have been made locally. 
This bill as the Associate Minister of Transport explained is highly technical in nature; I think his speech made that pretty clear. It brings New Zealand into line with one convention that presumably we hope will have quite a practical impact for a number of countries including New Zealand in respect of the way in which international financing is handled for assets such as aircraft and aircraft engines. 
Labour will be supporting this bill. It is unusual for Labour to support legislation that is introduced under urgency not referred to a select committee for public consideration and not given the chance for reflection but I am aware that the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee has conducted quite an extensive and I am advised exciting inquiry into the Cape Town convention. The committee has left no stone unturned when it comes to the various clauses that make up that convention. Therefore the legislation that flows from the inquiry that the committee has undertaken will probably on this occasion suffice as enough for the ratification of that convention by Parliament through the legislation. 
I want to speak about only a couple of issues at the first reading. I know that my colleagues who have sat through the inquiry will want to make more fulsome comments on some of the other matters. I know that my colleague Darien Fenton will have some issues around civil aviation safety which I know she is keen to explore with the House as this bill goes through. 
It seems to me that one of the best things about this convention is that it takes an activity that is by definition multinational although there are strong domestic aviation markets. When we think of long-distance air travel it occurs between countries. Therefore it involves many many Governments in many many jurisdictions and different environments where alternative legal operations take place. In an industry where the capital costs of these assets like aircraft and aircraft engines are so significant and therefore the leasing of them is not a cheap action the way these arrangements are arrived at becomes critical for a competitive aviation market for the ability of air travel to take place without the steep costs of compliance because of the concern of creditors for the location of their assets. 
One of the things the convention is doing that is very good is it is recognising the whole point of air travel which is contact. We have economic contact through trade. New Zealand is a small country that exports significantly some our freshest products which need to arrive at market in a fresh condition and of course air freight is very important. There is also people to people contact as people travel as passengers in civil aviation. 
The convention will allow creditors to file directly with an international registry by computer. They will be able to do that electronically thereby cutting enormously the amount of time it would take if this had to be done by another form of civil aviation such as pigeon post or carrier mail. They will be able to do that from wherever they are in the world. Wherever there may be a dispute or a concern about an asset that action will be able to take place. 
I notice that the Irish Government has volunteered to host matters where there is litigation or where there is the requirement of the intervention of a court. From what I have read that seems to have been welcomed by most of the players who take an interest in this area as a way of Ireland’s efficient legal system effectively exporting its skills and the location of Dublin is where any disputes will take place. This will reduce risk and uncertainty and of course that has to be good for New Zealand. 
But this is an international convention and we should not focus only on the benefits for this country. By signing this convention it is hoped that developing countries will be able to take advantage of the lower costs to them by having such a regime take place. Often in those countries where there are fledging markets those costs can be very high barriers for people wanting to enter into international aviation. So our hope would be that not only is this measure good for New Zealand because of our geography isolation and strong dependence on exporting but also it will bring some assistance to other countries around the world—particularly the developing countries where achieving these sorts of arrangements in civil aviation could make quite a difference to those countries. 
Despite its complexity I do not think that the bill will find itself the subject of huge attention this afternoon. Its moment in the spotlight might be more brief than the work that has been done to bring it to this point but that should in no way take away from the fact that it is quite a practical resolution of an issue that every year different companies and countries find themselves dealing with. The Labour Opposition is very pleased to support the first reading of the Civil Aviation (Cape Town Convention and Other Matters) Amendment Bill and we will be supporting it as it passes through the House this afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity.