Key John: Civil Aviation Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Key John: Civil Aviation Amendment Bill — In Committee 
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JOHN KEY (National—Helensville) 
: 
 I appreciate your confidence and I think it will be well rewarded in the next 4 minutes and 57 seconds. 
Darren Hughes 
: I doubt that. 
JOHN KEY 
: I see that other members in the Chamber are obviously expressing similar confidence and I will try not to disappoint in the next 4 minutes and 50 seconds. 
I want to follow on from the point I was making just a little bit earlier about the issue related to safety and mutual recognition and also the issue that within the bill there is no containment at all for drug testing and for testing of employees working in the civil aviation industry. There should be. That would be a wonderful addition to this bill and we would be able to add something to the title of this bill that would reflect it. 
As I was saying before it is quite a serious international issue. We have seen examples of pilots working for Virgin—I think that was one example internationally and we have seen others—who have been flying planes while drunk or intoxicated. They have not had 12 hours between the bottle and the throttle—or whatever the particular conditions are—and they have been in command of a 747. I think anybody who has had the opportunity to see someone who is heavily intoxicated or anyone who has been under the influence of drugs—and I know that some members of the New Zealand Parliament have had first-hand experience of that—would not necessarily want that person in command of anything and certainly not in command of a 747 where 350 passengers’ lives are in danger. However the issue goes slightly deeper and further than that. It is not only an issue for pilots or co-pilots it is an issue that might surface with for example engineers. That is a great example. There could be engineering staff who are intoxicated— 
Brent Catchpole 
: I raise a point of order Mr Chairperson. I would like you to look back at  
Hansard  
to see whether the member speaking made a reference to members of Parliament being involved with drugs. 
The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Yes he did. I thank the member for bringing that to my attention. I was just thinking about that. It was actually a personal reflection— 
JOHN KEY 
: Speaking to the point of order Mr Chairperson I point out that it is a well-documented fact that one of the members of Parliament Mr Nandor Tanczos— 
The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson) 
: It is also a personal reflection against members of the House and that is not in keeping with the standards that one would expect in this Parliament. It is my job as the Chair to uphold the Standing Orders and Speakers’ rulings which have been crafted by well over 100 years of parliamentary democracy in this country. I think it would be in order if the member withdrew or desisted. 
JOHN KEY 
: I am happy to withdraw that remark. I should of course have referred by name to the specific member who has publicly said that he takes drugs. That is obviously Mr Nandor Tanczos from the Green Party who has said that for religious reasons he takes marijuana on a monthly basis. That is a well-known fact. Would we want Mr Tanczos in command of an aircraft after taking drugs? I think the answer to that question certainly in my case is no. 
I will return to the point in question which is that this issue is not related only to pilots. It can include engineers and people who are working on the commands of these aircraft. So my point is simply that the issue of drug testing is not contained within the bill— 
Larry Baldock 
: I raise a point of order Mr Chairperson. I am sorry to interrupt the member but I need some clarification from you regarding the purpose of this debate. I understood that the Standing Orders had changed and we were now dealing with the title. I have been listening for almost 4 minutes and have not heard the member suggest an alternative title or even refer to the title at all. Can you clarify that for me? 
The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Yes. I think that is a very good point to raise because there is some confusion amongst members given the change to the Standing Orders. The Standing Orders in relation to the title debate state that when debating the preliminary clauses at the end members should have some latitude to summarise and make concluding remarks about the issues they have raised during the Committee’s consideration of the bill. It is almost like a summing up or a conclusion so it has changed somewhat. 
JOHN KEY 
: I apologise to the honourable member if I was expanding my thought processes on too great a level but I was simply trying to make the point that these are very serious issues and I had hoped that he would understand the full gravity of them. If he did then drug testing could be included in this bill in an amendment and we would put it in the title. We could have a wonderful title: “Civil Aviation (Safety Mutual Recognition and Random Drug Testing in the Aviation Industry) Bill”. I accept that this title is a little longer than the Civil Aviation Amendment Bill but it would be a bill that would not only have a title that would be far easier for the public to understand but also it would serve the very purpose of Parliament which is to pass legislation that would be in the best interests of the travelling public of New Zealand and of course the industry and those people involved in it. 
National supports the Civil Aviation Amendment Bill. We would like to see a title that was a little more inclusive and reflective of the position so that the public when they go about their daily weekly or monthly flying activities—it could be holidays—could go to this legislation quickly and with ease and look up the particular fine that may be applicable to them should they be disorderly on an aircraft. It would also mean that they could travel with confidence because I think it is unlikely that when we board an aircraft in the weeks months and years ahead we will have the air hostess or purser on the aircraft say: “Ladies and gentlemen located in the seat pocket in front of you are safety instructions and the Civil Aviation Amendment Bill.”