AUSTRALIA: GREEN PAPER A CUE FOR MORE AIR REFORM PROPOSALS
05 December 2008
Steve Creedy
THE federal Government's green paper on aviation has met a mixed industry response.
And it is likely to attract another avalanche of submissions before the release of a white paper in the second half of next year.
The 205-page document, launched by Transport Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra on Tuesday, delivered few surprises and there was criticism that it avoided far-reaching changes in favour of the status quo.
Badgerys Creek was killed off as a potential site for a second Sydney airport, but the Government would not be drawn on a possible replacement site, other than to say it would be outside the Sydney basin.
The Government reiterated its stance that foreign carriers would not be allowed on direct routes between Australia and the US until VAustralia had been given a chance to establish itself.
Other proposals included a change to the Qantas Sale Act that would retain the 49 per cent limit on foreign investors but consider removing restrictions on individual investors and airlines, and new monitoring and planning requirements on airports.
The Government also publicly confirmed that it was assembling a small board of five to six people to oversee the Civil Aviation Safety Authority as part of moves to strengthen governance of the regulator. And it revealed it was making the Australian Transport Safety Bureau an independent statutory authority.
Mr Albanese said the paper was an attempt to take aviation from a fringe issue and highlight its role in the development of the nation.
"It's an attempt to elevate its significance as a driver of economic growth and also as being critical for our economic, social and cultural links to the globe," Mr Albanese said.
Asked if the green paper had gone far enough, Mr Albanese said he believed it would stimulate debate around the industry's challenges. "That's what a green paper's supposed to do," he said.
While some parties welcomed the green paper, others expressed reservations about its findings.
Opposition transport spokesman Warren Truss said the document reinforced most of the aviation decisions made by the Howard government. He said it raised problems but offered no solutions in some areas and went "back to the future" on the second Sydney airport.
Singapore Airlines expressed disappointment that the paper again put on hold its proposal to open up competition on non-stop routes between Australia and the US mainland and rejected its suggestions that some curfew restrictions at Sydney should be relaxed.
The Australian Airports Association also had reservations about some proposals, particularly suggestions that airport owners should pay for more infrastructure outside their facilities.
AAA chairman John McArdle said aviation was a significant economic driver and airlines already paid for infrastructure to carry passengers while airports paid for infrastructure to receive and process them. He said governments received sufficient notice about industry growth and should be prepared to meet that growth, given the economic benefits aviation brought them.
General aviation was another group that was worried it had been short-changed by the paper.
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association president Col Rodgers said the green paper had done nothing to advance the cause of general aviation and Australia had a "flawed aviation policy that's just going to get worse. The green paper -- flawed". He said: "GA is just being killed stone dead in this country by these policies and it started with (former transport minister) John Anderson."
But Qantas welcomed the document as "broad-ranging and forward looking" and predicted it would play an important role in the industry's long-term future.
Not surprisingly, the airline thought the Government's preparedness to look at the restrictions in the Qantas Sale Act were a step in the right direction and it was happy its concerns about taxation issues had been noted.
"Importantly, the proposed policy settings also recognise the structural advantages enjoyed by many of our major competitors and the need to take these into account when determining a balanced approach to Australian aviation," Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said.
Virgin Blue called the paper "an effort to seek a balance between necessary on-going economic reform, the national interest and the aviation sector's role in achieving that; and the primacy of aviation safety and security".
The Australian and International Pilots Association called it an important step in helping stabilise an industry too focused on cutting costs and maximising profits. AIPA president Barry Jackson said it was critical to re-establish a truly independent industry regulator and develop long-term sustainable careers for pilots.
Tourism and Transport Forum managing director Christopher Brown said aviation was the lifeblood of Australia's $85 billion tourism sector and it was in the national interest to give the industry certainty in terms of operations and planning for growth.
Copyright 2008 News Ltd. All Rights Reserved
The Australian
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