22nd Jul 2019, 7:44 PM – Senate Civil Aviation Amendment Bill 2019 - in Committee - Safety standards and sustainability

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie (Jacqui Lambie Network), which means it failed.

Motion text

(1) Schedule 1, page 3 (before line 4), before item 1, insert:

1A Subsection 9A(1)

Repeal the subsection, substitute:

(1) In exercising its powers and performing its functions, CASA must regard the achievement of the highest standard of safety of air navigation, at the lowest charges consistent with both public demand and an economic return to efficient operators, as the most important consideration.

(2) Schedule 1, item 1, page 3 (before line 8), before paragraph 9A(3) (a), insert:

(aa) ensure that those aviation safety standards maintain or improve the overall safety of the civil aviation system; and

Senator Lambie explained her amendment:

These amendments change the language in section 9A of the Civil Aviation Act, which states 'CASA must regard the safety of air navigation as the most important consideration'. Everybody wants a safe aviation sector, but we want to see an aviation sector that is sustainable as well as safe. When it comes to aviation safety, the safest passenger is the one that never gets in a plane in the first place. The easiest way to prevent aviation accidents is to shut down aviation altogether—if every plane is grounded, every plane is safe. Excessive regulation is doing just that—keeping planes safe by keeping planes grounded.

What does this bill do?

The bill was introduced "to require the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, in developing and promulgating aviation safety standards, to take into consideration the impacts of costs and the relative risk environment of the different aviation industry sectors."

Read more in the bills digest.