Safety will be key to Rudd’s new aviation policy
A report by Steve Creedy in The Australian says that strategies to improve safety will be at the heart of the Rudd Government’s national aviation policy when it is revealed next year.
Transport Minister Anthony Albanese told an aviation outlook conference in Singapore that Australia was proud of the world-class reputation of its safety agencies and maintaining its aviation record was the Government’s “No1 priority”.
“As a country that looks after 11 per cent of the world’s airspace, we have to take advantage of new technologies to improve efficiency and safety,” Mr Albanese said.
“We need to pursue further liberalisation of our aviation markets while still pursuing opportunities for Australian carriers.”
“We want airports to invest in improved services for passengers and airlines, and to plan their development with local communities and other key stakeholders.”
“And we must continue working with the industry to help it manage emissions and minimise the impact on global climate change.”
The Government had planned to release a green paper on its proposed national aviation policy last month, but the paper was delayed while it grappled with the global financial crisis.
Mr Albanese told the Singapore conference the Government had received almost 300 submissions and said the long-awaited green paper would be released for comment “in the near future”.
He said airport planning had possibly attracted the most attention during consultations.
There had been significant investment in Australia’s airports, with more than $4 billion expected to be spent on airports in Perth, Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.
But some communities had expressed concerns about the broader impact these developments were having on their neighbourhoods.
“We recognise the importance of continued investment in aeronautical infrastructure at airports and we also understand for development to be balanced, planned and responsible,” Mr Albanese said.
But there was little indication that the Government was preparing to make major concessions on climate change.
Airlines and aviation unions have expressed fears about the impact on the industry of the Government’s proposed emissions trading scheme.
The Government has estimated the scheme could add up to $10 to the cost of a flight, while research commissioned by the Tourism Department has also shown a 10 per cent rise in airline fuel could translate to a 0.1 per cent fall in Australia’s GDP.
Mr Albanese noted that Australian airlines were “at the top of the list of order books” for new, fuel-efficient aircraft.
The nation was also getting smarter with air traffic management, citing the introduction of flexible flight tracks that took advantage of high-altitude jet streams.
But he warned that future improvements in fuel efficiency would not be enough to counteract aviation emissions, pointing to the proposed emission trading scheme.
“We need a combination of operational and market-based measures to reduce the size of aviation’s carbon footprint,” he said.
A Report by The Mole from The Age
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