‘There are inevitably tensions between the regulator and those being regulated but we need that tension to be positive’ said Aviation NZ Chief Executive, John Nicholson. He was commenting on the report released today by a general aviation advocacy group.

We are aware of several issues raised in the report which also reflect areas of interest to our members, They are being discussed with the CAA, Ministry of Transport and Minister Twyford, who we saw back in March. We have tried to be constructive: industry and government need to work together to achieve the safe aviation environment we all strive for.

This approach has yielded dividends with recent ‘successes’ including getting the CAA Infringement Notices issued in January to a number of companies revoked, changes to the way loading/unloading rotors in motion and carriage of LPG containers were being applied at operational level, and we should see some progress announced about SMS for Group 2 companies in the coming weeks.

We have talked with the Minister, Ministry of Transport and CAA on issues such as the composition of the CAA Board and the CAA Act Review. They have welcomed our approaches. We see changes in these areas creating the framework for other improvements in CAA. Our members in a survey completed last month emphasised that one of the greatest roles we play is advocacy - aggregating concerns across the membership and working through solutions with CAA. ‘In our view, there needs to be more proactive communication with industry and the context for some CAA decisions needs to be communicated more effectively: this view has been passed to CAA’, said Nicholson.

The recently completed report was not shared with us but we will be looking at it with real interest.

‘The New ZEaland CAA is regarded positively internationally. It is important for the credibility of our industry, both domestically and internationally that this reputation is maintained. We will continue working constructively with other aviation industry bodies and the CAA to this end,’ Nicholson said.

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