OUT-DATED ACT SAID TO HAMPER AIR INDUSTRY

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29339, 19 October 1960, Page 12

OUT-DATED ACT SAID TO HAMPER AIR INDUSTRY

‘The Press’* Special Service

WELLINGTON, October 18. While tribute was paid to the work and decisions of the Air Services Licensing Authority under the chairmanship of Mr E. D. Blundell, the annual report of the Aviation Industry Association criticised the act under which the Authority has to work as being outdated by the expansion of aviation in New Zealand. Such wide responsibilities rested upon the Authority as to imply continuous and close study of the economics of the commercial aviation industpr, the capital investment in which, including aircraft, ground equipment, buildings and aerodromes, was of the order of £16,000,000, said the report. The Authority was not itself in continuous session, nor had it staff of its own to maintain it in sustained contact with the constantly changing picture of the avaiation world.

Its chairman and members were engaged only part-time in the work, and generally met only when applications were on hand in sufficient number or importance to warrant turning aside from their own professional or personal interests. The act gave no power of appointment of staff, and the Authority had never had more than one staff member—the secret tary. The fact that three changes of secretary occurred in eight years was evidence of the impossible situation in which they had found themselves as officers of a State department endeavouring also to serve a quasi-judicial body sitting in judgment on matters in which the department might have had at least a policy interest. Only the calibre of the chairman had prevented the Authority from failing wholly in its work. The existing framework was largely influenced by legislation of the United Kingdom and which itself had been based on conditions existing in commercial aviation there in 1934. The gap between 1934 conditions in the United Kingdom and 1960 conditions in New Zealand was too

great. In 1934 commercial aviation in the United Kingdom was in its very early stages and in New Zealand had .barely commenced, said the report. There was no agricultural aviation then, or for 13 years afterwards. Three firms were engaged in commercial aviation in New Zealand in 1936: in 1960 there were 120. including supply and engineering establishments.

The obsolescence of the air services licensing legislation was now, however, recognised by the Government and the Minister in charge of Civil Aviation (Mr Mathison) had invited discussions between his advisers and representatives of the industry.