New Secretary Of Civil Aviation

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30406, 3 April 1964, Page 8

New Secretary Of Civil Aviation

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, April 1. The State Services Commission has appointed a Secretary of Civil Aviation to be permanent head of the new Department of Civil Aviation announced by the Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake) on March 4. The present permanent head of the Air Department, Mr B. R. Rae, has been appointed to the new post and took up his duties today. The present director of Civil Aviation, Sir Arthur Nevill, will retire on June 30.

The chairman of the State Services Commission, Mr L. A. Atkinson, said today that any changes required because of Sir Arthur Nevill’s statutory responsibility for air safety would be deferred until after his retirement. This would allow time for legislation affecting the new

department to be prepared and would also enable administrative problems arising from the separation of the Civil Aviation Administration from the R.N.Z.A.F. to be resolved. Functions such as air traffic control would, of course, continue to be operated by a single agency on behalf of both the R.N.Z.A.F. and the Department of Civil Aviation, he said, Mr Rae, who is 55, is a member of the Accountants’ Society, and a Bachelor of Commerce. He joined the Labour Department in 1927 and remained there until the outbreak of war in 1939. From 1940 to 1946 he served with the R.N.Z.A.F. in Canada as financial adviser to New Zealand on the Commonwealth air training plan. Mr Rae has represented New Zealand at many international aviation conferences.