Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04WELLINGTON796
2004-09-16 03:50:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Wellington
Cable title:  

CIVAIR: NEW ZEALAND'S VIEWS ON KEY U.S. ISSUES AT

Tags:  EAIR AORC NZ ICAO 
pdf how-to read a cable
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 WELLINGTON 000796 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR IO/T, EB/TRA AND EAP/ANP
MONTREAL FOR USICAO
FAA FOR AIA-100

E.O. 12356: N/A
TAGS: EAIR AORC NZ ICAO
SUBJECT: CIVAIR: NEW ZEALAND'S VIEWS ON KEY U.S. ISSUES AT
ICAO ASSEMBLY

REF: STATE 168352

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 WELLINGTON 000796

SIPDIS

STATE FOR IO/T, EB/TRA AND EAP/ANP
MONTREAL FOR USICAO
FAA FOR AIA-100

E.O. 12356: N/A
TAGS: EAIR AORC NZ ICAO
SUBJECT: CIVAIR: NEW ZEALAND'S VIEWS ON KEY U.S. ISSUES AT
ICAO ASSEMBLY

REF: STATE 168352


1. Post on August 5 delivered reftel demarche to Nigel
Mouat, principal adviser, access and services, New Zealand
Ministry of Transport. The demarche outlined U.S. positions
on a number of issues to be considered at the ICAO General
Assembly in Montreal, September 28 to October 8. On
September 16, the New Zealand government provided the
following response to each issue:

Begin text.

Universal Safety Oversight Audit Program (USOAP)
-------------- ---

2. New Zealand strongly supports the ICAO Secretariat's
concept for implementation of a comprehensive system
approach for ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audits and
increased transparency and disclosure of information.
Accordingly, we also believe that the following additional
points should be included in the proposed Assembly
resolution on this subject:

a) Contracting States should receive the full final audit
report in lieu of a summary report.

b) All aspects of the audit process must be available in the
audit report provided to States.
c) The audits and follow-ups relating to Annexes 1, 6 and 8
must continue to be the core of the USOAP.

d) The audit frequency cycle, including follow-up
activities, should be as short as possible.

e) The audit must validate claims that ICAO standards have
been implemented or corrective actions accomplished.

Regional Safety Oversight Organizations
--------------

3. New Zealand endorses and supports the partnership concept
as the underlying foundation of ICAO's proposed unified
strategy to resolve safety-related deficiencies and the
regional (or sub-regional) safety oversight organization.
However, it must be emphasized that membership of a
cooperative oversight organization does not absolve a State
from fulfilling its obligations under the Convention. In
other words, States must still take responsibility for
implementing (or ignoring) safety advice from a regional
oversight organization.

Environment - Emissions Charges
--------------

4. New Zealand supports work by ICAO to address greenhouse
gas emissions from aviation, including further work on
emissions charges and international aviation. New Zealand,
however, does not wish to be limited from taking measures to
address its own emissions from domestic aviation, including
the use of a domestic emissions charge that affects aviation
fuel.

Flight Information Regions (FIRs)
--------------

5. We have sympathy with some of the thrust of the U.S.
proposal but cannot support it totally as drafted. We agree
in principle that there should not be proliferation of FIRs,
and we understand the misguided economic rationale behind
some States' desires to have an FIR, simply as a source of
revenue. In the Pacific Islands Forum, we supported the
concept that the Air Traffic Services providers should
recompense States within the FIR for the services they
contribute (navigation aids, alternate aerodromes) to the
facilitation of flights and overflights, on a cost-related
basis, and if this approach was widespread we think it would
soften the motivation to create new FIRs.


6. The concept of sovereignty seems to be well understood
over continents, with airspace boundaries generally
conforming to national boundaries. But there is nothing to
prevent one State from delegating ATS provision to another
for efficiency reasons.


7. However, Article 1 of the Convention is important.
Particularly this gives a State without a national FIR (such
as in the Pacific) the right to determine the ATS provider
over its territory. The example we are familiar with was
the request by Samoa and Tonga to realign the boundary
between the Fiji and New Zealand Oceanic FIRs to allow New
Zealand to provide the ATS service rather than Fiji. The
alternative would have been the creation of two more
national FIRs inside the Fiji FIR, with attendant
operational complications. The Council in 2001 accepted
their right to choose and adjusted the boundary as the most
efficient means of achieving the objective of ATS provision
by New Zealand over Samoa and Tonga.

End text.

Note
--------------

8. The New Zealand delegation to the ICAO Assembly will be
led by Glen-Marie Burns, caretaker manager safety and
security, New Zealand Ministry of Transport. She will be
accompanied by Peter Davey, manager policy and
international, Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand, and
(Ms.) Leslie MacIntosh, chief legal counsel, Civil Aviation
Authority of New Zealand.


9. An invitation to the September 28 luncheon was sent to
Ms. Burns, per reftel, and she has accepted. Her acceptance
has been conveyed to U.S. Mission ICAO.

Burnett