Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

The Aviation Transport Security Amendment Regulations 2009 close a dangerous loophole in our aviation security law. The key purpose of the regulation is to restrict who can enter the cockpit of an aircraft. The regulation makes it clear that the cockpit is reserved for persons with an operational, safety, security or training need. Hardened cockpit doors and restricting cockpit access are the last lines of defence to prevent a terrorist from using the aircraft as a weapon in an attack. Consequently, stringent rules must apply to who can open the hardened cockpit door and enter the cockpit.

The debate we are having today is essentially about one thing—that is, whether the rules of governing who can open hardened cockpit doors and enter the cockpit should be made by parliament or whether this matter should be left to the discretion of pilots. Senators know that planes have been used by and are targets of terrorists. It is well known how al-Qaeda’s Hamburg cell of terrorists trained to become pilots. Mohamed Atta was one of those pilots and senators well know his terrible deeds on 11 September 2001. On Monday this week, three people were convicted in Britain of plotting to murder thousands of people by downing at least seven airlines bound for the USA and Canada in what was intended as the largest terrorist attack since September 11. Early today, in Mexico City, a plane with 104 passengers was hijacked. It is the responsibility of the government and this parliament to ensure the security of all Australians, and with terrorists targeting planes we must ensure that aviation security measures are strong and tight.

Australia’s aviation security regime relies on a number of layers of security measures that, operating together, ensure that the travelling public is safe. The layers are designed to prevent a catastrophic event caused by persons gaining control of or destroying an aircraft. Specific measures required by legislation include screening of passengers and baggage to prevent explosives, prohibited items or weapons from getting into the cabin of an aircraft. These are things that could destroy an aircraft or be used to gain control of it.

A critical layer of aviation security is the hardened cockpit door. This is the final layer of security preventing unauthorised persons from gaining access to the cockpit and control of an aircraft. Hardened cockpit doors were part of an enhancement in aviation security around the world in 2002. On 26 November 2003 the previous government determined that, from 1 July 2004, all regular passenger transport and open-charter aircraft of 30 seats or more were to install hardened cockpit doors. This measure was seen as important enough for the previous government to fully fund the installation of hardened cockpit doors for all non-jet regional aircraft registered at the time the decision was announced.

The regulations which some senators want to disallow remove the unfettered discretion previously granted to pilots to permit any person to open the hardened cockpit door and access the cockpit. Under the cockpit access rules set out in these regulations, only people with a genuine safety, security, operational or training requirement may be permitted to enter and remain in the cockpit of an aircraft. The regulations create a strict liability offence for a pilot or company who lets an unauthorised person into the cockpit. However, importantly, the regulations make specific provision to ensure a pilot can let a person into the cockpit to protect the safety or security of the plane or its passengers. In the unfortunate situation where there is a medical or some other emergency on an aircraft, the pilot’s judgment to allow a person to access the cockpit is not fettered by this regulation.

As I noted earlier, these regulations close a loophole in the aviation transport security regulations which commenced on 10 March 2005. The previous government’s policy intention for cockpit access was to prevent persons without a security, operational or safety need from accessing the cockpit of an aircraft fitted with a hardened cockpit door. However, due to a drafting error, the 2005 regulations effectively allowed a person to enter and remain in the cockpit of an aircraft if he or she was permitted to by the pilot in command. The previous government knew about the loophole that existed late in 2005. The then Minister for Transport and Regional Services, Mr Truss, stated in a letter to the pilots association on 16 November 2005:

It is the government policy that only those people with a genuine safety, security or operational need have access to the flight deck.

The previous government knew there was a loophole, but they did not take action to fix it. If these regulations are disallowed, the legislation regarding cockpit access will return to the state it was in prior to the commencement of the regulation on 12 March this year. There will be no legal restriction on who can enter a cockpit and there will be no penalties for unauthorised access to the cockpit. If these regulations are disallowed, access to the cockpit will effectively be left to industry self-regulation. It is completely unsatisfactory for such an important measure in such a vital regulatory regime to rely on industry regulating itself. The government has made it clear to the pilots association, to the opposition and to Senator Xenophon that it will look closely at the issue of access of off-duty pilots and also at the strict liability offences in the regulations.

The government will continue to work on these matters with relevant stakeholders, including the Australian and International Pilots Association. If an agreed position can be reached, and further assessment by the Office of Transport Security determines that the integrity of the aviation security regime would not be compromised, the government will consider amending the regulations accordingly. Until that time, the Senate has a choice as to what the security regime will be for hardened cockpit doors and access to the cockpit of a plane. These regulations are important for aviation security and they should be allowed to stand, particularly while the government has said that it can work with those associations to ensure that there is consultation. More importantly, it is necessary to ensure the continued safety of airline passengers. That is the focus which the government has on this issue.