Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Warren Truss has told parliament that stakeholder engagement is critical for aviation regulatory reforms to succeed.
Updating the lower house on Wednesday, one year after the government's reponse to the Aviation Safety Regulation Review (Forsyth Report), Truss emphasised the role of the aviation community in the reform process.
"I welcome the initiative by CASA's Director of Aviation Safety, Mark Skidmore, to encourage industry to identify specific areas where current regulatory practices and procedures could be improved or replaced," Truss said.
"Whilst significant progress has been made in developing policies, procedures, and systems to support aviation safety regulatory reform, it will take time for these to be implemented and time for a change in the culture within the regulator and in the aviation industry more broadly, to take effect.
"The success of such reform will also depend on the active engagement and contribution of the aviation industry."
Truss elaborated further in a media release after the speech.
“The changes recommended in the Review are necessary, but they are changes that require commitment from the whole range of industry people and organisations,” Truss said.
“Industry has a significant role to play in working with CASA and other agencies to ensure we have the best aviation safety system possible."
In his speech to parliament, the minister also said that he expected CASA to incorporate the new Regulatory Philosophy and use of discretion procedures into its Capability Framework and Enforcement Manual before the end of June 2016.
The text of the Deputy Prime Minister's speech is on the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development website.