Mr TUCKEY (Minister for Regional Services, Territories and Local Government) (9:50 AM) —I move:

This bill is consequential to the Transport Safety Investigation Bill 2002, the main bill, and repeals the modal-specific provisions in parts of the Air Navigation Act 1920 and the Navigation Act 1912 that enable the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, the ATSB, to conduct aviation and marine safety investigations. This bill also provides for transitional arrangements to allow aviation investigations completed or in progress when the main bill commences and when part 2A of the Air Navigation Act 1920 is repealed to continue to be subject to part 2A of that act. Similar transitional arrangements are proposed to be made for marine investigations through regulations to repeal the Navigation (Marine Casualty) Regulations 1990.

This bill makes cooperation with the executive director of the ATSB part of the object of the Air Services Act 1995, the Civil Aviation Act 1988 and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority Act 1990. In the former two acts this replaces a similar reference to cooperate with the former Bureau of Air Safety Investigation.

There is also a consequential amendment to the Freedom of Information Act 1982. Safety information protected under subclauses 53(1), 53(2), 60(1), 60(2) and 60(3) of the main bill is to be exempt from the Freedom of Information Act 1982 in accordance with section 38 of that act. The protection of this safety information is necessary in order to comply with Australia's international obligations such as under paragraph 5.12 of annex 13 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation. Confidentiality of information is vital to ensure free flow of information to the ATSB. It is particularly important where information has been compelled despite witness selfincrimination and in respect of on-board recording information such as cockpit voice recordings.

This bill is an important adjunct to the Transport Safety Investigation Bill. I have already presented the explanatory memorandum, which covers both bills.

Debate (on motion by Mr Albanese) adjourned.