US embassy cable - 04WELLINGTON796

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