I appreciate that this suggestion is not new but what exactly is wrong with adopting the NZ Regulations as a way of breaking through this ongoing issue? They are newer, (much THINNER) and more aligned with the rest of the world than ours. They are also written in plain English and are used pretty much throughout the South Pacific Region. By the way – I am not a Kiwi!.
Now that the Trans Tasman Mutual Recognition Arrangement (Agreement?) – TTMRA – is up and running, any NZ airline can start up business in Australia under the NZ Regulations, as Australia recognises the NZ Regulations as providing an “equivalent level of safety”.
If we adopted the NZ Regulations Holus Bolus, there would undoubtedly need to be some “tweaking” as the Civil Aviation Act that gives the Head of Power in NZ is a bit different to ours but surely this is not beyond the wit of man to fix. After all, the Food Standards Regulations have been common between Australia and New Zealand for nearly 20 years.
Come to think of it, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is an Independent Statutory Authority (same status as CASA) except that it is a joint government bilateral agency set up between the two countries. (foodstandards.gov.au).
FSANZ seems to have functioned very effectively since 1991 and at least part of the justification for its formation was the reduction in duplication, bureaucracy and staff numbers on both sides of the ditch.
I wonder? No, it couldn’t even be considered – or could it................?