Minister, CAA chairman refuse to back director

The chairman of the under-pressure Civil Aviation Authority has refused to back its director, the day after Transport Minister Annette King also declined to give her endorsement.

Ms King would not comment yesterday on whether she had confidence in John Jones, who has statutory independence.

And today Chairman Ron Tannock, who is effectively Mr Jones' boss, again refused to express confidence in him during an interview on National Radio today.

He said he would not comment on employment matters. Asked if that meant there were "employment issues" relating to Mr Jones, Mr Tannock refused to comment.

Yesterday Ms King said Mr Jones' powers were one of the things up for review.

"The CAA needs to re-examine the powers and functions of its director, particularly in relation to his powers of delegation," she said.

Mr Tannock said the review would look at whether his independence was in line with other similar statutory positions.

Mr Tannock today shrugged off the criticisms of the aviation industry, which had a "vested interest".

The industry has warned against "simplistic and reactive strategies" after Ms King told the CAA to get tough with small airlines.

"Non-compliance is simply not acceptable. It is not sufficient telling people off. Action has to be taken to make them compliant," Ms King said yesterday.

The Aviation Industry Association (AIA) said the minister and the board "should not be seduced by a simplistic belief that the solution lies in enforcement".

AIA chief executive Irene King said significant safety gains had been achieved during the past three years by focusing on "top of the cliff" preventive measures.

"Safety is a complex issue that does not respond to simplistic and reactive strategies," she said. "It is critical that the minister and the CAA board understand this."

After the meeting with Ms King, Mr Tannock admitted the CAA should have prevented the 2003 Air Adventures crash in which pilot Michael Bannerman and seven Crop and Food Research staff died.

Christchurch Coroner Richard McElrea issued a report last week highly critical of the CAA's policing of the company after it had identified rule breaches but did not enforce compliance.

National's transport spokesman Maurice Williamson said Ms King should have sacked the CAA's entire board.

He said it had failed to act on several critical reviews, and a new board was needed to overhaul the organisation.

There had been speculation Ms King might demand resignations, but she expressed confidence in the board saying a tight focus on implementing recommendations would gain better results than "symbolic heads on stakes".

She has ordered the CAA to give her monthly reports on its progress.

- NZPA