• What factors influence the accessibility and efficiency of international freight transport services available to New Zealand firms?
• Are there opportunities for changes in New Zealand’s infrastructure and regulatory regimes that could increase the accessibility and efficiency of international freight transport services for New Zealand firms?

The draft report is available here.  Submissions on the draft report close on 27 February 2012.

As part of the RNZAF celebrations for its 75th anniversay, there will be the Air Force Air Show on March 31 at Base Ohakea, between Sanson and Bulls. This is the event that will bring together the RNZAF’s proud history and future capabilities. It’s here that you will see military aircraft from around the world in one spectacular event on show for the public.

A busy schedule of events for the public is planned for the first quarter of 2012 stretching from February to April. The anniversary kicks off with Napier’s art Deco Weekend in February and culminates in Anzac Day celebrations on April 25.

Wing Commander and Event Director Bill Blaikie says “75 years of providing safe and effective military air operations for New Zealand is a real opportunity for us to celebrate with personnel, supporters of the Service—especially ex-RNZAF personnel—the Defence Force, the wider defence community, the Government, our general public and the international military aviation community.”

The theme for the Anniversary is the RNZAF’s contribution to New Zealand—‘celebrating 75 years of service to New Zealand’. The events will showcase RNZAF’s people and capabilities to the public, demonstrating their commitment to their mission: New Zealand’s Air Force: ready, resilient and respected.

Art Deco (Napier) is using the RNZAF Anniversary as its theme for next year’s Art Deco Weekend and the RNZAF will be participating with a Red Checkers air display, promotional activities, recruitment stand and performances by the RNZAF Band.

NZ Post will produce a commemorative stamp and coin issue that will be released in mid-March next year. The stamp issue will tell a comprehensive story of the RNZAF’s past, present and future.

Don’t miss the Air Force Air Show on March 31 at Base Ohakea, between Sanson and Bulls. This is the event that will bring together the RNZAF’s proud history and future capabilities. It’s here that you will see military aircraft from around the world in one spectacular event on show for the public.

RNZAF aircraft will be at Warbirds over Wanaka Air Show at Easter. The RNZAF will showcase its Historic Flight aircraft as well as their current fleet of aircraft including its new helicopter fleet and upgraded transport and surveillance aircraft.

For more information, please click here

The NZ Airports Conference 2012 will be held at the Chateau on the Park, Christchurch from 3 October 2012 to 5 October 2012.

Kapiti Coast Airport Ltd

Heather Woodcock’s fixed term contact has concluded and she has resigned her position as Airport Manager at Kapiti Coast Airport. Heather will be leaving the company on 27 January 2012.

Heather commenced her role with the Airport in December 2010 on a 12 month contract to help establish the Air New Zealand commercial services. In her 12 months with the company Heather has overseen considerable improvement in airport infrastructure and the successful introduction of the Air New Zealand service.

A new Airport Manager appointment has been made.

Jason Russell will commence as Airport Manager in January 2012 having most recently held the position of Manager/Flight Instructor with the Kapiti District Aero Club – Academy Flight Training School.

Jason holds a Private Pilot License and Commercial Pilot License and is a Cat-C instructor. Other qualifications include Multi Engine Instrument Rating and a national Certificate in Automotive Engineering.

Jason and his family live locally on the Kapiti Coast.

ENDS

_________________________________________________________________

 For further information contact:

 S.R Bootten

Chief Executive

Kapiti Coast Airport Ltd

021 650500

   UK DEPARTURE TAX RISE INCREASES LONG-HAUL BURDEN

Peak tourism industry groups in Australia and New Zealand are calling for a joint top-level approach to the British government over its plans to raise its airport departure tax.

Tourism & Transport Forum Australia (TTF) and Tourism Industry Association New Zealand (TIA) are concerned at the prospect of an 8 per cent rise in the Air Passenger Duty, announced overnight by the UK Treasury, and its impact on UK visitors.

TTF Chief Executive John Lee has called on the Australian and New Zealand Prime Ministers to raise the issue with the British government.

“We’re urging Prime Ministers Gillard and Key to raise our concerns directly with British Prime Minister David Cameron,” Mr Lee said.

“The Air Passenger Duty (APD) is a discriminatory, arbitrary tax which impedes tourism, travel, trade and economic growth. This will be the fourth APD rise since 2007 and now takes the tax paid by an ordinary British traveller to more than A$140,” said Mr Lee.

“It unfairly penalises British residents wishing to visit long-haul destinations like Australia and New Zealand, as well as impacting visitors to Britain from long-haul source markets.

“It’s a tax on tourism which reaps billions of pounds in revenue for the British government masquerading as environmental policy.”

TIA CEO Tim Cossar said the latest rise is an unfair burden on long-haul tourism.

“The UK already has the highest departure tax in the world and this latest rise means a family of four will pay more than NZ$736 in taxes just to leave the country,” Mr Cossar said.

“It will simply price more potential visitors to Australia and New Zealand out of the market.

“Poor economic conditions in Europe are already affecting consumer confidence and reducing the likelihood of people to take a long-haul holiday, so now is not the time to introduce another barrier.

“The number of passengers passing though UK airports fell 7.4 million in 2010, which means lower tourism spending, and this is likely to exacerbate that decline.

“Both TIA and TTF are concerned at the potential impact of this increase on British arrivals in our two countries and we believe this issue deserves attention at the highest level.”

New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is preparing an urgent brief for Prime Minister Key and Foreign Minister McCully. The Australian government is urged to follow suit.

TIA has the support of the Inbound Tour Operators Council (ITOC), Travel Agents’ Association of New Zealand (TAANZ) and the New Zealand Airports Association in its efforts to combat the APD increase.

Editors’ notes:

Since 2009 the APD has been split into four distance bands, with both Australia and New Zealand falling into the highest band, for destinations over 9,650 kilometres (6000 miles) from London. 

On 6 December 2011, the UK Treasury announced Band D would rise in April 2012 from £85 for each economy class passenger to £92 and from £170 for premium class passengers to £184. This is the fourth rate rise since 2007 and represents a five-fold increase. The new rate equates to £368(A$560/NZ$736)for a family of four travelling to Australia or New Zealand.

Source: HM Treasury. *APD distance bands apply to all UK airports except Belfast International and Belfast City

Further reading:

In March the UK Treasury launched a review into its air passenger excise tax, the Air Passenger Duty, and you can read TIA’s and TTF’s submissions by clicking the links below.  

Read the Tourism Industry Association of New Zealand’s submission to HM Treasury here.

Read Tourism & Transport Forum’s submission to HM Treasury here.

oversight of aviation electrical work and systems supplying power to aircraft. There were strongly

held concerns about the levels of risk that existed and those earlier engineering decisions that

affected the risk were not supported by risk assessment. The Ministry of Economic Development

(MED) initiated the establishment of the Aviation Electrical Supplies Steering Committee (the

AESSC) to lead the identification and development of safe practices for the management of

hazards associated with electrical supplies to aircraft and aviation workshops. Additionally as part

of an ongoing review of the regulations relating to electricity safety, MED (Energy Safety) proposed

changes to the electricity regulations to clarify and broaden the existing exclusion of aircraft from

those regulations and to explicitly extend the exclusion to cover work on aircraft and fittings of

aircraft.

The broadening and clarification of this exclusion (which has now been implemented) pointed to

the desirability of producing a code of practice type document, to be based on technically sound

risk assessment that specifies the proper and safe management of electricity supplies to aircraft

and aircraft maintenance facilities.

Representation on the AESSC included personnel from MED, Civil Aviation Authority , Aviation

Industry Association, New Zealand Defence Force, Airports Association and the Board of Airline

Representatives.

The AESSC advised its intention to develop an industry code or standard from an initial working

document. Following a publicly advertised Request for Proposal process, Opus International was

chosen by AESSC to produce the working document. The draft of a working document, the

provisions of which were based on a supporting risk analysis, was produced and independently

peer reviewed in June 2009 prior to circulation for public comment. Five submissions were

received and the AESSC met with submitters in November 2009 and responded to the points that

they made. Following some limited changes, the draft code was again circulated for industry

comment in December 2010. Six submissions were received, considered and responded to. The

Airports Association surveyed its members, and obtained additional advice, to establish the

feasibility and cost of compliance for existing installations given that the code will apply to existing

as well as to new installations.

The process used to develop the Code along with its underlying risk assessment conforms with the

requirements of AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009 and the risk criterion on which the Code is based is “as

low as reasonably practicable”.

The Custodian organisation for this Code in its current form is the Aviation Industry

Association (AIA). The Code is lodged on the AIA website here

Wellington International Airport

Regional Airport of the Year – Taupo Airport

Major Airport of the Year – Wellington International Airport

Personality of the Year – Steven Fitzgerald