[Peetwo]

The Harfwit Shit Show rolls on in non-compliance with international aviation safety standards?? -   

Via Senate Estimates:

Senator McKENZIE: Qantas, in their submission to the government's white paper, said:

Airservices … has not provided consistent services and was responsible for close to 20 per cent of delays at the country's four biggest airports in financial year 2023.
…  …  …
The inconsistency of service is demonstrated by the concerning increase in … events.
…  …  …
Generally, it is used in countries with significant challenges providing air traffic control (for example, Afghanistan …).

This is our largest airline saying that the way you run your business, on behalf of us, is akin to how air traffic control is worked in a country like Afghanistan. What is your response to Qantas?

Mr Harfield: My response to Qantas is that is completely inaccurate and actually misleading.

Senator McKENZIE: Please explain.

Mr Harfield: Maybe 20 years ago, in the way that we may have handled a service variation, there would have been the same protocols that may have been used in Afghanistan at that particular time, but that is not what occurs today. Fortunately, Qantas operations do understand, but maybe other parts of Qantas don't. The situation that occurs when—

Senator McKENZIE: It's pretty serious to put in a white paper document—

Mr Harfield: That's Qantas's opinion, but it's not backed up by fact.

CHAIR: Can I clarify something, please. When did the quote from Qantas come out and do you have a copy of that for the rest of the committee?

Senator McKENZIE: It is in the Qantas submission to the white paper. I think it is public. Everyone is nodding. My staff can send me the page number.

CHAIR: I am not running a protection racket for Qantas. I fault Qantas more than anyone in this building, apart from Senator Sheldon.

Senator McKENZIE: Oh, don't you do that.

CHAIR: If anything came under Mr Joyce's fingers it would be very questionable anyway. Let's just find out.

Senator McKENZIE: You still all vote against bringing Alan Joyce before the Senate to answer questions.

CHAIR: Not me. I don't get a vote. I don't even like the man.

Senator McKENZIE: We're on a unity ticket there. Has any other department, agency or authority ever expressed concerns regarding safety in relation to the serious lack of air traffic controllers and increasing the number of traffic information broadcast by aircraft events?

Mr Harfield: Before I answer, I want to correct that last bit that you said. The traffic information broadcast by aircraft is an additional protocol that we put into place when we have a service variation in order to ensure safety is always maintained, because we actually set up what we call a temporary restricted area around the area to help protect. I want to make that clear. Going back to your original question, places like CASA always make sure, with the oversight, about any concerns they have; therefore we need to ensure that we provide the relevant information to show—

Senator McKENZIE: I know you have a lot of technical language, but the reality—what we're talking about, these types of events—is where pilots of the aircraft are no longer talking to the air traffic control tower; they're just talking to each other.

Mr Harfield: That is not correct, Senator.

Senator McKENZIE: Are you sure?

Mr Harfield: Absolutely.

Senator McKENZIE: Why don't you explain what you are talking about?

Mr Harfield: When we have a service variation in en-route airspace—it is not necessarily the tower—where we don't have the qualified air traffic controller to provide the service, we set up what is called a temporary restricted area. We have a person to sit there, an operational person, who monitors the airspace and decides whether somebody can enter the airspace or not, and manage. At the same time they provide a flight information service, which is no different. We add an additional protocol, which is the traffic information broadcast by aircraft. That means that the aircraft need to broadcast their position, no different to when they are flying into class G or some regional ports. It means there is an extra layer of safety because instead of the air traffic controller, the person, being the only person who knows what's going on, it's making sure that everyone—

Senator McKENZIE: Mr Harfield, let's be honest: the aircraft is saying, 'Cooee, I'm in this space.' Other aircraft are going, 'Oh, better not fly over there; there's another plane'—

Mr Harfield: But they're not allowed to.

Senator McKENZIE: They refuse to fly under those conditions; isn't that correct? You've set up a system that our airlines refuse to fly under.

Mr Harfield: In some cases they make the decision, and it's the operational decision of the airline where they do. Some airlines, and aircraft, do fly through. It's their choice.

---

Senator McKENZIE: Mr Harfield, I have one final section of questions. I know other senators are keen to get on with it. We have traversed today's failure, which has effectively shut the country down, as no-one can get in or out of Sydney airport because two people didn't rock up for work today. We have the ongoing issue over multiple reports of the culture of bullying and harassment in your organisation. You trot in here and give us the same lines year in, year out. We have the training debacles. For how long have you been CEO?

Mr Harfield: About eight years.

Senator McKENZIE: Eight years. What is your remuneration?

Mr Harfield: I refer you to our annual report because it is reported in there. It is in the order of $950,000 total remuneration.

Senator McKENZIE: I think you will find it is over a million dollars.

Mr Harfield: No, it is not what is reported.

Senator McKENZIE: It might not be what is reported but—

Mr Harfield: No, it's not.

Senator McKENZIE: Are you going to quibble with the committee the difference between getting paid a little over a million dollars and a little under a million dollars? That is incredible because, Mr Harfield, you are overseeing an absolute—

CHAIR: Shambles.

Senator McKENZIE: An absolute shambles of a show, and you are being paid in excess of a million bucks. That is double what Prime Minister Albanese is being paid. It is akin to what Mr Moriarty is paid, the head of the Department of Defence. My point is: this guy cannot get one KPI right. The Australian public is forking out just over a million bucks a year for the privilege of this disaster. Given the performance of your organisation over recent years, how would you rate your own performance?

Mr Harfield: Looking at the overall performance of the organisation, I would give it a 'B'—considering that we are continuing to change the system to adapt to a different environment. It is about continuing to work through those issues.

Senator McKENZIE: Are any bonuses attached to that salary?

Mr Harfield: No, there are not.

Senator McKENZIE: What about clauses that reduce your package should you or your organisation not meet the KPIs and benchmarks that are frequently set?

Mr Harfield: No, there are not.

Senator McKENZIE: The minister cannot reduce your salary if you fail to live up to her statement of expectations?

Mr Harfield: No, because that would be a matter for the board. The board could make that decision. However, we removed any sort of incentive payments or bonuses as a result of changes to our remuneration structure a few years ago.

Senator McKENZIE: When is your job up for renewal?

Mr Harfield: Next month.

Senator McKENZIE: Have you had any conversations with the minister about reappointment?

Mr Harfield: No, because the board makes a determination and a recommendation to government in the cabinet process.

Senator McKENZIE: Has your chair, or your board, sent that recommendation to the minister?

Mr Harfield: That is my understanding, yes.

Senator McKENZIE: What is their recommendation to Minister King about your reappointment?

Mr Harfield: That is a matter for cabinet.

Senator McKENZIE: Well, it is not before cabinet. I am asking about a decision of the ASA board. What was the decision of the ASA board—

Mr Harfield: They made a recommendation to reappoint me.

Senator McKENZIE: Wow! Next time we will have to have the board here because you are taking the rope and running as hard and fast as you can with your million-dollar salary while you are presiding over an absolute shit show—let's be frank. And your board is reappointing you, despite the fact that, on every metric of what would be a successful chief executive officer's behaviour, you are failing. So that has gone up to Minister King?

Mr Harfield: My understanding is that it is in the cabinet process.

Plus from CASA:

Senator McKENZIE: We had some evidence from Airservices Australia this afternoon about chronic anxiety about safety. I think there's chronic anxiety about the performance of Airservices Australia, frankly. Have you or your organisation ever expressed concerns regarding the safety or the management of airspace, particularly in the last few years?

Ms Spence : It's certainly an issue that we're monitoring very closely, as the CEO of Airservices Australia indicated. From our perspective, the safety issue is addressed by the impact on the efficiency of the airspace. You can limit the number of aircraft that are operating in airspace and that therefore means you don't have a safety issue. But you certainly have an efficiency issue.

Senator McKENZIE: So you have an expressed concern about the way the airspace is managed?

Ms Spence : We've expressed concerns about the way in which Airservices is relying on contingency arrangements to manage airspace, but I wouldn't say that's a safety issue; it's the impact on the system that's concerning.

Senator McKENZIE: You're the regulator for air traffic controllers. How many air traffic controllers do you license currently?

Ms Spence : I'd have to take the exact number on notice, sorry.

Senator McKENZIE: What role do you play in the ongoing monitoring of safety regarding air traffic control?

Ms Spence : We undertake surveillance activities on Airservices; we issue safety findings—

Senator McKENZIE: How regularly? We're really pushed for time.

Ms Spence : I have to—

Senator McKENZIE: We've got a lot of agencies and I have a series of questions, so I just need the answer.

Ms Spence : Every month we look at a different unit.

Senator McKENZIE: Great, and you randomly pick units or is there a program?

Ms Spence : It's a mix of the two.

Senator McKENZIE: Given the latest cultural report on ASA, are you confident that air traffic controllers are reporting either mental or physical illness?

Ms Spence : I couldn't comment on that, I'm afraid. I don't have a view on that.

Senator McKENZIE: You license them and you monitor them, but you don't have a view on—

Ms Spence : Their mental health—their capacity.

Senator McKENZIE: Have you seen the reports?

Ms Spence : Yes, I have.

Senator McKENZIE: Right. What's CASA's view of the appalling reports?

Ms Spence : Obviously, we are concerned about the ability for Airservices to address the issues that we see around unscheduled absences and the challenges they've got around having staff in place. Not having staff there means that they haven't been able to deliver services to the regulatory standards. But in terms of—

Senator McKENZIE: What do you do then, Ms Spence? Everything you're saying is true. Today we shut down half the country because two people didn't come into work at Sydney. There are contingency arrangements that ASA has in place that our own airlines won't use, which means it's null and void to actually deal with the issue. You've got aircraft communicating into airspace rather than through air traffic controllers, and they're not prepared to do that. What does CASA do, other than express concern?

Ms Spence : Whenever Airservices need to put a TIBA in place we restrict the airspace so that anyone who wants to enter the airspace—

Senator McKENZIE: How do we change it, Ms Spence?

Ms Spence : We're monitoring and working with Airservices on their 'get well' plan, which will ensure they get the right number of staff in to be able to meet the services.

Senator McKENZIE: In the interest of time, do you have any control over or influence on Airservices Australia?

Ms Spence : Yes, we do.

Senator McKENZIE: How are you using that, given the appalling reports of their service delivery? What have you done in the last three years?

Ms Spence : As I said, we've done surveillance, we've identified issues that they need to address and we work with them as they address those findings.

Senator McKENZIE: On notice, I would like to know the number of issues you've formally addressed with Airservices Australia, what the actual issue was and what the outcome is. There are a lot of vagaries, but I want some practical examples. Thank you so much. That's it for CASA.

CHAIR: Ms Spence, thank you very much. We'll let you get away and just keep going.

Quote from PG 92 of the Qantas Group Submission to Aviation Green Paper 2023:

Airservices

Airservices is funded by airspace users through air navigation charges. These charges cover the cost of services provided by Airservices including air traffic controllers and maintaining infrastructure.

There is an ACCC process currently underway to review Airservices’ proposal for increased fees, including a six per cent increase over the next three years. The proposal is not accompanied by a clear outline of the benefits it is proposed to deliver.

The Qantas Group is concerned by the proposed increase in fees in circumstances where Airservices has not delivered the OneSky program, has not provided consistent services and was responsible for close to 20 per cent of delays at the country’s four biggest airports in financial year 2023.1 There should be a requirement for Airservices to track and report on performance against clear targets to ensure benefits are delivered for the increased cost.

The inconsistency of service is demonstrated by the concerning increase in Traffic Information Broadcast by Aircraft (TIBA) events. A TIBA event occurs when usual air traffic control services are unavailable, and pilots are responsible for self-separating their aircraft from other aircraft in airspace by broadcasting their whereabouts. This was once an extremely rare event (almost unheard of in Australian airspace) and typically only in a crisis or other short-term outages (for example, fire alarms in control centres) or occasionally longer outages associated with protected industrial action (most recently in 2008).

Generally, it is used in countries with significant challenges providing air traffic control (for example, Afghanistan or in remote areas).

Between October 2022 and September 2023, there were 236 TIBA events affecting 1,392 Qantas Group flights, as detailed in Figure 1 below.



For safety reasons, the Qantas Group will only operate in TIBA airspace when there are no other options or with appropriate additional procedures to manage the operation. Accordingly, TIBA events significantly impact operations, causing delays, cancellations, re-routes and procedures by flight crew to manage the temporary outages. Further, where pilots are forced to fly around uncontrolled airspace, this significantly increases fuel burn and emissions. The Qantas Group experienced more than 100 delays and 10 flight cancellations in one day in June 2023 after airspace near Brisbane was closed due to an insufficient number of controllers.

This issue extends beyond the Qantas Group to the broader industry. A survey of 5,500 members by the Australian Federation of Air Pilots found almost a third were experiencing delays several times a month because of airspace restrictions.2

Airservices has embarked on a rectification program called PACE — Performance and Customer Experience. The Qantas Group appreciates this focus on rectifying the significant amount of service variations that have occurred since 2021.

To date, set targets have not been met in full, particularly regarding the volume of TIBA events and rectification timelines in the Byron and Coral air traffic control groups.

It is critical that PACE delivers: 

—A return to service levels with no TIBA events; 
—Air traffic control tower hours as outlined in ERSA (Enroute Supplement Australia) and GDP (Ground Delay Program); and 
—Airport acceptance rates unencumbered by staffing constraints.

ICAO Annex 11 deals with a State's obligations in providing ATC services: https://ffac.ch/wp-content/uploads/2020/...rvices.pdf

Attachment B outlines the State's responsibilities when TIBA procedures are in place. Skybrary reference which sums up those obligations: 

Traffic Information Broadcasts by Aircraft (TIBA)

Definition
ICAO Annex 11 states that Traffic Information Broadcasts by Aircraft "are intended to permit reports and relevant supplementary information of an advisory nature to be transmitted by pilots on a designated VHF radiotelephone (RTF) frequency for the information of pilots of other aircraft in the vicinity" in the absence of air traffic service. It notes that TIBAs "should be made only when necessary and only as a temporary measure.
Designation of TIBA Areas

ICAO envisages that TIBA procedures should only apply in designated airspace where either it is necessary "to supplement collision hazard information provided by air traffic services outside controlled airspace" or "there is a temporary disruption of normal air traffic services". In the former case, if more than one Member State is involved in a designation, it is expected that it will be promulgated in ICAO Doc 7030. Airspace and frequency designation for TIBA is considered to be the responsibility of the Member State and should be promulgated by means of a NOTAM which details the message formats and procedures to be used. ICAO also expects that TIBA designations will be reviewed at intervals "not exceeding 12 months". It is accepted that if a TIBA procedure is being introduced because of a temporary disruption to the provision of ATS in controlled airspace, then one or more frequencies normally used for that purpose in the designated airspace may be used for TIBA.

 

MTF...P2