NIGEL DE FREITAS, Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture, supported the Civil Aviation (Amendment) Bill 2022 by saying aviation was a very specialised field needing high-qualified individuals. The bill seeks to remove a two-term limit on individuals serving on the board of directors of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA.)
He rejected earlier comments by Opposition Senator Jearlean John that the specifications for board members were not very specific and so the Government should not have problems to find new members. De Freitas said, "This particular industry is highly, highly, highly regulated, and for good reason.
"The major reason the industry is highly regulated is that the slightest error has dire consequences."
He related that in 2018 or 2019 an issue arose in the global civil aviation industry – that induced fear in fliers – among certain companies that hitherto had a very good track record.
"There was a minor error, be it communication-wise, that led to certain consequences which I don't want to repeat right now, that put the civil aviation industry, the entire industry globally, into question. (It) shut down the purchase of new planes coming from that supplier where people had to re-look at their contracts, just because of what would be deemed at the time a minor error, decisions taken by leaders in the industry that led to dire consequences people.
"I understood for the first time why that industry is regulated so highly and why they must meet the highest of standards if you are to operate in that industry."
De Freitas suggested a limiting of terms of CAA board members could act as a deterrent to service by professionals who were mid-career.
He said TT has a small pool of aptly-qualified professionals to serve on the CAA board.
"Given the highly specialised nature of the industry it is not to say you can walk outside, pick somebody from the street and say, 'Come and serve on this board.'"
He said lawyers may be specialised in areas such as the oil sector, corporate law or criminal law.
"So when I saw the requirement in this act for lawyers in this matter to meet, you need the the kind of lawyer who is experienced in the highly specialised area of civil aviation."
He again rejected the idea of an ordinary attorney on the CAA post.
"The AG is right to say it is a steep learning curve for that said lawyer to understand the machinations that occur in that highly specialised industry."
De Freitas advocated for an existing attorney on the board to stay long enough to pass on their expertise to younger members, rather than a ban re-appointments constantly shrinking the pool of candidates. He remarked, "Nothing untoward, nothing political."
Attorney General Reginald Armour SC, piloting the bill earlier, said the amendment would allow older board members to mentor younger members coming onto the board. Removing the two-term limit would allow the CAA to benefit from those individuals with experience, while paving the way for new talent to be sourced, the AG said.
"The proposed amendme
