Latest / Best of Business / John Ambler and Duane Emeny: NZ Jet owner and Air Chathams CEO on the calls to reform the Civil Aviation Authority

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John Ambler and Duane Emeny: NZ Jet owner and Air Chathams CEO on the calls to reform the Civil Aviation Authority · Best of Business

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from Newstalk zed B. Follow
• 0:12
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• 0:16
  Speaker 2: The owner of a large private jet company has warned
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: the government that a major plane crash could happen if
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: the issues at the Civil Aviation Authority are not sorted out.
• 0:24
  Speaker 3: Two years ago, whistleblower.
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: Is within the CAAA told The Herald that the organization
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: had a toxic culture, the director was asleep at the
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: wheel and changes being made at the time could lead
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: to accidents. Now, New Zealand Jet Co owner John Ambler
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: wrote to the Associate Transport Minister James Meagher with similar
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: concerns at the end of last month.
• 0:41
  Speaker 3: He's with us now, Hi John, Hi, how are you?
• 0:43
  Speaker 4: Helly?
• 0:44
  Speaker 3: Very well? Thank you? So what do you reckon is
• 0:45
  Speaker 3: going to cause the crash?
• 0:47
  Speaker 4: I think, just to put the context into into reality,
• 0:51
  Speaker 4: I never stated that I believe there's an accident about
• 0:54
  Speaker 4: to happen. I said to Minister Mega that industries screaming
• 0:59
  Speaker 4: out for you to basically wake up. What is it
• 1:03
  Speaker 4: going to take before you listen to people that are
• 1:08
  Speaker 4: like myself a voice saying we need to have an
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  Speaker 4: independent review to see what's going on. So the headlines
• 1:14
  Speaker 4: are inaccurate to what I've actually said.
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: So let me read this to you.
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: So for the Herald says the boss of a multimillion
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  Speaker 2: dollar private jet company has told the government he believes
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  Speaker 2: a major fatal airline crash could a curve.
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  Speaker 3: It doesn't act. That's not accurate, that's not accurate.
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  Speaker 4: No, what I've said to Minister Mega is that what
• 1:32
  Speaker 4: is it going to take for you to listen to industry.
• 1:36
  Speaker 4: Is it going to be an accident? Okay, because sorry.
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: Karen, if it's not a fatal crash that you think
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: is the worst case scenario, what do you think is
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: the worst case scenario?
• 1:48
  Speaker 4: Well, ultimately, in all aviation related issues, in the Swiss
• 1:54
  Speaker 4: Cheese model, every whole lines up, and we're doing that
• 1:56
  Speaker 4: with an incident. In the worst case scenario is a crash.
• 2:00
  Speaker 4: But that's not what I'm pointing out. That the issues
• 2:03
  Speaker 4: that are within Civil Aviation, as you've said, is the
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  Speaker 4: cultural issues are still very much toxic. We are losing
• 2:13
  Speaker 4: experienced people within the Civil Aviation Department at a great
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  Speaker 4: rate that it's alarming and obviously if these people that
• 2:24
  Speaker 4: are within the unit aren't able to speak up for
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  Speaker 4: fear of reparation. You know, what sort of system have
• 2:30
  Speaker 4: we already got?
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  Speaker 3: Why are we losing people?
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  Speaker 4: That's a good question for I guess the Chair of
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  Speaker 4: Civil Aviation and the director himself.
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  Speaker 3: Do you have a theory as to it?
• 2:46
  Speaker 4: Yes, because the cultures, as I said, is toxic and
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  Speaker 4: people with people with aviation experience aren't been listened to that.
• 2:56
  Speaker 4: You know that. I believe the change in direction that
• 3:00
  Speaker 4: has happened since two thousand and four, there are a
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  Speaker 4: lot of positives. There's a lot of good things happening,
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  Speaker 4: but the back of actual representation within the Civil Aviation
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  Speaker 4: Department from experienced people is concerning.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, So if there's one thing that you want them
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  Speaker 2: to change, like, then if they're not listening, what is
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  Speaker 2: the thing that you want them to change?
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  Speaker 4: I believe that that really what needs to happen, which
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  Speaker 4: hasn't happened, is an independent review and allowing people within
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  Speaker 4: the department to be able to be speaking up and
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  Speaker 4: and talking about what they believe should be done. Sure
• 3:41
  Speaker 4: that is you know the word written comes to mind.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, John, thank you very much for your time. I
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: appreciate its. John Ambler jet n Z co owner. Listening
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: to that was Dwayne Emony, who is the CEO of
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  Speaker 2: Air Chathams.
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: Hello, Dwayne, welcome back.
• 3:56
  Speaker 4: There.
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  Speaker 3: Are you yea good? Thanks mate? Do you agree with John?
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  Speaker 5: It's not it's not our current experience, Heather. What I
• 4:05
  Speaker 5: would say is, you know, we've had a bit. We've
• 4:08
  Speaker 5: been around forty years. We've had a roller coaster with
• 4:10
  Speaker 5: the regulator. There's been some good times and some bad times.
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  Speaker 5: I would say three years ago it wasn't much fun
• 4:16
  Speaker 5: and we felt that they needed to be changed. And
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  Speaker 5: I think the good thing is that the minister agreed.
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  Speaker 5: It was Simeon Brown who had the transport portfolio back then,
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  Speaker 5: and he acted quite quite fast. He got quite a
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  Speaker 5: few new board members in the whole leadership team in
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  Speaker 5: the CIA has changed, and actually we can sit here
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  Speaker 5: today and say quite confidently that we are seeing some
• 4:41
  Speaker 5: of the good and positive outcomes of those changes. And
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  Speaker 5: I think the important thing too is the CIA know
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  Speaker 5: that everything's not perfect. There's still work to do, but
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  Speaker 5: they want to work with industry on that. So you know,
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  Speaker 5: I was listening to what John was saying, and you know,
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  Speaker 5: I feel for him because, like I say, it can
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  Speaker 5: be a bit of a roller coaster with the regulator
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  Speaker 5: at times, and we're not always going to agree, but
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  Speaker 5: I do think that the pathways for participants in airlines
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  Speaker 5: into the regulator to voice their concerns it's a lot
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  Speaker 5: stronger than it has been.
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  Speaker 3: So you would be listening to Yes, absolutely all right, Dan,
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  Speaker 3: Thanks very much, mate, really appreciate it.
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: Duyney many Chatham CEO. Here you go draw your own
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: conclusion from there
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