[Peetwo]

Bernadi drone DM voted down -  

Via the Adelaide Advertiser:

Parents who use small drones to photograph their children could be fined if the aircraft fly too close

Peter Jean, Political Reporter, The Advertiser
November 27, 2017 9:18pm
Subscriber only


PARENTS who use aerial drones to photograph children opening their presents this Christmas could be hit with a $900 fine.

Australian Conservatives Senator Cory Bernardi has launched a bid to block a regulation that bans recreational users from piloting drones within 30m of people.

“This is just another example of where the heavy hand of government is impacting on harmless family fun,’’ Senator Bernardi said.

“Come Christmas time, every family that finds a drone under their tree will likely find themselves breaking the law just by using it.’’

Under former regulations, it was generally unlawful to pilot a small drone within 30m of a person “not directly associated with the operation of model aircraft”.

The old rule was interpreted by some users as meaning that the 30m buffer didn’t apply if the people being recorded gave their consent.

Parents could be fined for using a drone to photograph children on Christmas morning. Picture: Mike Burton

But the new rule makes it clear that only people “directly associated” with operating the aircraft can be within 30m.

Senator Bernardi will move to disallow the regulation in the Senate today but it seemed unlikely he would get enough support to succeed.
Civil Aviation Safety Authority spokesman Peter Gibson said the 30m rule was designed to reduce the risk of people being hit by out-of-control drones.

“It’s to create a safety buffer zone so that if your drone suffers a malfunction, flyaway, strong gust of wind or whatever it might be, it doesn’t hit a person,’’ Mr Gibson said.


Drones can only be flown during the day and cannot be flown near airports and police and emergency operations, such as bushfire-fighting activities

In the Senate yesterday Senator Bernadi's attempted disallowance motion on section 8 of the CASR Part 101 was negatived...

Direction—Operation of Certain Unmanned Aircraft


Disallowance

Senator BERNARDI (South Australia) (16:28): I move:
That section 8 of the Direction — operation of certain unmanned aircraft, made under the Civil Aviation Act 1988, be disallowed [F2017L01370].

Thirteen sitting days remain, including today, to resolve the motion or the instrument will be deemed to have been disallowed.

I seek leave to make a two-minute statement.

The PRESIDENT: Leave is granted for two minutes.

Senator BERNARDI: I thank the Senate for the indulgence. I understand this is a disallowance motion and regularly this should be debated at a later time in the day. However, I regret to say there is not enough support for this disallowance in order for it to get through, and I thought I would expedite the operations of the Senate on this important day for many people, to get through the business as we can. However, I want to make this point. This regulation changes the ability of a family to enjoy drone activity, by virtue of the fact that you are only allowed within 30 metres of an active drone whilst you are directly responsible for the operation of that drone. That means that at Christmas time—or any other time—if a family receives a drone under their Christmas tree and wants to operate it, they are unable to do so in their own backyard. It means that those who want to take a photo at a party or a family gathering cannot do so using a drone or they risk getting a $900 fine, a case that has already taken place under the previous legislation, with a wedding ceremony for a couple of Channel 9 personalities.
This is not a malicious attempt by CASA or the minister to do this. This is simply an oversight. I would encourage senators to consider the implications of this, minor though they may be for some of you. But I know there are many people in my neighbourhood who enjoy flying and using drones to take photographs of themselves and their families, even being in a public park and doing it. This is an oversight. I think it can be redressed. I think it should be withdrawn. I have written to the minister about it. I'm sorry there isn't the support for it here, but I would encourage all of you to seriously consider the implications of this for the small minority of people, albeit well-meaning people and families, who simply want to enjoy a drone with their families.

Senator McGRATH (Queensland—Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) (16:30): I seek leave to make a short statement.

The PRESIDENT: Leave is granted for one minute.

Senator McGRATH: The government takes drone safety and the safety of the public very seriously. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority is currently conducting a safety review of drone regulations. There have been a large number of submissions to this review. The instrument strengthened the rules which drone operators must abide by and increased the safety parameters for the public. This policy development is part of the larger package of reform in drone regulations the government is undertaking. The government does not support this disallowance motion, because it will weaken the safety protections for the Australian public.

Senator GALLAGHER (Australian Capital Territory—Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) (16:31): I seek leave to make a short statement.
The PRESIDENT: Leave is granted for one minute.

Senator GALLAGHER: Labor cannot support the disallowance motion as we understand there's currently a Senate inquiry into the use and regulation of drones and unmanned aircraft. We are waiting for the outcome of the inquiry before we form an informed position on this matter.

Senator RICE (Victoria) (16:31): I seek leave to make a short statement.

The PRESIDENT: Leave is granted for one minute.
Senator RICE: The Greens also won't be supporting this disallowance today. The regulation that Senator Bernardi is proposing to disallow is an interim measure put in place by the minister to deal with ongoing community concerns about the operation of unmanned aerial vehicles. CASA have released a discussion paper and, in addition, the Regional and Rural Affairs and Transport References Committee are conducting an inquiry into the operations of unmanned aerial vehicles. We acknowledge that the interim regulation isn't perfect, but it's pre-emptive to disallow the instrument before the work of these review processes is complete.

Question negatived.

  
No surprises there....


MTF...P2