Welcome Address by Ambassador Bill Tweddell
Transport Security Best Practice Regulatory Regional Forum
New World Hotel
11 March 2014
On behalf of the Australian Embassy, and in particular my colleagues from the Australian Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, I extend a warm welcome to you all and thank you for making the time to attend this workshop.
We hope that you find the discussions over the next three days beneficial, and that this forum provides you with the opportunity to strengthen our cooperation in areas of mutual interest.
I understand that over the course of the forum you will be discussing aspects of best practice in transport security regulatory policy, and sharing your experiences on how your respective countries have implemented your own policies.
Well, these transport security regulatory policies have a primary goal of protecting transport systems, trade routes and the travelling public from risks – whether for reasons of health, safety, security, economic or environment.
The goal is an important one, which is why both international organisations such as ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) and the IMO (International Maritime Organisation), and our respective governments, have gone to so much trouble to build complex systems of regulatory governance and protection, with this very goal in mind.
But – intentional or not – regulation often comes at a price:
Regulations can hamper the free movement of goods and people from entering and exiting a country, and this in turn can make goods more expensive, by adding compliance costs and slowing time frames in which these goods become available. These factors all make for a potentially frustrating experience for the travelling public, as they find security measures applied or introduced in often different ways in different countries.
The guidance offered by the international organisations such as ICAO and the IMO, go a long way to ensuring uniform application of regulations, but these can and do differ across the international transport network, often simply because regulators weren't aware that there were other ways to solve the problems they were facing.
Some of these differences will and must remain, as they are driven by the unique security requirements faced by countries. Many of these differences, however, can be avoided when developing regulations by engaging in early dialogue that aims to recognise what our different approaches have in common, and how these could be harmonised though a regional approach. I think this cooperative approach is something we should all aspire to.
This workshop will aim to discuss how each of your respective countries has approached the development of transport security policies during the time in which you’ve participated in the Quality Assurance Framework program. Key themes over the next few days will be lessons learned, how you’ve applied them, the ongoing challenges you face, and perhaps most importantly, how as like-minded transport regulators you can assist and collaborate with one another to promote a regionally safe and secure transport network.
I wish you every success and hope you enjoy your experience at the workshop as well as achieving some good practical outcomes.
I am pleased to declare the transport security best practice regulatory policy forum open.