Speech kicking off the 2nd ICAO audit
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Ladies and gentlemen,
First, let me welcome you all to this meeting. I would especially like to welcome the ICAO audit team and our colleagues from the aviation departments in the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba. I am also pleased to see our other guests, who are all involved in aviation safety in the Netherlands and represent several ministries, not only my own. Your presence here underlines our common goal: the safety of Dutch aviation. Effective oversight is a matter of life and death in this sector. That is why I am pleased to be kicking off the second ICAO audit.
The audit team will shortly be investigating government oversight of aviation sector safety. It will put the authorities of the Kingdom of the Netherlands under the spotlight. This gives us the opportunity to show that the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba have well-organised systems and that we are fulfilling our obligations as an ICAO Contracting State.
The first audit took place in 2000, and we have known since 2005 that we could expect a second sometime in 2008. Naturally, we wanted to be prepared for the audit and this preparation process has galvanised our efforts to improve quality and develop a safety management system at the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management. Not only in the field of aviation, but also for the other modes of transport for which I am responsible. That is a very positive development. The audit protocol questions prepared by ICAO, which will guide your activities in the coming weeks, have given us an extra boost.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands is rather complicated, as it comprises three countries, each of which has it own autonomous aviation sector. This means that you will actually be conducting three different audits. This is no easy task to perform in only three weeks. Our task will be to explain clearly how responsibilities within the Kingdom are divided.
Many different organisations are involved in aviation safety in the Netherlands. First, there are my own ministry’s agencies: the Directorate-General for Civil Aviation and Freight Transport and the Inspectorate for Transport, Public Works and Water Management. Then there are several agencies accountable to my ministry, such as the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute and Air Traffic Control The Netherlands. Together with the Dutch Safety Board, the Coast Guard, the Radiocommunications Agency and the Ministry of Defence, these are the most important organisations involved. It is also our task to explain how they relate to each other.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I wish you every success over the next three weeks. I say this not only to the ICAO team, but to everyone who will be involved in the interviews. We have made many improvements in recent years and we are well prepared. So I am confident about the outcome of the audit and look forward to seeing the report in three weeks’ time.
Thank you.