Page 771 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 31 March 2021

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(1) What restrictions exist for the use of drones or remotely piloted aircraft in the ACT.

(2) Is the ACT Government currently planning any legislation regarding the use of drones or remotely piloted aircraft in the ACT.

Ms Cheyne: The answer to the member’s question is as follows:

(1) Drone regulation is a rapidly evolving area of government policy in Australia and internationally, with roles and responsibilities between levels of Government still being understood as the technology develops.

Drones are considered ‘aircraft’ and are thereby regulated by Commonwealth agencies. These include the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), Airservices Australia, and the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development. These agencies restrict where drones can fly, as well as hours of operation for commercial drone activities.

While the ACT does not specifically legislate to restrict drone activity on the ACT, there are many instances where ACT-controlled rules or policies may restrict drone use. For example, ACT regulations around noise or other environmental impact may restrict drone operations in some cases. Similarly, planning permissions may restrict the location and operations of commercial drone launch sites. Further, entrance or attendance rules for ACT venues or events may prohibit attendees to use drones.

(2) No.

The Commonwealth Government has power to regulate drones in airspace, under the Air Navigation Regulations 1998. The ACT Government supports a national approach to future drone regulation, including safety regulation.

National broadband network—maintenance and repairs
(Question No 97)

Mrs Kikkert asked the Minister for Economic Development, upon notice, on 12 February 2021 (redirected to the Assistant Minister for Economic Development):

(1) What information does the ACT Government have access to in relation to NBN procedures and expenditure for NBN operations in the ACT.

(2) Does the NBN regularly share information with the ACT Government regarding maintenance, outages and repairs.

(3) How much is spent yearly in the ACT on maintenance costs for the NBN specifically on fixing outages related to water damage.

(4) What is NBN Co procedure for repairing weak copper connections that have been damaged/infiltrated by water.

(5) How many water related outages were reported from 1 July 2020, broken down by suburb.


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