Implementing cross-cutting policy in New Zealand: health and safety for aircraft in operation

Abstract

Cross-cutting policy issues have been defined as issues ‘involving or affecting the work of more than one agency or sector’ (Review of the Centre Advisory Group, 2001). It has not always been straightforward to make progress with these types of issues, partly because of the artificial boundaries created by legislative regimes, budget vote structures, agency administrative structures and differences in professional paradigms and boundaries. One method of implementing crosscutting policy that has been used in New Zealand is to designate an agency to administer a statute for a particular sector, where the act is normally administered by another agency. An example of this is the designation of the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand (CAA) to administer the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 (HSE Act) for ‘aircraft in operation’.