OPEN SKIES AGREEMENT BETWEEN SINGAPORE AND AUSTRALIA

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OPEN SKIES AGREEMENT BETWEEN SINGAPORE AND AUSTRALIA: 15.

Mr Ahmad Khalis Bin Abdul Ghani asked the Minister for Transport with regard to the open skies agreement between Singapore and Australia (a) how will the Singapore economy benefit from it; (b) what is the chance that it will result

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in a net loss to Singapore if for instance SIA is unable to take advantage of the Australian airspace rights as much as Qantas can over Singapore's; and (c) how will it help to create more jobs for Singaporeans.

The Minister of State for Transport (Dr Balaji Sadasivan) (for the Minister for Transport): Mr Speaker, Sir, air services play an important role in Singapore's economy by supporting the flow of trade, investment and tourism. Indeed, our superior connectivity is a very strong plus point for foreign investors, be they manufacturers who need to air freight their products world-wide, or service providers who base their HQ, or core management team, in Singapore to serve the region.

On its own, air services bring in business and leisure travellers. They contribute directly to our economy, through their dining, shopping and hotel expenditure. This creates jobs not only in Changi airport, but also in restaurants, the retail sector and hotels, amongst others. Expansion in air services has a significant multiplier effect on our economy. Conversely, the reduction of air services will lead to severe contractions for our economy, as we had recently experienced during the SARS outbreak.

To maximise the benefits that air services bring to Singapore, we have thus built a wide network of air services at Changi over the years. Today, Changi serves 63 airlines and almost 30 million travellers annually. We are connected to 137 airports throughout the world. This connectivity is self-reinforcing; airports with excellent connectivity are better able to attract airlines due to the network effect. Going forward, we need to continue our efforts to strengthen Changi's wide network of air services.

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Going on to the recent air services agreement which we concluded with Australia, Singapore enjoys a good and strong bilateral relationship with Australia. Besides strong economic ties, both countries also share a common liberal view towards air transport policy. Accordingly, both sides have sought to liberalise our air services agreement over the years to ensure that it not only keeps pace with the growth in air traffic, but also provides room for our carriers to plan their growth and expansion. As a result, the aviation industries in Singapore and Australia have flourished and our respective airlines have grown into amongst the best in the world. SIA is a world-class airline and our major partner at Changi. Qantas is also a successful world-class airline and another highly valued partner at Changi. Indeed, Qantas is the largest foreign airline in Changi, in terms of passenger throughput.

While we have not managed to conclude an open skies agreement with Australia this time, we have managed to obtain a significantly liberalised agreement with Australia. Amongst others, we have lifted all existing restrictions on flights between Singapore and Australia. This agreement thus shows the respective governments' commitment to pave the way for the airlines to continue expanding their operations, and to do so with greater flexibility and certainty.

In turn, we hope that the airlines in Singapore and Australia will make use of the new agreement to increase their services between our two countries. We will continue to work closely with all the carriers to facilitate the expansion of their operations in Singapore. The question of which airline would use more of the rights is irrelevant because Singapore benefits from Changi's improved connectivity, regardless of whether the new services are operated by SIA, Qantas, Australian Airlines or any other new carriers. We should not limit the expansion of the

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Australian carriers at Changi just because SIA is not able to increase their operations to Australia. Hence, our approach in our Air Services Agreement negotiations is not to be bound by what is ideal for one carrier, but to aim to secure the best deal for Changi. This will, in turn, benefit Singapore's economy and create more jobs. The ultimate beneficiaries are, therefore, Singapore and Singaporeans.

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INTERNET CHATROOMS: 16.

Mdm Halimah Yacob asked the Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts in view of Microsoft's recent decision to close its chatrooms worldwide, (a) what measures are in place to prevent internet chatrooms from becoming a haven for sex predators; and (b) whether these measures are adequate given a number of reported cases in Singapore of men using the internet to prey on young girls.

The Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts (Dr Lee Boon Yang): Mr Speaker, Sir, the hon. Member has expressed concern over the possible use of Internet chatrooms by sex predators to prey on the young and questioned whether the safeguards we have in place today are effective.

Sir, the nature of the Internet makes it impossible to insulate users entirely from its contents. Experiences in other countries have shown that regulatory controls by themselves are not effective in preventing the inflow of undesirable content through the Internet. Hence, we have adopted a pragmatic three-pronged approach to safeguard our young from the undesirable content and activities on the Internet, in particular, chatrooms. This involves legal enforcement, industry regulation and public education.

There have been several high-profile cases of men using the Internet to prey on young girls. The Police take a very

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serious view of such crimes and, where offences have been committed, they will investigate thoroughly and Police will prosecute the apprehended offenders. While the Police have been successful in this aspect, we recognise that enforcement action only serves as a strong deterrent.

Therefore, we established the National Internet Advisory Council in 1996 to work with the industry to reduce the potential for Internet abuse. Our Internet Service Providers have voluntarily provided their subscribers the option of using Family Access Networks to filter out undesirable sites. Under the Media Development Authority's (MDA) Internet Code of Practice, content providers are required to abide by guidelines on discussion themes when they host the chat facilities. The industry has also taken steps that include moderating popular chatrooms, requiring user registration, taking disciplinary action against abusers, and collaborating with the Police in furnishing information on sex offenders. We see Microsoft's recent closure of unmoderated chatrooms as a positive move. We hope to see more of such industry initiatives and the MDA is prepared to support and work with any industry player to facilitate this.

However, these precautionary measures, while effective, can only work well for a fraction of the chatrooms available on the Internet. The vast majority of chatrooms accessible to Singaporeans are based overseas and beyond our regulation. We cannot prevent the naive and curious from accessing what they wish within their own confines. Therefore the public, in particular, parents must take their own preventive actions to protect their children. Simple skills governing online behaviour, such as not giving out personal details and not meeting strangers acquainted through chatrooms, are all

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basic common sense precautions that will go a long way in curtailing the problem. Like many other everyday habits, these must be taught and inculcated by parents and teachers in our schools.

Hence, the Media Development Authority has supported measures to educate the public on online safety. It has made available an Internet Public Education Fund to support projects that raise awareness on the precautions for safe access of the Internet, especially by the young. The fund has supported the work of volunteer organisations, such as the Parents' Advisory Group for the Internet (PAGi) which promotes online safety awareness to parents. Since 1999, the Parents' Advisory Group for the Internet has reached out to more than 62,000 people directly through its outreach activities, including campaigns on MTV and Nickelodeon to educate young viewers on chatroom safety.

3.00 pm

Mr Speaker: Order. End of Question time.

_[Pursuant to Standing Order No. 21(3), Written Answers to Question Nos. 16, 20 and 29 on the Order Paper are reproduced in the Appendix * . Question Nos. 17 to 19, 21 to 28 and 30 have been postponed to the sitting of Parliament on 11th November 2003.] _

*Cols. 3399-404

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