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What quantified estimate, if any, does he hold of the costs of the agricultural drone regulatory changes announced on 20 August 2026, including the cost to the Civil Aviation Authority of receiving and monitoring notifications, surveillance and enforcement costs, costs to existing Civil Aviation Rule Part 102 certificate holders, and the spray-drift externalities identified at paragraph 9 of the Ministry for Regulation's aide-mémoire MFR2026-026 of 10 February 2026? and 7 other questions

Answered 8 questions (2026)
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Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Questions

  • 40910

    What quantified estimate, if any, does he hold of the costs of the agricultural drone regulatory changes announced on 20 August 2026, including the cost to the Civil Aviation Authority of receiving and monitoring notifications, surveillance and enforcement costs, costs to existing Civil Aviation Rule Part 102 certificate holders, and the spray-drift externalities identified at paragraph 9 of the Ministry for Regulation's aide-mémoire MFR2026-026 of 10 February 2026?

  • 40911

    What quantified estimate, if any, does he hold of the economic or productivity benefits of the agricultural drone regulatory changes announced on 20 August 2026, and what is the source, author and date of that estimate?

  • 40912

    What maximum mass will apply to drones operating under the notification pathway for agricultural drone operations announced on 20 August 2026, what operations will be permitted beyond visual line of sight, at night, in controlled airspace, or over land not owned or occupied by the operator, and if those matters are undecided, when will they be decided?

  • 40914

    What assessment, if any, has been undertaken of the aviation knowledge and operational competency needed to conduct agricultural drone operations safely, what qualification, training or demonstrated competency will operators be required to hold under the notification pathway for agricultural drone operations announced on 20 August 2026, and if that has not been determined, when will it be?

  • 40915

    What evidence, if any, has he received that persons holding no aviation certificate or licence possess the knowledge and competency required for aerial agrichemical application, aircraft systems, airspace, meteorology, flight planning and emergency procedures when operating agricultural drones?

  • 40916

    What advice, if any, has he received comparing the risks of agricultural drone operations with the risks of ground-based agrichemical application by tractor or other farm machinery, and what does that advice say, if anything, about risks arising from operation in shared airspace and from flight beyond the operator's property boundary following a loss of control?

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  • 40917

    What risk assessment, if any, has been undertaken of agricultural drone operations conducted without a Civil Aviation Rule Part 102 certificate, including of conflict with crewed aircraft operating at low level such as agricultural aeroplanes and helicopters, air ambulance and rescue helicopters, and firefighting aircraft, by whom was it undertaken, and on what date was it provided to him?

  • 40926

    What cost-benefit analysis of enabling agricultural drone use, if any, has been commissioned or completed since the Ministry for Regulation's aide-mémoire MFR2026-026 of 10 February 2026 advised that such an analysis was feasible, by whom and on what date was it undertaken, and if none has been undertaken, why not?

Answered by

Hon James Meager

Member for Rangitata · National Party · Associate Minister of Transport

Answer

These matters are being considered by the Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions and Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority as part of detailed policy and rule design. Officials are engaging with industry as part of the rule making process.