Egad....this is indeed startling news. What on earth are the Aussies going do do to handle this ICAO innovation? I guess the Wombat-Landers could be sent over in batches to New Zealand in order to undergo some remedial Engish courses (and to sample some proper Ales).
Interesting. I'd always assumed that English was the official language of Pilots and ATC alike. However I once heard that at Charles de Gaulle and other French areas, that they insisted in speaking only French. Im not sure this is true though!