[Peetwo]

CASA must consider cost of regulation: Warren Truss  

• by: STEVE CREEDY
  
• From: The Australian
  
• April 24, 2015 12:00AM
  

Aviation Editor
Sydney




Warren Truss has urged CASA to engage co-operatively with the aviation industry. Picture: Getty Images Source: Getty Images
 
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority will be required to consider the economic and cost impact of regulation as well as implement the Forsyth review in a timely manner as part of a long-awaited statement of expectations sent by Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss.  

The letter requires the regulator to undertake “effective and ongoing engagement with the aviation industry’’.

It said this should create an effective collaborative relationship between CASA and the industry “based on a foundation of mutual understanding and respect’’.

CASA should also be guided by the key aviation safety principles set out in government’s response to the Aviation Safety Regulation Review chaired by industry veteran David Forysth and provide a plan on how it would do this in an “effective and timely manner’’.

It also calls on CASA to review the operations and functions of the Office of Airspace Regulation and to work with the ATSB in a way that was informed by “just culture’’ principles.

Mr Truss told The Australian the CASA letter and a similar statement of expectations sent to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau fulfilled a promise arising from the Forsyth Review.

“The key changes are obviously that they should implement the findings of the review and also my expectation is that they will seek to develop a co-operative relationship with all sectors of the industry,’’ he said.

The minister said CASA still had a key role of ensuring safety.

“It’s not a radical change from the previous arrangements but we want a culture in CASA of working with the industry to achieve good safety outcomes,’’ he said.

The statement was welcomed by industry groups representing the smaller end of the aviation sector, who have been at loggerheads over new regulations, particularly new Part 61 rules governing flight crew licensing.

Industry groups have claimed the rules are difficult to understand, badly constructed and potentially damaging to aviation operators.

CASA came under intense fire last year when the Forysth review called for sweeping reforms and criticised CASA for taking too hard a line and maintaining an adversarial approach to the industry, which had lost trust in the authority. The federal government agreed to 32 of the 37 recommendations, scotched one and said four others needed further review.

The report was ordered by Mr Truss in response to industry criticism of CASA and concerns about the adequacy of the Australian Transport Safety Board’s ­investigation into the 2009 Pel-Air ditching of an air ambulance off Norfolk Island.

It accused the regulator of adopting “an across-the-board hard-line philosophy, which in the panel’s view is not appropriate for an advanced aviation nation such as Australia’’.

The authority and the ATSB were also the subject of a highly critical 2013 Senate committee report into the authority’s role in an investigation of the Pel-Air crash.

Responding to the statement, CASA director of aviation safety Mark Skidmore said the authority was making finishing touches to a plan detailing how it would implement the government’s response to the Forsyth review.

Mr Skidmore said the plan would set out in detail how and when CASA would achieve the government’s requirements.

“Key elements of the implementation plan will be fully embedded in CASA’s 2015-16 to 2018-19 corporate plan,’’ he said.

“By doing this, CASA’s goals will be clearly and publicly stated and our performance in reaching these goals will be reported to the government, the aviation community and the general community.

“In other words, we are being open and honest with everyone in our commitment to deliver on the government’s response to the review.’’  Mr Skidmore revealed he was also working on a longer-term strategic plan called Flight Plan 2030, which would broadly set out the authority’s objectives in the next 15 years.

“My aim is to establish a common understanding with the aviation and wider community about how we will continue to deliver optimal aviation safety outcomes, while responding to a dynamic and growing aviation industry,’’ he said.  “A key element of these plans will be the way in which CASA engages with the aviation community.’’

Mr Skidmore said he was committed to “an appropriate safety partnership where we all play our roles in getting the best from the aviation safety system’’.

“Part of this is being open to criticism and I can assure everyone that where CASA is deservedly criticised we will listen carefully and respond in the right way,’’ he said.

“I can give an assurance that the causes of problems will be investigated and actions taken to make sure mistakes are rectified and not repeated.’’

Regional Aviation Association of Australia chief executive Paul Tyrrell welcomed the fact the letter was in the public arena and said it meant CASA and the other agencies had been issued their riding instructions by the minister.

He said the association supported strongly the government’s call for CASA to look at the ­economic and cost impact on businesses.

“That’s a really important one to us, that before they make regulatory changes they do look at the cost as per the minister’s orders,’’ Mr Tyrrell said.

Mr Tyrrell also welcomed Mr Truss’s instruction to effectively engage with the industry and work collaboratively.

“One thing that’s missing that we were a bit disappointed about is the harmonisation of our regs with international regs,’’ he said.

“That’s been in the other statements and we see that as a gap with this one. We would politely ask the minister to maybe have an addendum to this statement regarding international harmonisation of regs.’’

Mr Tyrrell said he hoped the statement would lead to a cultural shift at CASA, particularly given Mr Skidmore’s appointment and changes on the board.

“It’s quite clear that the board has the job of developing and implementing the policy along with the DAS,’’ he said. “There’s never been a better chance to achieve the change that the industry’s been calling for seven or eight years now. We’ll never get such a good chance again and if we miss this one then God help the industry.’’

Aerial Agricultural Association of Australia chief executive Phil Hurst said the statement had been warmly received and was detailed enough to provide a sensible and practical way forward.

“But clearly the minister’s letter now puts the full glare of the spotlight on to the performance of the CASA board and the CASA senior management,’’ he said.

“So for us, the days of waiting for action are over and we look forward to working with CASA to remedy many of the problems we’ve identified.’’

Mr Hurst said the Part 61 rules — which remained “an ongoing weeping sore’’ — were at the top of industry’s agenda for action by CASA.  The association has also called for the CASA’s cost recovery discussion paper to be withdrawn pending the establishment of a joint task force with industry to identify ways of improving efficiency.

Now that's more like it, well done SC...

MTF...P2

Before setting off on some R&R befitting of an Octogenarian, PP managed to scratch out a blog piece that allows readers to compare the miniscule Truss SOE & John Anderson's charter of expectations, to the then CEO of CASA Mr Bruce Byron - the point being that we all know what happened to Byron's proposed MAP in response to the Anderson missive...   I.E. - The Iron Ring promptly shit-canned the MAP & subsequently white-anted Byron until he had no choice but to pull the pin -  Not-so-great expectations?

...Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Warren Truss has provided an interim Statement of Expectations to the not-quite-finalised CASA Board, effective until June 30, 2017. A ring-around industry sources found everybody frankly pretty cheerless about the apparent lack of any urgency on some of the more devastating issues emerging from the ever-unfolding CASRs, and one provided an interesting document for comparison, which we invite readers to compare with Mr Truss’s more recent contribution.

The letter is (then) Minister John Anderson’s “Charter letter“ to (then) incoming CASA CEO Bruce Byron, and for the benefit of newcomers to the scene, that was way back when CASA didn’t have a Board anyway, and Ministers and CEOs had regular meetings – which often got things moving.

First, here’s Mr Truss’s SOE, which our process-watchers believe has all the symptoms of an origin somewhere close to the top of the Infrastructure tree... 

Okay fair enough, most of the IOS are cynically aware that there remains are very real risk of history repeating. However last time round most of us were blissfully unaware of the Iron Ring & the extreme power they have and so naively believed the Byron MAP would just happen. Well this time round we (& the Senators) are much more informed and will therefore be monitoring the Skates performance at every tick of the clock...

 Here is an example - let's take this line from the Oz article...

"... Mr Hurst said the Part 61 rules — which remained “an ongoing weeping sore’’ — were at the top of industry’s agenda for action by CASA..."

So the next question is will Skates (CASA) respond to this industry concern?? Or will Terry & Co (The Iron Ring) do like they did in the past and argue the toss, stating that industry does not know what it is talking about...

Well from Oz Flying today the answer to those two questions would appear to be YES & NO.. :

Australia's flying training and licensing systems have been shaken up with the introduction of CASR Part 61. (Steve Hitchen)

CASA to send Part 61 Letter to Pilots
28 Apr 2015

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority will send a letter to all pilots later this week outlining the issues with CASR Part 61.

CASA introduced Part 61 - which deals with licensing - in September 2014, but the suite has since attracted significant criticism from many corners of the aviation industry.

The letter to pilots is expected to outline what actions CASA has taken to address issues and inviting pilots to put forward additional issues relating to Part 61.

The letter should start to appear in letterboxes early next week.

    
I hear you say...

"..FFS Skates you've got it all in the ASRR submissions so what more do you need??..."

..and this will be obfuscated, delayed etc. from now till Xmas err..2020 at which point industry will be "dead buried & cremated"...   

However there is an IF here, & that is IF we let them???

MTF...you betcha! P2

Ps off the blog...

 Breathless with anticipation the crowd awaits Terry’s departure.



 To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player, That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing. - See more at: http://auntypru.com/#sthash.yssIMT5c.dpuf