Dick Smith – Damage to Australian Aviation.

Update: Via Nine News. 

‘I see an industry being destroyed’: Dick Smith calls for Australia’s aviation protection


By Kimberley Caines
3:39pm Apr 24, 2018

Dick Smith is calling for the government to change the Civil Aviation Act 1988. (AAP)

The Federal Government has destroyed the pilot training industry and led it into bankruptcy, says Dick Smith, former chairman of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.
In just five years, the aviation industry in Australia has seen pilot numbers decline by more than 30 percent.

Flying schools are closing across the country or are being sold off to Chinese buyers.

The government is now importing foreign pilots on 457 visas to cover up Australia’s pilot shortage.

Mr Smith says this is due to the government ignoring the cost of safety regulation and putting flight training out of reach for aspiring pilots in Australia.

A commercial pilot’s licence costs about $100,000.

Cadet pilots during training at Moorabbin airport in Melbourne in 2010. (AAP)

“Teenagers leave school and want to become a pilot but find it too expensive,” Mr Smith, 74, told 9news.com.au.

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“Everything is more in Australia – the cost to set up a flying the school, the staff required, and the number of flying hours needed and exams to do to get a commercial licence.

“I believe we have an incredibly safe aviation system but we don’t have enough pilots because the government has sent the flying school industry broke.

“I’m concerned about this because I’m a proud Australian. None of this affects me. I have my own aircrafts but I see an industry being destroyed.”

Richard Branson with Virgin Australia cadet pilot Danielle Stokes in Adelaide in 2013. (AAP)

According to CASA’s 2013/14 annual report, there were 36,158 pilots employed in Australia.

In the 2016/17 report, 31,110 pilots were recorded.

Mr Smith is calling for the government to change the Civil Aviation Act 1988 to make it more affordable for Australian pilots to obtain their commercial licence.

“Everyone agrees we need safety but nobody wants to pay for it,” the renowned entrepreneur said.

“I call on Acting Prime Minister Michael Mcormack to talk to Treasurer Scott Morrison to fix this in next month’s budget before we have an incident that just occurred in the US with the disaster on Southwest Airlines.

“There are tens of thousands of pilots from the USA, Canada, Europe, the UK, China and India, just waiting to come for free.

“We may as well close down our universities and get all graduates from overseas for even greater savings.

“Our flying schools are closing down everywhere.”

Aviation activist Dick Smith outside the Supreme Court in Sydney with a map of the area where a light plane crashed in Victoria in 2004. (AAP)

There are about 320 flying schools in Australia.

However, flying schools including Aerospace and Sydney Flight Training Centre in Sydney, and Australis Aviation College, Airline Academy of Australia and Royal Queensland Aero Club in Brisbane have all closed down in recent years.

It is understood a large number of flying schools are being sold to Chinese or foreign investors due to financial strain or are resorting to using light-sport or ultralight-type aircrafts to reduce costs.

The pilot training crisis is also creating a domino-effect, impacting maintenance companies as repair works are slowing down.

Mr Smith is holding a public meeting to discuss the aviation industry issues in Wagga Wagga at 11am on Thursday.

Australia’s Diamond Aircraft DA-40 NG aircrafts on display during an inauguration ceremony to launch Myanmar’s first privately owned pilot-training school in 2013. (AAP)