#SBG 28/11/21: Is that a candle in the window?

Ref: https://www.australianflying.com.au/late…ted-debate & https://auntypru.com/dear-barnaby/ & Mildura (McDonaught Porkbarrel) ILS 6% benefit update?? & Dots-n-dashes on the tick-a-box NASF implementation

Is that a candle in the window? – AuntyPru forum version. 

Or, just a trick of the light, a flicker glimpsed by a road weary traveller, trudging a dusty, dark pathway toward found hope in dawn’s clear light? Aye, ’tis a bit whimsical; but, it suits the mood of the BRB. Non dare openly say anything, for fear of having that small hope dashed, once again, against the high, cruel battlements erected by the robber Barons. Well, that is one view; personalty, I like the Monty Python version better, the parallels are so clearly sketched, it is an almost perfect duplication of the situation Australian aviation has landed in. A rag-tag bunch in search of the Holy Grail and the chaps in castle taking the Mickey Bliss; until they get tired of the noise and launch ‘the big guns’.  – “fetchez la vache” 

Of course, our ‘hero’s’ never get to meet the owner and master of ‘the castle’. His wily guards, safe within, throw everything they have to protect their sinecure and easy life. Therein lays one of the major headaches for industry voices,- actually getting to see ‘the man’ – the one who, they believe can make all the difference to the desperate crew. But that, boys and girls is a Furphy, ain’t it? Or is it. The rest of the Lords have agreed not to interfere in the way the castle guards do their work and a few sacred cows launched here there, to protect the status quo, is a good bargain. Bipartinsane rubber stamp and a blank cheque keep them safe. The current ‘Lord’ of the aviation bailiwick B. Joyce Esq. is a very busy man and with an election on the horizon and the demands of his party and a hundred other odds and sods to worry about, just ain’t got enough hours in the day to deal with ‘matters aeronautical’. Here is where the small bright flame of a candle in the gloom shines. He has good some bloody good folk doing the heavy lifting and providing solid advice. There is a turf war raging – but at days end, the minister will have the final word. The right advice will guide those words.  There is also a score to settle – the minister was gazumped (out of spite many say) in the issue of the ministerial Statement of Expectations (SoE) thunder stolen from BJ and hidden away, a a done deal. If nothing else happens before the election, at least that piece of soft white paper may grow some real teeth.

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Ref: Save Australia’s General Aviation from bureaucratic disaster – Sandy Reith

“Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.” ― Aristotle

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There is another significant pile of paper on the ministerial desk – some of it highly explosive, some volatile and some of it a desperate cry for help. Its all related to the land aerodromes use to conduct their business; or land they used in the past, now buried under large buildings. There are some very questionable tactics being used; like for instance the delayed investigation by the ATSB into how the DFO at Essendon managed to become a real hazard. The answer is very, very simple: – all the ATSB need do is talk to the Airport Building Controller (ABC) they may get some surprising answers from that individual.

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“But what we call our despair is often only the painful eagerness of unfed hope.― George Eliot, Middlemarch

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Then there’s the industry pre election/ Christmas shopping list to attend to; ’tis but a modest one, not expensive and easily fulfilled. Great delight and popularity could be easily gained by a few tawdry trinkets placed in the industry sock; removal of the ludicrous impositions on Angel Flight; restoration of the Buckley certification and a small settlement for damages would remove a headache or two; and persuading Aleck to spend some time with his remaining marbles would, very nicely, put the icing on the Christmas cake. Easy – one phone call, less than two minutes to become a gold plated legend of industry.

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“I am prepared for the worst, but hope for the best. “– Benjamin Disraeli.

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P2 Has once again provided some serious reading for those who enjoy ‘real’ data rather than the desperate small noises made by those who seek relevance by claiming to be ‘in-the-loop’. Some of the submissions sent to the never ending McDolittle gab fest have real merit and significance. Well done all. Will it make a tangible difference or end up in the basement to be used later by the castle guards to repel the seekers of a Grail – ? We shall, no doubt see – and soon. The clarion call of ‘election’ will shortly place the fate of an insignificant industry, not worthy of parliamentary consideration on the back burner. No matter, the tote is open….

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“It lies in the lap of the gods” Homer (c.750 BC) – The Iliad

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That’s about it; rain rattling hard on the workshop roof, wind howling about the chimney, floor part covered by drying dogs, lazing near the stove. Time for bed methinks – IOS indaba tomorrow, always fun.

Selah.-