Snippets from around the traps - Printable Version

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RE: Snippets from around the traps - P7_TOM - 12-30-2019

Yeah – but.

C’mon TB – really

“[if] we can put our ego's away and unite with one voice.”

For how many decades now have we watched, listened to and even (unknowingly) been part of the back biting, shit throwing and straight out malice between ‘operators’. I seem to remember a ripper, from not too many years ago – a criminal act, allowed to pass unchallenged by CASA, turned into an attack vehicle for a ‘favoured’ competitor – do you remember the one? Slashed de-ice boots, break, enter and steal documents, ring any bells?

How can an industry ‘unite’ when that sort of behaviour is embraced. Competition is one thing and welcome – but there ain’t a lot of ‘cooperation’ going on. You and I have seen operators work at a loss to keep the wheels turning; we’ve both seem ‘charter jobs’ and contracts the subject of almost ‘blood letting’ – profitless prosperity – go to Hell. Everyone wants to be seen as ‘the’ operator’ – the professionals – best in the land. It’s bollocks. It becomes ‘diabolical’ when CASA have ‘preferred’ operators - usually those whose can ‘be seen’ to toe the CASA line with a smile and a thank you.

So long as CASA hold the industry by the nuts through whispers, favouritism and outright preferential treatment, nothing will change. Until industry starts charging aircraft and crew out at a profitable base line, commensurate with investment and risk – even less will change. This industry is, like many road users, a danger to itself which no amount of police action or regulation will cure. – Call bollocks if you will – but take a drive on Sydney roads – Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide – not to mention Melbourne; try to arrive at your destination without cursing a fool, slamming on the brakes; or even shaking your head. Cannot be done. – Same –same operators –“Oh they’re a dodgy lot; overweight, fiddled engine hours, shonky maintenance, etc. Etc. I’ve heard it all – you too I’ll bet.

There are regulations aplenty for those ‘on the road’ – just as there are for aviation. The difference is that even without the ‘benefit’ (Ahem) of ‘complex’ regulation most pilots are situationally aware and cognisant of ‘risk’, it is this alone which keeps ‘the operator’ out of the mire – until the first mishap. Then all bets are off unless you happen to be on the CASA ‘good boys’ list.

Which brings me back to the beginning – air operators are very aware of the ‘risk’. Insurance being the first to put the boot in – often supported by a CASA ‘safety first regulation’ (for whom I may ask) – if, as and when it suits ‘em to do so. A disunited industry can’t hope for reform in the toxic atmosphere which currently exists; but then, which operator has the courage to challenge the garbage CASA inflict – which they allow without challenge, in order to keep ‘in favour’? At least the Bobby’s are properly impartial – you get caught – you get booked – end of. They have to prove it of course – wonder how the nation’s banking, medical, political and criminal elements would react to ‘strict liability’ across the board?

We’ll never know – will we. I’d like to see ‘strict liability’ applied to politicians expenses and deviations into murky waters. Corrupt we are, corrupt we be – everyone ‘cept thee and me.

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RE: Snippets from around the traps - thorn bird - 12-31-2019

From Forbes magazine.

Issues facing US general aviation.

We should be so Lucky!


5 Private Jet Charter Issues In The Forefront For 2020

In many ways, general media stories about private jets in 2019 were the same as in past years. Only the names changed. So as we say goodbye to Prince Harry, the Duchess of Sussex, Jeffrey Epstein, and Britain’s Labour Party, which toyed with endorsing a ban on business aircraft, it’s time to look at issues that will impact users, not just headline writers hunting for clicks.

5. Green Leadership

OEMs like Gulfstream Aersopace have been working on sustainability for nearly a decade. Each new model from Bombardier, Dassault, Embraer, Textron, and others come with lengthy explanations about how they are reducing noise, carbon, and industrial emissions.

During its annual conference in Las Vegas this past October, the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) announced what it described as an “unprecedented” industry Global Sustainability Summit, scheduled to take place in March 2020.

The next step will be to see if any of the major operators of owned, managed and fractionally owned fleets perhaps use the NBAA’s confab as a launching pad to step out on an issue that is only going to get hotter.

4. Image Enhancement

I expect to see the industry get more aggressive and creative in promoting a positive image to help foster growth.
Its work as first responders to natural disasters, as a lifeline in medical emergencies and economic pipeline for communities that lack good or any scheduled airline service goes largely unnoticed for the sake of stories about Kim Kardashian’s flight on a private 747.

Recently No Plane No Gain launched a grass roots presentation to spread the word about the many positives. That said, during Corporate Jet Investor’s annual conference in November, Pat Gallagher, the president of NetJets, citing YouGov data, told the audience that industry growth isn’t keeping up with the rise in the UHNW population.
In other words, the market isn’t growing as fast as it could or should. When Uber was initially raising funds, it used NetJets’ fractional share approach as a model for what it wanted to create. Ride sharing has grown from $11 billion to over $200 billion.

If you want to think about the NetJets’ model another way, as many as 16 different owners together buy a single aircraft. They then share the asset and access to the fleet, and that fleet is utilized 500% more than the typical private jet.

It means each jet that goes into the sharing economy of fleet operators creates a significant reduction in manufacturing resources against utilization.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, there are over 11,000 private jets, turboprops, and helicopters in the U.S. that are certified to operate for commercial charter, including fractional ownership.
What gets little ink is many owners allow their management companies to rent their planes under Part 135 when they aren’t using them. And it’s not just small jets. If you look at the websites of Jet Edge, Clay Lacy, Priester Aviation, and others, their charter (jet sharing) fleets are filled with large cabin, long-haul jets Gulfstream’s G550 and Bombardier’s Global Express.

A better image built around business aviation’s pioneering role in the sharing economy might also unlock growth potential by making private flights less of a bullseye for users.

3. Membership Has Its Privileges

While fractional ownership was the big driver of broader access to private aviation until the Great Recession, since 2009, that part of the market has consolidated. NetJets and Flexjet dominate, controlling 80% share U.S. of flights.
However, jet cards continue to grow with the number of providers more than doubling. There are over 60 jet card sellers in the U.S. alone.
Why the growth? Jet cards are a more convenient form of charter, often providing guaranteed rates and availability, meaning you know approximate costs ahead of time instead of pricing is trip-by-trip. In some cases, you can get those rates with as little as eight or 10 hours notice, although 24 hours is typical.
In other words, if you are in Ames, Iowa, and tomorrow you want to fly to Reno, Nevada, with one call or even a text, you can do so with a jet card. You also don’t pay for repositioning flights and save as much as six hours over flying commercially.
Best of all, these memberships, which often operate like debit cards, have minimal commitments, with some programs starting at just 10 hours. Some are even refundable, so in six months, if your travel needs change, you aren’t tied to a long-term agreement or having to sell your plane.

2. Pilot Shortage

To make it all work, you need somebody to fly the plane. And private jet operators and owners are paying the price for the antics of airline executives. Until recently they spent decades cutting salaries and benefits, and in many ways, made it a professional that wasn’t very attractive.
With 800,000 new pilots needed in the next 20 years, former Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenberg told CNBC the lack of a sufficient pipeline represents for the industry “one of the biggest challenges we have.”
While an owner of an expensive large-cabin jet can often solve the problem by throwing extra money at it, pay is typically based on aircraft size. In other words, you earn more not only by moving from one side of the cockpit to the other, but by transitioning up to a larger type. Bigger aircraft equal higher charter rates, meaning more money for pilot salaries.
Earlier this year Jet Linx and XOJET Aviation formed an interesting three-way partnership with Southwest Airlines and CAE, a training school. For pilots, it means opportunities to start flying commercially upon graduation, and then between the private jet operators and Southwest, a two-way flow. Pilots who want to fly for a big airline, now have a clear path. At the same time, pilots who prefer business aviation, now have an entry point as well.
It also means in choosing private aviation providers, either an operator or via a broker, consumers need to focus more on the pilot requirements that provider mandates, and what type of backup they guarantee if a pilot gets sick or your aircraft is delayed upstream.

1. Illegal Charter

As increased costs for pilots and insurance put pricing pressure on legitimate charter operators, if you shop charters and jet cards focused only price, you could end up on an illegal charter.
Some industry experts believe part of the reason is more first-time aircraft buyers, induced by the Trump tax benefits, who don’t understand the FAA’s rules. If you own a plane, but use it exclusively for personal and company flights, you probably operate under Part 91. Charter aircraft fly under Part 135, which has more stringent requirements for pilots, maintenance and operations.
The FAA recently issued a warning to both pilots and consumers, outlining red flags. The death of soccer star Sala last January and other scams highlighted the need for due diligence before you fly.

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RE: Snippets from around the traps - thorn bird - 01-03-2020

I've always felt that privatisation of Australia's vital infrastructure was a massive fraud perpetrated on the Australian public.

All perfectly "legal" of course, but soft corruption nevertheless. Those responsible will no doubt get their "cut" sometime in the future and I have no doubt that some already have.

From local shire councils to the highest tiers of government these shady deals get done. The losers are us everyday Australians who have to foot the bill for the avarice, self interest and often complete incompetence within the public sector.


ADAM CREIGHTON
ECONOMICS EDITOR

• 10:46PM JANUARY 2, 2020
• 91 COMMENTS

Rod Sims has accused state and federal governments of using privatisation to increase tax by stealth — selling government businesses at inflated prices on terms that allow the new owners to gouge customers. In a wide-ranging interview with The Australian the chairman of the powerful Australian Competition & Consumer Commission also took aim at courts for setting unrealistic standards of proof that had undermined the regulators’ efforts to boost competition.

“The idea you privatise to maximise returns has taken hold and it is destroying privatisation,” Mr Sims told The Australian. “People in the street say when you privatise, prices go up; well, that’s exactly what’s happening,” he added, in remarks that follow years of growing resentment about rising energy prices and, more recently, airport charges.
Mr Sims, who will be the longest-serving head of the competition and consumer watchdog when his term ends in 2022, said ports, energy companies, airports and gas pipelines had been sold at high prices because the new owners could put up prices.

“Rather than privatise to benefit their constituency, they privatise to maximise proceeds so they get money in, and their constituency gets taxed,” he said, singling out the sale of the Port of Newcastle in 2014 and Sydney Airport in 2002 as egregious examples.

“They bought the port for $1.75bn, immediately revalued it to $2.4bn, put up prices by more than 40 per cent; maybe the government didn’t think the new owners would be so naked in their greed,” Mr Sims added.

“And people were blown away by how much Macquarie paid for Sydney Airport; well, no wonder. They doubled the landing fees prior to selling it and they gave the new owners first right of refusal over the next airport — effectively saying ‘do what you like with car park fees, do what you like with hire cars, taxis’.

“You’ve had this coming together of governments looking for non-obvious ways to tax the community with academic theory that has wandered into a very weird place,” he said, referring to a strand of economics that, argues monopolies do not need to be regulated because new firms will enter the market if they misbehave.

The federal government sold most of its remaining businesses in the 1990s, including Qantas, Telstra and Commonwealth Bank.

In October, Josh Frydenberg ruled out re-establishing “asset recycling” incentive payments for the states to sell assets as a way of paying for new infrastructure, which had helped supercharge a privatisation boom in NSW up to 2017, including sale of three electricity transmission networks for more than $34bn.

Mr Sims said a senior state government bureaucrat had conceded that privatisation had become a covert method of taxation: “He said to me ‘we don’t have the tax base any more, so this is a way we can tax’.”

The government last month backed a Productivity Commission analysis, against the recommendation of the ACCC, that found the nation’s airports were not gouging enough to warrant greater oversight.

Mr Sims said the introduction of an “effects test” in competition law — prohibiting behaviour that had the effect of “substantially lessening competition” — had “changed behaviour”.

“Previously, lawyers would advise corporate Australia that they could do whatever they wanted to their competitors to knock them out, provided the action they took was one other players could do,” he said.

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RE: Snippets from around the traps - Sandy Reith - 01-03-2020

Most people support free free market and particularly when they enter the market offering to sell or buy various goods. The market works best when there’s competition, unfortunately in Australia competition is often extremely limited by government rules and policies. Only too well in aviation do we understand how legalities that are made so complex, convoluted and unworkable that we finish up with rule by bureaucratic fiat, undermining the concept of rule by law, and the free market suffers.

Privatisation as a word conveys the notion that what was government owned is made over to to the exclusive domain of private ownership. Problem being with these types of definitions and arguments nothing is that simple. For example there is, in law, no such thing as private land, it all belongs to the Crown. We may hold it ‘freely’ but Her Maj may do as She wishes with it, via Her Government of course. In the US they got rid of this notion 250 years ago.

As far as the privatisation of airports is concerned the huge mistake is to privatise the whole airport, landside and airside. There being almost zero possibility of the setting up of a competitive rival airports then the solution to lack of competition and ineffective bureaucratic administration, the landside should be sold as freehold. In much the same way as our road network operates, runways and all of the airside would remain common property. Businesses would have certainty of tenure and a recognised long term asset to borrow against.

There’s no doubt that the selling of long, whole of airport leases has been a very poor policy, but not because of the word privatisation, the word that might also mean more freedom from dominant governments bent on maintaining power and position without regard to efficiency or the true needs of the country as a whole.

As for so called soft corruption the more we encourage governments to control our lives the more avenues for corrupt influence, no better illustrated by Australia’s very strict land use zoning laws which is governed solely by the opinions of those in power. Contrast residential prices in the successful and growing community of no zoning Houston Texas as a good example where the free market is allowed to operate.

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RE: Snippets from around the traps - thorn bird - 01-23-2020

By Morgan Begg in the Australian

• 12:00AM JANUARY 23, 2020
• 147 COMMENTS
While the wider Australian economy struggles under excessive regulatory burden and lack ofopportunity, the Canberra swamp charges ahead as a perpetual growth machine.

According to Deloitte Access Economics’ latest quarterly business outlook released on Monday, Australia continues to suffer the triple threat of drought, a downturn in housing construction, and low confidence among consumers and business.

According to the report, Australia is “locked into slow growth” with an outlook described as “comfortably treading water rather than roaring into recovery”.

Claims about the robustness of the economy do not stand up to scrutiny. Even Josh Frydenberg in The Australian on Wednesday pointed to an International -Monetary Fund report showing only “tentative signs of improved market sentiment” and recent data showing unemployment has fallen to the still high rate of 5.2 per cent. Conditions are sluggish and the federal government is not doing enough to improve productivity.

But while Australia’s private sector is living “in the slow lane” and “productivity growth has been as dead as a doornail”, Deloitte reserved special praise for the nation’s apparent economic leader, the ACT.

“Canberra is defying the ¬national downturn, continuing the drive which has seen it record its largest ever share of the nat¬ional economy. Job growth is healthy and lower interest rates are loosening the noose on family budgets,” noted the paper’s lead author, Chris Richardson.

Data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in Nov¬em¬ber reveals what is so unique about the ACT. Last year “public administration and safety” — which refers to most public sector activities but doesn’t include education and health — accounted for about 28 per cent of the ACT’s economic activity alone. Nationally, public administration and safety accounts for about 5.7 per cent of the Australian economy.

Success for Canberra is based on a business model of regulatory and bureaucratic expansion. A paper last year by a team of ¬researchers at the Mercatus Centre of the George Mason Univer¬sity in the US and RMIT in Melbourne found that the number of regulatory restrictions in Australia increased from about 2000 in the late 1970s to 95,000 in 2015, and in that time has ¬become substantially more complex and wordy.

Government agencies have been given broad powers and discretion to administer this regulatory expansion, which in turn leads to further calls for red tape. This month the Australian Communications and Media Authority -released a discussion paper on ¬impartiality and conflicts of interest in news broadcasting. Having taken the initiative to identify the problem, it now assumes the ¬responsibility for solving it. This will undoubtedly mean more powers for bureaucrats and more regulatory burden for commercial broadcasters.Notably, the public broad¬casters — another intractable part of the swamp — were explicitly excluded from the scope of the ACMA’s review.

The expansion of regulation is further facilitated by former politicians who, on retirement from parliament, rarely cease being members of the permanent political class.

In the past 12 months, former ministers Julie Bishop and Christopher Pyne have come under criticism for taking jobs closely connected to their former portfolios. For many, this confirms the view that there is a revolving door between the corridors of power in parliament and the lobby and consultancy industry.

This system has many benefits for firms such as Deloitte, which benefits directly from bureaucratic expansion. Between 2007 and 2017, the annual collective value of government consulting contracts between the federal -government and the big four accounting firms — Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young and KPMG increased from $44m to $453m. The total in that period amounted to $3.4bn.

But economic success for Canberra, which is contingent on the proliferation of big government, necessarily comes at the expense of the rest of the country, which must contend with more regulations and red tape.
The consequences for this model are plaguing the Australian economy. For instance, private sector investment has sunk to 10.9 per cent of gross domestic product, which is lower than the levels experienced during the hostile Whitlam years. The rates for small businesses exiting the economy are at historic highs.

Redefining economic success to mean the size of the public sector is a recipe for disaster in the real economy.
Australians already understand the problem of red tape. Polling by Dynata of 1016 Australians last month, commissioned by the Institute of Public Affairs, found 64 per cent of Australians agreed with the statement that “unelected bureaucrats have too much control over our lives”. The same poll found 58 per cent of respondents believe Australia has too much red tape.

Red tape is the largest barrier to economic opportunity and prosperity in Australia. Research by the IPA estimates red tape reduces economic output by $176bn a year, the equivalent to 10 per cent of GDP.
You could say that this makes red tape Australia’s largest ¬industry.

Challenging this status quo and cutting red tape and lowering taxes will lead to significant economic benefits for all of us. The US under the Trump administration, by adopting red tape reduction programs such as the one-in, two-out model for new rules, has lifted the US out of its sluggish Obama era “recovery”.

Relying on the bureaucracy to generate economic growth will only feed the beast that is already strangling the private sector. Draining the swamp will mean that more Australians can reach their potential and unleash prosperity in the Australian economy.

Morgan Begg is a research fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs.

Ahh Australia, dumb one day dumber the next.

And the prize for most prolific and dumbest rule maker on the planet goes to ????
Aww come on people.. guess! Starts with C. They've expended over half a billion dollars and taken thirty years to achieve absolutely nothing, except kill a whole industry, when they could have spent a few million over a couple of years and made us equal to the safest in the world.

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RE: Snippets from around the traps - Peetwo - 01-24-2020

(01-24-2020, 10:43 AM)Peetwo Wrote:  

Timeline of miniscule corruption - Part II

(These are my thoughts and opinions only -  ) 

Most people in the know say that Mick Mack is just a village idiot with not the first blind clue about aviation. However I think there is more to it than that and not only is he an imbecile that has lost his village but he is also a bought idiot who is beholden to his owners. 

Now McDonaught is not on his Pat Malone being a Pollie bought and captured by a third party (usually foreign) interest, it seems to be part and parcel with politics these days. However I am not sure that there has ever been a Deputy PM that I suspect was captured long before he was ever elected in 2010 to the Riverina Federal seat??

Taking a look at the Mick Mack Wikipedia entry it says...

..After leaving school, McCormack took up a cadetship at The Daily Advertiser, the local daily newspaper. He was appointed editor of the paper in 1991, aged 27, making him reputedly the "youngest newspaper editor in Australia".[8]

McCormack was sacked from The Daily Advertiser in February 2002. In response, "more than 20 journalists, photographers and other editorial staff" staged a 24-hour walkout.[9] McCormack went on to sue the Riverina Media Group for unfair dismissal, and in 2003 settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.[10]... 

 ...McCormack was campaign director for Kay Hull, the Nationals MP for Riverina, at the 2004 and 2007 federal elections. [b][i]Hull announced her retirement from politics in April 2010, and McCormack subsequently won preselection for her seat at the 2010 election...[/i][/b]

A fairly major part of the job of a political campaign director is to look for political support and donations from local businesses and Kay Hull already had a strong affiliation with REX airlines...

Quote:
Regional Express executive chairman Lim Kim Hai (centre) with deputy chairman John Sharp and then federal member for Riverina Kay Hull at Wagga airport in 2010.

...Mrs Hull points to saving regional aviation as one of her success stories.

“We were told that regional aviation was just too hard, the government that I was part of told me that. I didn’t accept that and I joined forces with (original Regional Express chief) Michael Jones and worked tirelessly and brought about the government support that was required to put that airline into the sky...

...which culminated with the announcement in 2009 that REX would be relocating it's pilot academy AAPA to Wagga Wagga:

Quote:The Nationals Member for Riverina, today welcomed the news that Regional Express’ (Rex) wholly owned subsidiary ‘Australian Airline Pilot Academy’ (AAPA) will be relocated to Wagga Wagga, starting April 2009.

“This is terrific news for Wagga Wagga, the Riverina, and regional aviation in general. The AAPA will bring with it 70 high quality jobs and a high profile role for the region as a centre for pilot training,” Mrs. Hull said.

“I congratulate the Chairman Kim Hai Lim and his board for their continued investment in the future of regional Australia. The commitment of REX in providing frequency of services and access for professional support teams particularly in the area of health needs to be recognised.

“Rex has had to overcome major challenges due to skills shortages, but they have chosen to invest their hard earned profits into securing the future of regional aviation.

“I am aware that Mr Davis, Rex’s Managing Director, has paid tribute to the Wagga Wagga City Council staff, led by Mayor Kerry Pascoe and General Manager Lyn Russell, who have been instrumental in making this happen.

“I also send my congratulations to the Wagga Wagga City Council for their efforts in ensuring that the Rex board decided in favour of Wagga Wagga.

Rex has purchased a modern hangar at Wagga Wagga airport as well as 2.4 hectares of land that borders the Wagga Wagga airport for a total of $1.55M.

Plans are being drawn up to develop a state-of-the-art Training Centre on the land as well as accommodation, administration and recreational facilities to house the trainee pilots. It is expected the first stage of the development to be ready by the end of 2009.

“I am aware that there are plans for AAPA to be the premier pilot academy in Asia Pacific with a projected throughput of more than 200 pilots a year for both Australian and international airlines.

“For the city of Wagga Wagga and the entire Riverina area, this announcement is really exciting and I welcome wholeheartedly this new chapter in our relationship with REX and the benefits it brings to our region,” Mrs. Hull said.

 
Nearly every year since Mick Mack was elected he has been involved locally in multiple official events surrounding both REX and AAPA, including in 2017 the graduation of the first intake of Vietnamese Airline pilots...

Quote:Regional Express Airlines is part of Wagga Wagga's family.

It was an honour to join Foreign Minister Julie Bishop MP as Wagga Wagga's Australian Airline Pilot Academy - AAPA graduated its next class of pilots yesterday.

This graduating class included seven Vietnamese pilots, who have come to Wagga Wagga to learn from the best and take those skills with them to their careers abroad.

The class strengthens the city's reputation around the world as a leader in pilot training.

Congratulations to the graduating class!

For a bit more, here's my chat with AAPA Chairman Chris Hine.

... and just last year where he addressed the 2019 REX Graduation ceremony:

Hmm...makes you sick listening to that bollocks...  But despite the staged, plastic rhetoric, I guess it is fair enough given he is the local member and REX/AAPA are a significant local business and employer. However I think as the minister overseeing the aviation industry there is much more to it than that?? 

Since the election campaign of 2013 - Coalition's policy for aviation, August 2013 I don't believe there has been one coherent aviation policy delivered by the Coalition in Government?? Perhaps this is because the big aviation players (like REX, Qantas et.al)  are more than satisfied with the current aviation regulatory and/or oversight environment (where St Commode is happy beating up on small GA players like Angel Flight and Glen Buckley).

Cribbed from a pre-election Oz Flying post (on behalf of Mick Mack) the following extracts provide a disturbing vision of where the Smoko/Mick Mack Coalition Govt believe the future lies for the once proud Australian pilot training industry (my bold)...

Quote:I acknowledge there are pressures on flying training schools. I am always happy to look at what we can do better. But I do not agree with the idea that the industry is somehow dying.


CASA has recorded an increase in the number of flying schools on its register from 210 in 2012 to 235 in 2014 and now the number currently sits at 250. P2 - Coming from CASA you have to be suspicious about those figures? For example does that figure include Part 142 approvals for internal Airline training organisations and/or simulator service providers like CAE or Flight Safety?  

This comes as the way in which we train our future airline pilots is also changing.

Previously, a young pilot would get their commercial licence and either become a flying instructor or enter the small charter sector. This would then lead to a job at a small commuter airline connecting regional centres with the capital cities in larger twin engine aircraft such as the Piper Navajo that many regional airlines operate.

But things have changed. Regional Express Airlines’ SAAB 340s, Qantas Link’s Dash-8s and Virgin’s ATR-72s now connect the country and coast to the cities. P2 - How many years have regional airlines been operating mid-range turboprops?? - FDS!

These airlines have their own training schools designed to prepare young pilots specifically for that type of flying. Rex’s training school, the Australian Airline Pilot Academy in Wagga Wagga, has trained more than 230 pilot cadets since 2007, nearly all of whom are now flying the SAAB 340.

Qantas has announced the first of its own schools to be based in Toowoomba, like Virgin’s announcement for a flying school at Tamworth. This is the modern way of training future airline pilots and it is being replicated world-wide.

Australia’s aviation record means that when foreign airlines are looking for training grounds for their young pilots, Australia sits at the top of the list.

This is something we should embrace.

It is easy to see the economic benefit to the communities where these flying schools are located.

The pilots generally spend at least a year at the location. This means jobs in the community. It means money flowing around the economy. And it’s another option to recruit or retain skilled young people – and young families – to stay in the regions. P2 - Hey dipshit, this economic benefit is limited to a small number of larger communities. What about the smaller communities that once had aeroclubs or small flying schools that offered flight training services for the local region bringing business and trade to both the airport and local community. Just ask Senator McDonald about that - DIPSHIT!  

Despite some speculation, there is no evidence of substantial foreign ownership of regional airports and aviation training facilities – or the training of foreign pilots – and nor is it impacting the supply of pilots in the Australian market.

If flying schools, airlines and airports want to undertake training here, they play by the same rules and requirements as everyone else. P2 - But they are not licensed here but rather in their home country, therefore there is no requirement for them to operate under the onerous and expensive regulatory requirements of both Part 61 and 142.  

And – thanks to The Nationals in Government – the Foreign Investment Review Board was given additional powers in 2015 to investigate ownership by foreign state-owned enterprises – regardless of value – to ensure it’s in Australia’s national interest.

So the story of Australian aviation remains a good one, and one of which we should be proud.

The Liberals and Nationals will continue to support all parts of the aviation sector to thrive and as the election draws near, we will have more to say on what a re-elected Liberal and Nationals Government will do to help into the future.

But at the heart of this discussion is an Australian export creating jobs and opportunities in the bush. An industry with a bright future and bipartisan support.

And that’s something which is the envy of the world.

Michael McCormack is Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, Leader of The Nationals and Member for Riverina.
Comment on the future of aviation in Australia has been sought from Shadow Minister for Transport Anthony Albanese.

And to reinforce the above bollocks statement in the lead up to the election:

Ref: https://www.michaelmccormack.com.au/media-releases/2019/4/29/transcript-deputy-prime-minister-michael-mccormack-the-nationals-candidate-for-mallee-anne-webster-chairman-of-mildura-airport-peter-odonnell-mayor-of-mildura-rural-city-council-simon-clemence

Quote:...Our government is also making an investment in regional Australia and this is part of our overall decentralisation, if you like, because what we're going to see as a result of this Instrument Landing System is better, safer airways here at Mildura. A system by which planes can land in low visibility, planes can land much safer in all sorts of conditions. But what we're also going to see is pilot training schools from metropolitan cities relocate to Mildura.

We've already seen that there's going to be a lot of interest in this. And for every dozen or so pilot trainees, that's pumping about a million dollars into the Mildura economy each and every year. And I know that for a fact because Wagga Wagga has a pilot training school. Wagga Wagga has an ILS and I've seen the difference that the ILS makes in pilot training, in those sorts of training schools and in the future of aviation at Wagga Wagga.

So if it's good enough for Wagga Wagga, it's certainly going to be good enough for Mildura and I know the local Mayor has said that this is going to be such a difference, make such a difference for Mildura, for the airport, and for the pilot training future of this particular region...(blah..blah..blah)

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Plus after the election:

Which brings me back full circle to the strange duplicitous actions/statements of Mick Mack bizarrely favouring the dodgy Soar operation; while under his watch the attempted embuggerance by CASA of Glen Buckley's fully compliant APTA (Part 142) operation (that was ironically designed to enhance aviation safety outcomes while facilitating the continued existence of small town aeroclubs and flying schools) was being carried out??   



MTF? - YES MUCH!...P2   

ps In light of the current smell surrounding Mick Mack's deputy I found this extract (from the MM Mildura ILS transcript) interesting...  

Quote:MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

And the Mayor was just here, the Mayor Simon Clemence just made that point that this is the most significant investment in Mildura. He talked about the local sports stadium, which came at a cost of a bit over $20 million, about $26 million, which in his words, "they had to fight, and scrap, and scratch for," and it was funded, but this just has such economic activity around it. I mean, the flow on effects are incredible. As Anne Webster just indicated, the direct and indirect jobs that are going to be created, not just for Mildura, but also for Wentworth, the Ouyen, and towns around Mildura. It's going to have such an economic outpouring of money, of jobs, of accommodation, of food. Everybody needs to be housed, and fed, and watered, and so it's just going to be such an incredible economic outcome for this area.[/font][/size][/color]

 


pps - Additional AP reference:  Oz aviation, safety compromised by political and bureaucratic subterfuge ?- 

Mick Mack a Dead Duck waddling?? 

Via the Oz today...

---

If Bridget McKenzie is cactus, Michael McCormack is exposed as Nationals leader
GEOFF CHAMBERS



Inside the Nationals, there are ongoing anxieties that Michael McCormack is “out of touch”. Picture: Getty

• 6:52AM JANUARY 24, 2020S
  

Michael McCormack’s support base in his own partyroom has dwindled to a handful.

If Bridget McKenzie is forced out as deputy leader, he loses an ally and faces the likely promotion of David Littleproud and Matt Canavan.

At 43, Littleproud is emerging as a favourite to claim McKenzie’s job. Canavan, who ran a ruthlessly efficient campaign in regional Queensland and is not afraid to take on the Liberals, would become the party’s Senate leader at 39.


David Littleproud. Picture: AAP

The ambitious pairing is seen as the future of the Nationals.

With 21 MPs, Nationals partyroom elections are notoriously unpredictable.

A party insider said while McCormack would have a cabinet pick, his “locked-in” support was tenuous and he would need to tread carefully.

Outside his closest NSW confidants, McKenzie and her ­Victorian colleagues Darren Chester and Damian Drum are not considered to be rusted-on backers.

Inside the Nationals, there are ongoing anxieties that McCormack is “out of touch” and not equipped to combat One Nation and the Shooters and Fishers in regional Australia.


Matt Canavan. Picture: AAP

While there is no move on his job — continuing a longstanding tradition of not rolling incumbent Nationals leaders — the loss of McKenzie would leave him ­exposed.

McCormack, who dined with Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg at The Lodge on Wednesday night, must avoid perceptions the Liberals are giving the orders.

The public popularity of the Prime Minister and his call for “unity” inside the Coalition gives McCormack cover, but colleagues want him to be more ­assertive and show a bit of ­“mongrel”.

If McKenzie goes, McCormack will need to promote strategically. The Queenslanders want greater ministerial representation and he will need to address losing a senior female minister.

Any attempt by McKenzie to dig in is potentially disastrous for the government and Morrison wants the matter resolved before Wednesday, when he delivers his first major speech of the year.

If McKenzie survives, Labor will relentlessly pursue the government when parliament resumes on February 4. The chances of her appearing at estimates hearings, which begin on March 2, are unlikely.

The Victorian senator is personally liked by colleagues but many feel she has become “gaffe-prone”.



Once your own MPs begin canvassing your replacement, it’s time to go.

---

Inside the Nationals, there are ongoing anxieties that McCormack is “out of touch” - Well DUCK ME - DO YOU RECKON??

MTF...P2 

---

RE: Snippets from around the traps - Peetwo - 01-24-2020

(01-24-2020, 09:51 PM)Peetwo Wrote:  

(01-24-2020, 10:43 AM)Peetwo Wrote:  

Timeline of miniscule corruption - Part II

(These are my thoughts and opinions only -  ) 

Most people in the know say that Mick Mack is just a village idiot with not the first blind clue about aviation. However I think there is more to it than that and not only is he an imbecile that has lost his village but he is also a bought idiot who is beholden to his owners. 

Now McDonaught is not on his Pat Malone being a Pollie bought and captured by a third party (usually foreign) interest, it seems to be part and parcel with politics these days. However I am not sure that there has ever been a Deputy PM that I suspect was captured long before he was ever elected in 2010 to the Riverina Federal seat??

Taking a look at the Mick Mack Wikipedia entry it says...

..After leaving school, McCormack took up a cadetship at The Daily Advertiser, the local daily newspaper. He was appointed editor of the paper in 1991, aged 27, making him reputedly the "youngest newspaper editor in Australia".[8]

McCormack was sacked from The Daily Advertiser in February 2002. In response, "more than 20 journalists, photographers and other editorial staff" staged a 24-hour walkout.[9] McCormack went on to sue the Riverina Media Group for unfair dismissal, and in 2003 settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.[10]... 

 ...McCormack was campaign director for Kay Hull, the Nationals MP for Riverina, at the 2004 and 2007 federal elections. [b][i]Hull announced her retirement from politics in April 2010, and McCormack subsequently won preselection for her seat at the 2010 election...[/i][/b]

A fairly major part of the job of a political campaign director is to look for political support and donations from local businesses and Kay Hull already had a strong affiliation with REX airlines...

Quote:
Regional Express executive chairman Lim Kim Hai (centre) with deputy chairman John Sharp and then federal member for Riverina Kay Hull at Wagga airport in 2010.

...Mrs Hull points to saving regional aviation as one of her success stories.

“We were told that regional aviation was just too hard, the government that I was part of told me that. I didn’t accept that and I joined forces with (original Regional Express chief) Michael Jones and worked tirelessly and brought about the government support that was required to put that airline into the sky...

...which culminated with the announcement in 2009 that REX would be relocating it's pilot academy AAPA to Wagga Wagga:

Quote:The Nationals Member for Riverina, today welcomed the news that Regional Express’ (Rex) wholly owned subsidiary ‘Australian Airline Pilot Academy’ (AAPA) will be relocated to Wagga Wagga, starting April 2009.

“This is terrific news for Wagga Wagga, the Riverina, and regional aviation in general. The AAPA will bring with it 70 high quality jobs and a high profile role for the region as a centre for pilot training,” Mrs. Hull said.

“I congratulate the Chairman Kim Hai Lim and his board for their continued investment in the future of regional Australia. The commitment of REX in providing frequency of services and access for professional support teams particularly in the area of health needs to be recognised.

“Rex has had to overcome major challenges due to skills shortages, but they have chosen to invest their hard earned profits into securing the future of regional aviation.

“I am aware that Mr Davis, Rex’s Managing Director, has paid tribute to the Wagga Wagga City Council staff, led by Mayor Kerry Pascoe and General Manager Lyn Russell, who have been instrumental in making this happen.

“I also send my congratulations to the Wagga Wagga City Council for their efforts in ensuring that the Rex board decided in favour of Wagga Wagga.

Rex has purchased a modern hangar at Wagga Wagga airport as well as 2.4 hectares of land that borders the Wagga Wagga airport for a total of $1.55M.

Plans are being drawn up to develop a state-of-the-art Training Centre on the land as well as accommodation, administration and recreational facilities to house the trainee pilots. It is expected the first stage of the development to be ready by the end of 2009.

“I am aware that there are plans for AAPA to be the premier pilot academy in Asia Pacific with a projected throughput of more than 200 pilots a year for both Australian and international airlines.

“For the city of Wagga Wagga and the entire Riverina area, this announcement is really exciting and I welcome wholeheartedly this new chapter in our relationship with REX and the benefits it brings to our region,” Mrs. Hull said.

 
Nearly every year since Mick Mack was elected he has been involved locally in multiple official events surrounding both REX and AAPA, including in 2017 the graduation of the first intake of Vietnamese Airline pilots...

Quote:Regional Express Airlines is part of Wagga Wagga's family.

It was an honour to join Foreign Minister Julie Bishop MP as Wagga Wagga's Australian Airline Pilot Academy - AAPA graduated its next class of pilots yesterday.

This graduating class included seven Vietnamese pilots, who have come to Wagga Wagga to learn from the best and take those skills with them to their careers abroad.

The class strengthens the city's reputation around the world as a leader in pilot training.

Congratulations to the graduating class!

For a bit more, here's my chat with AAPA Chairman Chris Hine.

... and just last year where he addressed the 2019 REX Graduation ceremony:

Hmm...makes you sick listening to that bollocks...  But despite the staged, plastic rhetoric, I guess it is fair enough given he is the local member and REX/AAPA are a significant local business and employer. However I think as the minister overseeing the aviation industry there is much more to it than that?? 

Since the election campaign of 2013 - Coalition's policy for aviation, August 2013 I don't believe there has been one coherent aviation policy delivered by the Coalition in Government?? Perhaps this is because the big aviation players (like REX, Qantas et.al)  are more than satisfied with the current aviation regulatory and/or oversight environment (where St Commode is happy beating up on small GA players like Angel Flight and Glen Buckley).

Cribbed from a pre-election Oz Flying post (on behalf of Mick Mack) the following extracts provide a disturbing vision of where the Smoko/Mick Mack Coalition Govt believe the future lies for the once proud Australian pilot training industry (my bold)...

Quote:I acknowledge there are pressures on flying training schools. I am always happy to look at what we can do better. But I do not agree with the idea that the industry is somehow dying.


CASA has recorded an increase in the number of flying schools on its register from 210 in 2012 to 235 in 2014 and now the number currently sits at 250. P2 - Coming from CASA you have to be suspicious about those figures? For example does that figure include Part 142 approvals for internal Airline training organisations and/or simulator service providers like CAE or Flight Safety?  

This comes as the way in which we train our future airline pilots is also changing.

Previously, a young pilot would get their commercial licence and either become a flying instructor or enter the small charter sector. This would then lead to a job at a small commuter airline connecting regional centres with the capital cities in larger twin engine aircraft such as the Piper Navajo that many regional airlines operate.

But things have changed. Regional Express Airlines’ SAAB 340s, Qantas Link’s Dash-8s and Virgin’s ATR-72s now connect the country and coast to the cities. P2 - How many years have regional airlines been operating mid-range turboprops?? - FDS!

These airlines have their own training schools designed to prepare young pilots specifically for that type of flying. Rex’s training school, the Australian Airline Pilot Academy in Wagga Wagga, has trained more than 230 pilot cadets since 2007, nearly all of whom are now flying the SAAB 340.

Qantas has announced the first of its own schools to be based in Toowoomba, like Virgin’s announcement for a flying school at Tamworth. This is the modern way of training future airline pilots and it is being replicated world-wide.

Australia’s aviation record means that when foreign airlines are looking for training grounds for their young pilots, Australia sits at the top of the list.

This is something we should embrace.

It is easy to see the economic benefit to the communities where these flying schools are located.

The pilots generally spend at least a year at the location. This means jobs in the community. It means money flowing around the economy. And it’s another option to recruit or retain skilled young people – and young families – to stay in the regions. P2 - Hey dipshit, this economic benefit is limited to a small number of larger communities. What about the smaller communities that once had aeroclubs or small flying schools that offered flight training services for the local region bringing business and trade to both the airport and local community. Just ask Senator McDonald about that - DIPSHIT!  

Despite some speculation, there is no evidence of substantial foreign ownership of regional airports and aviation training facilities – or the training of foreign pilots – and nor is it impacting the supply of pilots in the Australian market.

If flying schools, airlines and airports want to undertake training here, they play by the same rules and requirements as everyone else. P2 - But they are not licensed here but rather in their home country, therefore there is no requirement for them to operate under the onerous and expensive regulatory requirements of both Part 61 and 142.  

And – thanks to The Nationals in Government – the Foreign Investment Review Board was given additional powers in 2015 to investigate ownership by foreign state-owned enterprises – regardless of value – to ensure it’s in Australia’s national interest.

So the story of Australian aviation remains a good one, and one of which we should be proud.

The Liberals and Nationals will continue to support all parts of the aviation sector to thrive and as the election draws near, we will have more to say on what a re-elected Liberal and Nationals Government will do to help into the future.

But at the heart of this discussion is an Australian export creating jobs and opportunities in the bush. An industry with a bright future and bipartisan support.

And that’s something which is the envy of the world.

Michael McCormack is Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, Leader of The Nationals and Member for Riverina.
Comment on the future of aviation in Australia has been sought from Shadow Minister for Transport Anthony Albanese.

And to reinforce the above bollocks statement in the lead up to the election:

Ref: https://www.michaelmccormack.com.au/media-releases/2019/4/29/transcript-deputy-prime-minister-michael-mccormack-the-nationals-candidate-for-mallee-anne-webster-chairman-of-mildura-airport-peter-odonnell-mayor-of-mildura-rural-city-council-simon-clemence

Quote:...Our government is also making an investment in regional Australia and this is part of our overall decentralisation, if you like, because what we're going to see as a result of this Instrument Landing System is better, safer airways here at Mildura. A system by which planes can land in low visibility, planes can land much safer in all sorts of conditions. But what we're also going to see is pilot training schools from metropolitan cities relocate to Mildura.

We've already seen that there's going to be a lot of interest in this. And for every dozen or so pilot trainees, that's pumping about a million dollars into the Mildura economy each and every year. And I know that for a fact because Wagga Wagga has a pilot training school. Wagga Wagga has an ILS and I've seen the difference that the ILS makes in pilot training, in those sorts of training schools and in the future of aviation at Wagga Wagga.

So if it's good enough for Wagga Wagga, it's certainly going to be good enough for Mildura and I know the local Mayor has said that this is going to be such a difference, make such a difference for Mildura, for the airport, and for the pilot training future of this particular region...(blah..blah..blah)

[/font][/size][/color]

---

Plus after the election:

Which brings me back full circle to the strange duplicitous actions/statements of Mick Mack bizarrely favouring the dodgy Soar operation; while under his watch the attempted embuggerance by CASA of Glen Buckley's fully compliant APTA (Part 142) operation (that was ironically designed to enhance aviation safety outcomes while facilitating the continued existence of small town aeroclubs and flying schools) was being carried out??   



MTF? - YES MUCH!...P2   

ps In light of the current smell surrounding Mick Mack's deputy I found this extract (from the MM Mildura ILS transcript) interesting...  

Quote:MICHAEL MCCORMACK:

And the Mayor was just here, the Mayor Simon Clemence just made that point that this is the most significant investment in Mildura. He talked about the local sports stadium, which came at a cost of a bit over $20 million, about $26 million, which in his words, "they had to fight, and scrap, and scratch for," and it was funded, but this just has such economic activity around it. I mean, the flow on effects are incredible. As Anne Webster just indicated, the direct and indirect jobs that are going to be created, not just for Mildura, but also for Wentworth, the Ouyen, and towns around Mildura. It's going to have such an economic outpouring of money, of jobs, of accommodation, of food. Everybody needs to be housed, and fed, and watered, and so it's just going to be such an incredible economic outcome for this area.[/font][/size][/color]

 


pps - Additional AP reference:  Oz aviation, safety compromised by political and bureaucratic subterfuge ?- 

Mick Mack a Dead Duck waddling?? 

Via the Oz today...

---

If Bridget McKenzie is cactus, Michael McCormack is exposed as Nationals leader
GEOFF CHAMBERS



Inside the Nationals, there are ongoing anxieties that Michael McCormack is “out of touch”. Picture: Getty

• 6:52AM JANUARY 24, 2020S
  

Michael McCormack’s support base in his own partyroom has dwindled to a handful.

If Bridget McKenzie is forced out as deputy leader, he loses an ally and faces the likely promotion of David Littleproud and Matt Canavan.

At 43, Littleproud is emerging as a favourite to claim McKenzie’s job. Canavan, who ran a ruthlessly efficient campaign in regional Queensland and is not afraid to take on the Liberals, would become the party’s Senate leader at 39.


David Littleproud. Picture: AAP

The ambitious pairing is seen as the future of the Nationals.

With 21 MPs, Nationals partyroom elections are notoriously unpredictable.

A party insider said while McCormack would have a cabinet pick, his “locked-in” support was tenuous and he would need to tread carefully.

Outside his closest NSW confidants, McKenzie and her ­Victorian colleagues Darren Chester and Damian Drum are not considered to be rusted-on backers.

Inside the Nationals, there are ongoing anxieties that McCormack is “out of touch” and not equipped to combat One Nation and the Shooters and Fishers in regional Australia.


Matt Canavan. Picture: AAP

While there is no move on his job — continuing a longstanding tradition of not rolling incumbent Nationals leaders — the loss of McKenzie would leave him ­exposed.

McCormack, who dined with Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg at The Lodge on Wednesday night, must avoid perceptions the Liberals are giving the orders.

The public popularity of the Prime Minister and his call for “unity” inside the Coalition gives McCormack cover, but colleagues want him to be more ­assertive and show a bit of ­“mongrel”.

If McKenzie goes, McCormack will need to promote strategically. The Queenslanders want greater ministerial representation and he will need to address losing a senior female minister.

Any attempt by McKenzie to dig in is potentially disastrous for the government and Morrison wants the matter resolved before Wednesday, when he delivers his first major speech of the year.

If McKenzie survives, Labor will relentlessly pursue the government when parliament resumes on February 4. The chances of her appearing at estimates hearings, which begin on March 2, are unlikely.

The Victorian senator is personally liked by colleagues but many feel she has become “gaffe-prone”.



Once your own MPs begin canvassing your replacement, it’s time to go.

---

Inside the Nationals, there are ongoing anxieties that McCormack is “out of touch” - Well DUCK ME - DO YOU RECKON?? 

Somewhat related - Sandy via multiple articles on the Oz...

Quote:As for our Deputy PM and leader (?) of the Nationals, if he falls like a domino after Bridget McKenzie few tears will fall. 

Minister Michael McCormack is known as ‘McDonaught’ in General Aviation (GA) circles for continuing the hands off approach to the CASA induced slow destruction of GA and the loss of hundreds of flying schools, charter operators and maintenance facilities. 

We are sadly lacking in real leadership, PM Morrison talks about red tape reduction but in this glaring example, the sinking of a whole industry by CASA over regulation and fee gouging, nothing actually happens. This is a failure and in-built difficulty of the Coalition because the Nationals alway get the transport portfolio and the Liberals are too frightened to interfere. 
whatshot0likesreply0replies
Story: McCormack is also in peril

• PENDING
  
  
• 15 MINUTES AGO
  

Morgan makes the overall case very well, with our artificial capital Canberra being the self serving model for all levels of government. The ABS figures show Canberra’s very strong population growth (included as a community with Queanbeyan) now up to 450,000. Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe says about one third of the national workforce is in government employment. As the trend to increasing government employment and involvement continues, particularly with compulsory voting and great numbers relying on welfare payments, it will become impossible to to find politicians willing to make reforms. 
In Canberra government statistics show average salaries are 40% higher than in the remainder of Australia. 
Otherwise known as Can’tberra, it would be the world’s leader in developing the most complex regulations with all sorts of unnecessary permissions, permissions which then require colossal fees from hapless companies and individuals who find themselves enmeshed when trying to develop just about anything. 
No greater example exists than the fading and forgotten General Aviation industry, dying by a thousand regulatory cuts and fee gouging by the uncontrolled independent regulator CASA. 
If Morgan wished to strengthen his case with an outstanding example where thousands of jobs and businesses have been lost, along with the $billions of economic activity, then here would be a field to provide incontrovertible evidence. 
whatshot9likesreply1reply
Story: Drain the swamp and prosper

• ACCEPTED
  
  
• 1 DAY AGO
  

Tired of all the usual commentary? Search Houston Texas for residential housing and see what how the market responds where there is no zoning. That’s right no zoning, just as it was here before governments decided that private citizens didn’t have the sense to work out for themselves where to live and what to build. Compare the total mortgage loading for the citizens of Houston to our Melbourne or Sydney property market and imagine the vast sums available to Houstonians that we have tied up in our bloated banks. Of course don’t rock the boat, haven’t we built Nirvana? We must give thanks to our army of planners who’ve been in charge for the last fifty years, we must be unquestionably far more advanced than any other parts of the world. 

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RE: Snippets from around the traps - thorn bird - 02-27-2020

The Chooks come home to roost? Or discretion is the better half of valour?
Or the liberal application of Go Away money makes problems go away?

This AM around 9.30 it was announced by the Federal Government that Go Away money.....errr sorry,
Compensation, would be paid to the long suffering people affected by contamination of Williamstown
Amberly and Oaky airports with fire fighting foam.

Aint that nice, lawyers are ecstatic, but begs the question, what about the secondary Airports like Bankstown for example?

Liberal application of such foam by old Tug Wilson and his cohort in years gone by, unaware of course, of the dangerous stuff it contained made poor old Bankstown, along with other stuff like shite pits, buried unexploded ordinance, and large quantities of bunker oil a fairly toxic place.

This has been compounded in recent times by the owners of the airport leases.

Desperate to force aviation from the airport, draconian rents were imposed to clear the way for development of an industrial park.

Using the pretence that Bankstown was Commonwealth land, which it is not, it is State land that just happens to be owned by the commonwealth. They circumvented State environmental law's, the airports Act and the leases they signed, wrote their own environmental impact statements and proceeded to close runways and taxiways and cover a floodplain with asbestos contaminated land fill on top of all the other toxic material.

Surely, given what has occurred, Bankstown is only suitable as a sight for an airport, development of anything else is out of the question, at the very least.

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RE: Shame or Fame for McCormack. - P7_TOM - 02-28-2020

An evening in an unfamiliar Pub.

Time passes slowly, though pleasantly sat alone at a bar, early for a ‘meeting’. Happenstance at work – knocked off early, got lucky and got an earlier flight, motel and in record time – made it to my destination early. Toasted sandwich and a glass of very fine Ale, crossword to do – just another old fart sat at the bar. In roll’s two of the ‘young’ generation, short hair tight trousers, pointed shoes the wrong colour and cheap, shiny suits. Silent prayer to pagan gods; please make ‘em move away – 28 down was giving me grief:-

Aluminum piece on a soda can crossword clue. – Pop tab.

Anyway – These fellahin were discussing the sacking of the ministers ‘aviation advisor’ – try to ignore that and work out ‘Poptab’. Seems that Campbell – has now been sacked by two ministers and gone into the ‘re-cycle, rinse and hang out to dry line up at ASA. About bloody time I thought; he seriously damaged Chester and has made the incumbent look like the god’s own fool – repeatedly. Glad as I was to overhear (difficult not to) I went back to the Times. Until I heard an ‘off’  remark about the replacement article. Seems that a female – Lea something or other is to be the new leading light on matters aeronautical. Only 26 and a RA Oz acolyte. According to ‘the lads’ the new doyen is an ex ‘clerical assistant’ with an unused Commercial pilot licence. If this is true then we can expect great things from this vastly experienced advisor to the DPM and minister for transport – can’t we. Who could ask for anything more?

P17, P362436, P101 and myself eventually caught up and settled down to food, Ale and ‘conversation’. I mentioned the little I’d heard while sat at the bar – these are ‘seasoned’ aviation folk and nowhere near silly – they laughed, bought another round, laughed again and dismissed the overheard remarks. We then got on with our business. (MTF).

But later, once again sat alone – I wondered – could this be true?  Shirley no one could be that brazen or terminally stupid – could they? Not even the witless wonder of Wagga could be that dumb – and yet…………….

---

RE: Snippets from around the traps - thorn bird - 02-29-2020

Heard a slightly odorous little snippet of a rumour this morning which perhaps illustrates how we, we being the public, are being taken for fools by the citizens of Bubbletown Canberra.

So it goes someone requested perusal of the government archives for information regarding Bankstown airport.
They were advised all records for aviation before seven years ago were destroyed, allegedly to make room for newer one's.

WTF???? do not the archives contain an awful lot of history?

If this is true, then a lot of history has been flushed down the paper shredder. What about CAsA records? Has everything before seven years ago also been flushed, or only anything incriminating?

I pondered that when I changed over to the back to the future part 61 licence having to provide "Evidence" for past qualification to be included on the licence, which they still didn't get right. One would have thought a simple perusal of ones CAsA file should have done that, so maybe they have flushed the old records.

All passing strange....or given the past indiscretions maybe not.

---

RE: Shame or Fame for McCormack. - Peetwo - 02-29-2020

(02-28-2020, 08:14 PM)P7_TOM Wrote:  An evening in an unfamiliar Pub.

Time passes slowly, though pleasantly sat alone at a bar, early for a ‘meeting’. Happenstance at work – knocked off early, got lucky and got an earlier flight, motel and in record time – made it to my destination early. Toasted sandwich and a glass of very fine Ale, crossword to do – just another old fart sat at the bar. In roll’s two of the ‘young’ generation, short hair tight trousers, pointed shoes the wrong colour and cheap, shiny suits. Silent prayer to pagan gods; please make ‘em move away – 28 down was giving me grief:-

Aluminum piece on a soda can crossword clue. – Pop tab.

Anyway – These fellahin were discussing the sacking of the ministers ‘aviation advisor’ – try to ignore that and work out ‘Poptab’. Seems that Campbell – has now been sacked by two ministers and gone into the ‘re-cycle, rinse and hang out to dry line up at ASA. About bloody time I thought; he seriously damaged Chester and has made the incumbent look like the god’s own fool – repeatedly. Glad as I was to overhear (difficult not to) I went back to the Times. Until I heard an ‘off’  remark about the replacement article. Seems that a female – Lea something or other is to be the new leading light on matters aeronautical. Only 26 and a RA Oz acolyte. According to ‘the lads’ the new doyen is an ex ‘clerical assistant’ with an unused Commercial pilot licence. If this is true then we can expect great things from this vastly experienced advisor to the DPM and minister for transport – can’t we. Who could ask for anything more?

P17, P362436, P101 and myself eventually caught up and settled down to food, Ale and ‘conversation’. I mentioned the little I’d heard while sat at the bar – these are ‘seasoned’ aviation folk and nowhere near silly – they laughed, bought another round, laughed again and dismissed the overheard remarks. We then got on with our business. (MTF).

But later, once again sat alone – I wondered – could this be true?  Shirley no one could be that brazen or terminally stupid – could they? Not even the witless wonder of Wagga could be that dumb – and yet…………….

P2 - Hey Ol'Tom was this the lady in question? 



Ref: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leavesic/?originalSubdomain=au

Doesn't mention anything about her moving into the miniscule's office?

Quote:About
I believe young women have the power to change this world for the better. I am a passionate advocate for youth engagement and women in the aviation and aerospace industries. I am dedicated to motivating and inspiring the next generation of aviation professionals to strive to be innovative, inspiring and to be empowered to make a positive difference in the world through leadership and aviation.

I have experience working within both the public and private sectors internationally and domestically. I has worked in flight operations, private jet charter and sales, aviation training, policy development and finance and administration roles and more recently in change management as the Innovation and Improvement Executive at Recreational Aviation Australia.

I hold a Diploma of Flight Operations, a Commercial Pilot’s License and Multi Engine Command Instrument Rating. I hold certificates in Lead Auditing, Risk Management and currently undertaking a Masters of Aviation Management at the University of New South Wales and completing a CASA Flight Instructor Rating.

I am a guest lecturer at the University of New South Wales, the Secretariat for TAAAF (The Australian Aviation Associations Forum), the first female chair of Royal Aeronautical Society Canberra branch and a president of the Women in Aviation, International (WAI) Australian chapter.

MTF...P2 

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RE: Snippets from around the traps - thorn bird - 02-29-2020

Oh dear,

another bright young thing with lots of letters after her name.

No worries, once she settles into the warm embrace of the Cant'berra bubble, a thorough re-education in the CAsA thought speak Gulag should set her up as the next DAS.

Good on her I say, a nice little earner, not much to do but tell the minister what he wants to hear what more could you want.

---

RE: Snippets from around the traps - thorn bird - 03-07-2020

Ah what a tangled web we weave.....From ABC news

Mildura flying school allegedly funded with embezzled Chinese loans
Investigative Unit
By Christopher Testa, Kai Feng, Cherie von Hörchner and Andy Burns


PHOTO: Zhang Wenwei has reportedly spent $40 million setting up the academy. (Supplied: Caixin)

An elusive businessman, accused of leaving China with millions of dollars embezzled from a loan deal with the government of Shaanxi province, has emerged as a key investor in a pilot training academy operating out of one of Victoria's busiest airports.
Key points:

• A Chinese businessman linked to a company embroiled in complex fraud allegations has invested millions into a pilot training academy in Mildura
• The local mayor has started as group chief executive of the school's operations, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest
• An academic says it's difficult for councils that lack resources to investigate sources of investment

Zhang Wenwei's pilot academy was a major beneficiary of a $2 million Commonwealth grant announced by Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack before last year's election.
Mr Zhang was even hailed by Mr McCormack at a 2019 press conference for investing in Mildura and the future of aviation.
But the ABC has uncovered a complex web of companies in Shaanxi province, linking Mr Zhang, the Mildura academy and its majority shareholder to companies in China alleged to have stolen more than $100 million from a Chinese bank.

Professor Clive Hamilton of Charles Sturt University said he had seen many examples of foreign investment in regional Australia in which local and federal governments had failed to do due diligence on the source of the funds.

PHOTO: Anne Webster and Simon Clemence (back) attended a funding announcement with Michael McCormack. (Facebook)

A tangled web

The pilot academy's corporate structure is complex, but its operations come under the umbrella of a company formed in July 2017 called International Aviation Alliance Pty Ltd.
International Aviation Alliance's sole shareholder is a Chinese company called Shaanxi Huichuang Culture and Tourism Development Co Ltd, which is in turn 100 per cent owned by Shaanxi Panshi Financial Holding Group Co.
Until November 2017, Mr Zhang was listed as a senior manager of Shaanxi Panshi Financial — a company embroiled in complex fraud allegations that were exposed by respected Chinese financial journal Caixin in August 2019.
Caixin's investigation centred on a 2016 loan deal that left state-owned conglomerate Shaanxi Financial Holding Group owing hundreds of millions of borrowed yuan as guarantors.
Exim Bank of China, in Shaanxi, extended most of the loans, and was approached by the ABC about the alleged loan defaults but said it had "no further comment".

The Caixin article said Mr Zhang had since gone to Australia, where he had established a flying school.

INFOGRAPHIC: The pilot academy's corporate structure is complex. (ABC News)

According to an April 2019 prospectus issued by the state-owned enterprise that guaranteed the loans, Shaanxi Financial Holding Group, a China-based representative of Mr Zhang agreed to provide a counter guarantee for the loans using securities.
Relevant authorities of the Shaanxi provincial government have frozen assets worth about CNY450 million ($98 million) directly, or indirectly, controlled by Mr Zhang.

Shaanxi Financial Holding Group could not be reached for comment, but it issued a statement the day after the Caixin article was published, thanking the journal for running it.
According to International Aviation Alliance's 2018 financials, which were filed a year late, the auditor queried the liquidity of IAA if loans from Shaanxi Huichuang it existed upon were recalled.
The ABC approached Mr Zhang for comment but he said he was too busy and was flying to New Zealand.
The ABC put written questions to Mr Zhang but did not receive a response in time for publication.

PHOTO: Mr Zhang reportedly made his fortune operating a driving school in Yulin. (Google Maps)

Little information is publicly available about Mr Zhang, although Caixin's 2019 article claimed he was born in Shaanxi in 1975 and was a former officer in the People's Liberation Army who became a self-made businessman and "struck gold" operating a driving school in the city of Yulin.
The ABC attempted to visit a home it believes is Mr Zhang's in the Melbourne suburb of Brighton, but there was no answer.
The sole director and company secretary of International Aviation Alliance, according to the ASIC registry, is Cameron Sutton, the general manager of a Mildura motel and a member of the Murray Regional Tourism Board.
Mr Sutton, former IAA director Jing "Joanna" Zhou, and William Cheng, an intermediary of Mr Zhang, have been repeatedly contacted for comment.
There is no suggestion that Mr Sutton, Ms Zhou or Mr Cheng are involved in or have any knowledge of the fraud allegations.
PHOTO: Simon Clemence is also group chief executive of the academy's operations in Mildura. (ABC News: Christopher Testa)
Millions of dollars promised
Even in the pilot academy's infancy, Mildura mayor Simon Clemence described it as "probably the biggest investment in Mildura's future that has been, ever".
That was in April 2019, when Mr McCormack was joined by then-Nationals candidate for Mallee Anne Webster as the Government announced it would partially fund the installation of an instrument landing system (ILS) at Mildura Airport to the tune of $2 million.
At the funding announcement, Mr McCormack said Dr Webster had "continually" lobbied for the ILS and that she had told him: "We need it so that pilot training schools can relocate to Mildura."
The funding announcement was not an election promise, but it came the month before voters in Mallee chose from a field of 13 candidates vying to replace departing MP Andrew Broad.
Mr Zhang was present at the announcement, along with a representative of China Eastern Airlines.
Mr McCormack thanked Mr Zhang during the announcement, saying he was "making an investment in young people".

PHOTO: A representative from China Eastern Airlines attended the funding announcement. (Flickr: @byeangel)

At the time, Cr Clemence claimed each pilot the academy trained would be worth up to $90,000 to the Mildura economy, and that they eventually wanted to have 600 students there.
He said Mr Zhang had spent $40 million setting up the academy and thanked the businessman and his executive team, saying he had "come to know them very well".

Cr Clemence, a retired Victoria Police inspector who became mayor in 2018, publicly listed "supporting IAA on the concept of a flight attendant school in Mildura" and "around the concept of a university degree in aviation" among the highlights of his first term in the top post.
Then last month, Cr Clemence started as the group chief executive of the flying academy's operations in Mildura.
Cr Clemence declined to comment on his relationship with Mr Zhang, or his knowledge of the businessman's background, when approached by the ABC.
But his decision to take the job raised concerns in the community and among his council colleagues about potential conflicts of interest — the Mildura Rural City Council is the sole shareholder of Mildura Airport, where the school is based.
"It seemed the Chinese pilot school would have the ear of the mayor more regularly than councillors and constituents, which is a huge concern," Councillor Jason Modica said.

Cr Modica outlined his opposition to Cr Clemence taking the job in an email to all councillors, council chief executive Sarah Philpott and another senior manager in late January.
"I was also concerned about the nature of the structures and the governance measures the pilot school had in place in regard to making sure everything was transparent and clear."
Cr Clemence and Ms Philpott both said they had agreed on several protocols with airport management to help manage any perceived, potential or actual conflicts.
"I won't be running [for council] again so it's only for six months, but I'll certainly try to balance and give due difference to both roles, and if I find it too difficult to do that, then I'll have to review my decision," the Mayor said late last month.
PHOTO: Mildura council contributed funding to the proposed landing system. (ABC News: Christopher Testa)
Expert fears dollar signs blind politicians
Local councils and state and federal governments should be doing more due diligence about investors promising to deliver economic windfalls in their communities, Professor Hamilton said.
He said regional areas were particularly vulnerable because of "naivety and an unwillingness to look closely because what we find might make life difficult".
"If these allegations turn out to be true, this is a major scandal," Professor Hamilton said.
"Many people in Mildura will have egg on their faces, the Deputy Prime Minister will have egg on his face and will have questions to answer in parliament."
The professor said he was "quite astonished" Mr McCormack stood with Mr Zhang at a funding announcement.
"If the allegations that this businessman is linked to fraud in China, and that there are some people in China who are very unhappy with him, then he should've known about that," Professor Hamilton said.
"It does seem that dollar signs have the ability to blind federal politicians, local councils, Australian investors to doing what they should do, and that is ask questions — hard questions — about these investors."
PHOTO: Professor Hamilton says a lack of scrutiny makes regional areas attractive for questionable foreign investment. (ABC News: Leon Compton)
'Asking the right questions'
Dr Webster said Mr Zhang had "nothing to do with" the Federal Government's funding of the ILS, which is yet to be set up.
She said the grant was arranged with Mildura Airport and the Mildura Rural City Council and that "particularly the airport is continuing to go through that process of due diligence with the department".
Dr Webster said "I will always be very keen to look at investment in Mallee", however, "we don't put people through a grill".
"There are other processes they need to go through, and I would assume now that these allegations have been raised that there will be the appropriate processes take place."
She said she was "sure the right people will be stepping up and asking the right questions".
"They're allegations and all due processes need to take place."
Mr McCormack declined an interview, but a spokeswoman issued a statement saying: "The Deputy Prime Minister meets a wide range of people in the course of his duties every year at various events around Australia.
"He has no knowledge of the allegations made by the ABC."
PHOTO: Mildura Airport is one of the busiest in Victoria. (ABC News: Christopher Testa)
Professor Hamilton said property developments, tourism projects and retirement homes were among projects across Australia that had attracted investment from questionable sources, which typically came under the threshold for scrutiny by the Foreign Investment Review Board.
"And yet once some money is dangled in front of local councils, they tend to forget their obligation to due diligence and grab it, and that seems to be the case with the pilot training school," he said.
To secure federal funding for the ILS, the Mildura council contributed $1 million of ratepayers' money, as did the council-owned Mildura Airport Pty Ltd.
'We could have looked deeper'
Cr Modica said councillors received "a lot of information" about the flight academy when it was proposed.
He said the business case "suggested that the pilot school was a good idea", but that "on reflection, could've been looked into a lot more".
"I would hope that Mildura Rural City Council and Mildura Airport would go through a very rigorous scenario looking at who owns the pilot school, how it's funded, and making sure it is a secure organisation," he said.
Professor Hamilton acknowledged it was difficult for local councils which lacked resources or the "knowledge of where to go and look" to investigate sources of investment.
"But because local councils in regional areas tend to be cash-strapped and tend to be grateful for any kind of investment that comes into regional areas, they tend to not want to know about any downsides," he said.
"For Mildura, if these allegations turn out to be true, the likelihood is that the business will collapse, the great hopes and the local dollars that have been invested into it will disappear into thin air, and people will walk away feeling very cynical about it all."

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RE: Snippets from around the traps - thorn bird - 03-17-2020

This is really getting serious,

went to Target today to get some new black undies....Old white ones have black newsprint stains which are a bitch to get out....and they're out of Stock!!!! We are all doomed...

But consider the poor sods who got caught up in this?

119 People Quarantined In A Brothel In Spain

March 01, 2020

Of all the places to be quarantined, a brothel in Valencia, Spain, might not be the worst. You've got booze, you've likely got a small buffet of fried foods and you've got entertainment.

But in all seriousness, that was exactly the case a few days ago when authorities found that a woman working at the "La Selva Negra" brothel had tested positive for coronavirus. The findings forced authorities to quarantine the premises and the 86 customers that were inside.

The employee, who is now in the hospital, had "slept with several clients that same night," according to a translated blog post on the story.

In addition to the customers, the club's owners, waitresses, security and cleaning crew were also quarantined. When added to the total of 86 customers, it makes 119 people under quarantine. They have been asked to "keep calm" and to just "live a normal life" inside the premises.

That may be easier for some of the patrons than they'd like to admit.

And for all those guys who told their wives they were going to a wine tasting with their buddies and instead went to the brothel, the news may be worse than coronavirus - you're officially busted.

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RE: Snippets from around the traps - thorn bird - 03-29-2020

Call me a Cynic.

Yeah well, I guess I am, very hard not to be in these troubled times.

History has always been interesting to me, there are many lessons we can learn from it, yet that cynic in me cannot forget that a large part of history is built on Myth and legends there is also the truth that history is by and large written by the victor, rarely the loser. Nevertheless, generally, there are kernels of truth in it.

Trawling round the press the past couple of weeks, trying to make some sense of what the hell happened, is happening and why.

The press has always been drawn to the sensational, never more so than with our current crisis, there is just mountains of “Stuff” out there to wade through, kernels of truth amongst it, but an awful lot of fluff and nonsense, self-appointed experts everywhere sowing hysteria
and division when we should be all pulling together. Is it any wonder our younger generation, indoctrinated by years of the denigration of authority and the schoolyard bullshit that passes for debate in our political edifices have become self centred and cynical. When a bunch of doctors for gods sake, thumbs their noses at authority and abscond from quarantine, what the hell are our young people supposed to think? Yeah, a party at Bondi sounds good about now.

The past few weeks at an accelerating pace the pages of our newspapers have been full of cynical virtue signalling. The same financial institutions that over the past few years were gouging and swindling Australian mums an dads out of billions of dollars as deftly as a Nigerian princess with a gold mine are filling pages with how virtuous they are helping in this crisis. I have no idea but I imagine a full page ad in the Australian would pay quite a few Dole checks for months.

Our airport owners waving parking fees wow what benevolent people they are. They make billions in turnover each year that gets funnelled to offshore tax havens up to 70% mark-up on parking, yet now you can park for free. Who’s parking at the airport these days?

The price of oil tanked weeks ago yet petrol at the stations followed the same predictable cycles up and down like a whores draws, a buck fifty or so last week, the NRMA says on the current oil price it should be about a dollar a litre.

The same cynicism from our beloved CAsA. The same sociopathic numpies that have been decimating a whole industry for the past thirty years, destroying countless businesses and lives, now suddenly becoming all reasonable and virtuous and releases the Garrote a notch.
Some would say thank god for small mercies, but those same numpies are still drawing full salary and all the lurks and perks that go with them, while the industry bleeds itself out.
The same destructive policies remain, the same obtuse, nonsensical, not fit for purpose regulations still in force to rage rampant across whatever industry remains after this conflagration.

CAsA are a conflagration all on their own.

We are all supposed to carry the load, public sector excepted.

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RE: Snippets from around the traps - thorn bird - 03-30-2020

Commonsense or just another cynic?

Joe Hildebrand
News.com.au

Australia truly is the Lucky Country. We don’t just have one Chief Medical Officer, we have thousands of them.

And now that the nation is facing the biggest health crisis we’ve ever seen, every single one of them is dispensing their medical advice for free. How blessed we are.

More cynical commentators than me might complain that this advice is random, ill-informed, unqualified and often illiterate but in fact it is remarkably consistent.

Indeed, the pattern seems to follow a three-step process:

1. Government and Chief Medical Officer issue advice based on latest scientific information;
2. Random person ignores advice and googles “coronavirus”;
3. Random person then complains that the advice is confusing.
 
Part of the confusion appears to derive from the fact that unlike most social media users, medical experts tend not to endlessly scream “JUST LOOK AT WHAT’S HAPPENING IN ITALY!!!!!!” in their daily public briefings.
While I am hesitant to offer my own medical or indeed geographical advice, this may be – and I am only guessing here – because Italy and Australia are two different countries.

But don’t take my word for it. Take the word of, say, the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee – the peak expert body that advises the government during public health emergencies.

In a briefing this week, the AHPPC said: “Without diminishing the significance of the rise in case numbers, it is worth noting that the situation with our first 1000 is somewhat different to that of other countries.”

How different? Well, when we hit that mark we had only seven fatalities compared to more than 20 deaths in Britain, 30 in Italy and 35 in the US. We also had one of the highest testing rates in the world and it took longer than most countries to get from 100 to 1000.

“This suggests that we do not have as large a proportion of undetected cases in the population, as was likely the case in the USA, Italy and other countries,” the AHPPC said. “Our early detection and control work was effective.”

Not according to Karen from Facebook. She saw a picture of Italy on the news and her husband once visited there so she knows what’s really going on.

Another expert medical body is the Queensland Teachers Union, which threatened to call a strike unless Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk closed the schools.

As a result, the Premier went within three days from announcing that schools were perfectly safe and would remain open to all students to announcing that they would be closed to all students except the children of essential services workers.

You see, it is a little known medical fact that the children of essential services workers possess a special gene that makes school perfectly safe for them but not for anyone else.

And so even as the catastrophist wing of the commentariat is singing the praises of nurses and shelf-stackers and utility workers who are physically on the frontline in fighting coronavirus, it is also perfectly happy for them to be the only ones with their kids stuck in schools that are mysteriously unsafe for upper-middle class families. What selfless citizens they are.

It is this same selflessness and medical expertise that drives so many of the catastrophists’ other policy platforms, such as that all hairdressers should lose their jobs. Sure, this hasn’t been recommended by the actual Chief Medical Officer but what would he know? He’s probably never even been to a hairdresser.

And unlike the government, the doomsday commentariat’s policy making has been remarkably consistent. Not one of the people saying Australia needs to go into immediate lockdown now criticised the government when it literally locked down people coming in from China in the earliest days of the virus’s spread.

Not one of them accused the government of racism or hysteria or exploiting the crisis to justify its reopening of the Christmas Island detention centre.
And unlike the government and medical experts, all of them knew that the virus was coming and it was going to be catastrophic. The only reason nobody told the government is because they were too busy moaning about all the other things it had f***ed up.

Now as anyone who knows me knows, I’m not exactly the head cheerleader for this government but I am quite fond of Australia. And it’s hard to shake the sense that for some it doesn’t matter what the PM does, they are actively willing him to fail. Sometimes there is a fine line between predicting disaster and praying for it.

Personally I have grown quite attached to my life and my house and so I wish him every success in tackling anything that threatens either.

Fortunately there have been some small signs of hope. While it is far too soon to get excited and there is still a long way to go, in the three days to Friday the increase in the number of new cases seemed to have slowed – although community transmission is still a major concern.

Infectious diseases physician and microbiologist Peter Collignon, a professor at the ANU Medical School, observed on Friday night: “Still early but epidemic curve looks like it’s falling. Hopefully that fall will continue and what we are doing now will cause it to keep on falling.”

Unfortunately the rates ticked back up again on Saturday but this is not a disaster as long as the increase can be kept in check and doesn’t explode exponentially as it did in the early days and weeks. This is known as flattening the curve and flattening the curve has been the government’s strategy all along.

University of Melbourne professor of epidemiology Tony Blakely has been explaining this process very clearly for days now – that the whole point is to slow the spread of the virus to manageable levels, not stop it altogether. That requires patience and calm, two qualities sorely lacking in the social media age.

“You don't go in too hard because you actually want the infection rate to pick up a bit and then hold,” he told the ABC.

Or as he explained it to the far funkier readers of news.com.au: “If we are going to ‘flatten the curve’ then we need to chill a bit.”

That’s a pretty simple message on the biggest news site in Australia from one of the top experts in the country. And yet panic merchants are still squealing that we need to shut everything down now because it’s trending on Twitter.

You also have to wonder how many of those calling for total and immediate nationwide lockdowns are spending their own in leafy suburban homes or stately Victorian terraces instead of sharehouses and studio apartments. You have to wonder if it’s their jobs that will be instantly terminated.

Because it’s easy to wish for a recession when you’re rich enough to ride it out. It’s not so easy when you’re a waiter who’s been wiped out or an aircraft engineer now stacking shelves at Woollies.

Of course everyone has the right to voice their opinion – and some of the contrarian views come from very smart minds.
But for others so sure that everything we’re doing is wrong here are two simple questions they might wish to ask themselves to bring the issue into sharp relief:

1. Am I as smart as Australia’s Chief Medical Officer?
2. Am I going to lose my job?

The hard truth is we are facing both a health crisis and an economic one. We have to do whatever it takes to stop the coronavirus from crashing our hospital system but we also have to do whatever it takes to stop it from crashing our economic system, because if the economy crashes, society crashes.

The cruellest part is that the restrictive approach needed to save our hospitals is the opposite of the expansive approach needed to save our economy. This is the great corona paradox.

We are balancing thousands of lives against hundreds of thousands of livelihoods and the threat of even further loss of life in the future as poverty and unemployment cuts people down. Every decision we take has to be measured against the impact it will have not just across society today but in the months and years ahead – and all of this with infinite uncertainty as to what that impact will be. It is an all but impossible needle to thread.
And so for my two cents, I reckon having graduated restrictions that can be escalated or eased as the situation requires – as opposed to the sledgehammer of universal lockdowns based on no medical evidence – seems like a pretty sensible way to go. And most of the people in charge seem to think that too because that’s exactly what we’re doing.

And if anyone thinks they have a better idea to stop a global pandemic while solving the most crippling economic crisis since the Great Depression then perhaps they should put it in an email.

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RE: Snippets from around the traps - thorn bird - 04-16-2020

We are all in this together......???? except the bureaucrats.

It's a given that aviation in Australia has almost ceased.

Within our regulator the vast majority of their staff have pretty much sweet fu%k all do do.

They are paid way over industry equivalent for the job they do in striving to stamp out aviation.

So what are they being paid for during this crisis?

Are they working from home, if so doing what?

Are we paying them exorbitant salaries to do sweet F$%k all? while those who actually did productive work now struggle to find a way to pay their mortgages and feed their kids.

So exactly what are they doing, Improving their golf game perhaps?

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RE: Snippets from around the traps - P7_TOM - 04-16-2020

TB - “So exactly what are they doing, Improving their golf game perhaps?”

Mate !– what are you drinking? A CASA crew outside, in the sunshine, breathing fresh air and off the Kool -Aid. Nah.

Golf, you see is a game where you are totally and completely marked against your own efforts. It is a game where one buggered up shot will cost you and, there is no one else to blame for the 'mistake'. It takes time, patience and a basic skill level to master golf. Much like flying (or Darts) – you drive for show – but 'putt' for dough.

Nah mate – gods alone what they spend their time playing with (steady the Buffs) – but it ain't anything like a game where you not only carry the card, but there is no escape for a dud round. You own it. (Ask P2). They'd never tolerate such introspection. - So there -

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RE: Snippets from around the traps - thorn bird - 04-18-2020

This might get interesting?

Chanel 7 reporting several Chinese airlines are considering taking over Virgin.

Might as well let them buy the airports as well, at least they would spend some money on actual aviation infrastructure instead of car parks and DFO's.

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RE: Snippets from around the traps - thorn bird - 05-19-2020

A snippet from sky news.

Dick Smith-& - Airspace wars.

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