[Gobbledock]

I shot a lighthearted arrow at ASA in my previous post because the place is so ridiculous that what else could I do? It's a feckin joke, that's what it is. And it will remain a joke because you have Anus Houston on the Board, you have a legacy of questionable activities and incompetence, and you have a governmnent Minister who is prepared to allow MrDak to do anything he wants. If that was not the case then we would see MrDak walked out the door and Electric Blue never appointed as CEO. Or as that suckhole Dougy would say 'anointed'.

One thing in life is certain - money and power breeds greed and corruption. I will leave it to you to gauge whether ASA and certain individuals past and present fit that description.

............Meanwhile, today on a river far far away. The Gobbledock has loaded the Houseboat with supplies including chocolate eggs. We are off on a Easter egg and rabbit hunt. Hopefully we will collect some wonderful prizes and scalps this long weekend as we travel the length of the Styx river. C'mon Captain Kharon, the boilers are stoked, the dogs are onboard Minnie is getting impatient.
First stop Can'tberra...toot toot.

[Kharon]

What, a day off? - on the water?  Yes please.

Patience, good Gobbledock; we shall have our adventure.  However a pleasant couple of days on the houseboat seems a first class idea, we shall talk of cabbages and kings and whether the sea is boiling hot or whether pigs have wings.  P2 has even adopted a blue whale.  Gods know what we’ll see if he can cross it with his beloved pachyderm – it don’t bear thinking on.  Even so, we may discuss such weighty matters over amber nectar and Min’s steak and kidney puddin’, while we await the auditors report.  

‘Untin wiv ferrets’ is a time honoured poachers tradition, steeped in legal legend.  You see if a ‘wild’ thing, kills another wild thing, them with ‘wigs and beaks’ can’t blame you for that, which rules out deportation to the Antipodes.  You may be fined for picking up a carcass, but to prove ‘intent’ is tough, trespass if you are unlucky (or, the beak didn’t get a pheasant or fish); but that's it.  You see dear boy, it all comes down to the terms of reference used.

Now, an audit restricted to the biscuit tin contents may or may not show that the tea lady had a favourite; or, that there was a tea leaf in the office; an ordered audit of the pencil cupboard will reveal the same result, with greater clarity (a check of on desk equipment or the kids paint box will quickly identify the culprit). Same-same the audit of ASA: who owns the ferret and where have the pencils gone?  This does not take us into the realms of company or corporate sticky fingers.  To mount a major scam there needs to be a ‘team’ effort; that, or one man funnelling off one cent in every dollar.  Team effort achieves most; ergo, given the penchant of people to ‘chat’, a scam on a grand scale needs associated people, if it is to be plausibly denied.  

So, to the ‘audit’.  We need to look at the Terms of Reference (ToR) issued to the auditors. Checking the biscuit tin and finding no anomalies does not mean the pencils are safe.  An audit which cannot check both is not only nugatory, but it takes the Mickey Bliss.  Either way, a tightly controlled, narrow focus audit of the ASA will not reveal very much.  

The problem, as I see it is that there is much known from anecdote by the Estimates committee and they would love to get ‘stuck in’ to proving the hearsay (heresy if you will), but with the auditors on a short leash, Merdek on full alert and the self protection alarum ringing, they're on a hiding to nothing.

No matter, we shall, good GD, discuss these and other matters, pertaining to sleight of hand as we sit at anchor, parked in deck chairs, cigars and ale at hand, watching a glorious moon rise as the pies cook.  But if I start barking, promise me, you’ll not start baying.

Toot toot mate, enjoy Easter as best you may.

PS. Ferrets do not; despite rumour to the contrary, bite the hand that feeds 'em.... ..

[Peetwo]

Meanwhile in the Empire of the RAeS -

Quote from "K" off the minister's thread:

Willyleaks exclusive.

At great personal risk, the intrepid GD has managed to get a peep at the minister for transport personal diary:-

Dear diary.

What a lovely day I’ve had.  It was easy away from my office, the team were coping well with some minor, non essential transport issues but still managed to get my driver and new car to the front door, so I could wave and smile at the press gallery, such nice folk.  

Memo 1– speak to the parking people about all those derelict, burned out trucks parked on the lawn and in the drive way; bloody vandals.  I shall speak sternly to our parking attendants, never too early to show them who’s boss.

Anyway, my mission today was to visit the lovely boys and girls in the air traffic control tower at Melbourne’s big airport.  

Of course I couldn’t disturb them, but I did ask one if the thing on the runway was – in fact – an aeroplane.  So nice to see one in real life; the response I drew from the ‘ATCO’ (new word for the dictionary) was a nod and a terse “Yup”, he was a pale, pallid, tired looking thing, about 60 y.o with a definite twitch in his right eye.  I strolled back to my minder: “that man looks dreadful, I expect he’ll be retiring soon”, I said.  “Oh no Sir” said the minder, “that is Charlie he’s only 25 and a senior trainer, valuable asset indeed”.  Must be the night shift look I thought.

Well my visit was short but sweet, I did get a photo opportunity which was great and as they were all so busy I didn’t get to speak to any of the troops about how things are; which was good as I would have been late for my hair dresser (big No No).  Anyway, I am assured by that nice fellah in the electric blue uniform that all is well and another $150 billion dollars will keep things ticking over nicely.  Great system, wonderful folks, terrific day.

Home for tea and cake by 4 pm.  What a productive day, it’s so great to be ‘the minister’.

MTF – Oh, you can bet on it.

Toot toot.

All in a day's work for our intrepid minister...

Meanwhile over in the bureaucratic, trough dwelling, evil Empire of the RAeS there apparently is "nothing to see here..move along", from 'that man' via the Oz :

Harry Bradford defends ICCPM’s Airservices contract

• Ean Higgins
  
• The Australian
  
• April 1, 2016 12:00AM
  
  

The former RAAF test pilot dubbed the “Million Dollar Man” by Airservices Australia dissidents has hit out at his critics, denying any conflict of interest in a lucrative Airservices contract he secured.

Harry Bradford, the chairman of the International Centre for Complex Project Management, has broken his silence on Airservices’ consultancy arrangements, which a Senate committee hearing suggested appeared to contain conflicts of interest.

The dealings are under investigation by the Australian National Audit Office, which is due to table its report in May.

In an exclusive interview with The Australian, Mr Bradford said senators who made the accusations were wrong, and that he and other consultants in ICCPM had adhered to the highest ethical standards.

The Audit Office late last year launched an investigation into Airservices consultancy contracts awarded to ICCPM for the $1.5 billion OneSKY air traffic control and navigation project, which will integrate military and civilian airspace management by 2021.

The move followed criticism in Senate rural and regional affairs and transport legislation committee hearings of what senators claimed were possible conflicts of interest. The committee heard that Mr Bradford, who was then a director of ICCPM, had received $1 million to act as lead negotiator on Airservices’ behalf in its dealings with Thales, the international aerospace company that has the lead contract for OneSKY.

Senators expressed incredulity that Airservices had hired Mr Bradford to perform this role when the managing director of Thales Australia, Chris Jenkins, was also the chairman of ICCPM, and alleged a possible conflict of interest.

The committee chairman, Liberal Bill Heffernan, said the dealings between Airservices and ICCPM would “not pass the public test … it sounds dodgy”.

“I had one duty to Airservices Australia. I had another duty to the ICCPM board,” Mr Bradford told The Australian. “There was no conflict between those duties.”

Sources within Airservices have told The Australian there is considerable anger within sections of staff over the huge sums paid to consultants, and the fact that so many key figures in the OneSKY project have had connections with ICCPM.

Airservices last month appointed a senior figure in the Department of Defence, Air Vice Marshal Chris Deeble, who was until recently a director and fellow of ICCPM, to head the One­SKY project.

As revealed by The Australian, there is also discontent in Airservices circles over the fact that some executives made trips to the Paris headquarters of Thales, when Thales has a large operation with more than 3000 employees in Australia to service clients locally.

Asked about his $1m consultancy fee, which covered a period of about 18 months, Mr Bradford said: “I don’t worry about these issues — I set my fees and if people want to engage me they can, and if they don’t want to, they don’t.”

The Senate committee also heard that ICCPM managing director Deborah Hein is the wife of Steve Hein, who worked for ICCPM until hired by Airservices in a senior managerial role. One contract Airservices struck with ICCPM was processed by Mr Hein.

Mr Bradford said all those involved in ICCPM had upheld the highest propriety and denied there had been any conflict of interest in any of its contracts with Airservices, which have been completed.

Mr Bradford had a distinguished air force career, including flying 270 combat missions as a bomber pilot in Vietnam, and as an instructor and test pilot, and was awarded the Air Force Cross.

He was for a period a colleague of then fellow RAAF officer Angus Houston, now the chairman of Airservices.

After leaving the RAAF Mr Bradford worked in a variety of senior management roles in aerospace, including for Hawker de Havilland, British Aerospace and BAE Systems Australia. He was one of the founders of ICCPM when it was established in 2007.

Mr Bradford said ICCPM was initially set up with the support of military organisations and aerospace groups including the Department of Defence, BAE Systems and Thales, as an “altruistic” non-profit organisation to help address problems which could lead major complex projects to go wrong.

Mr Bradford said reasons big projects went astray included cases where “requirements are not well established and stable, there is an underappreciation of technical risk, and underappreciation of the criticality of a high-performing team and all the human factors that go with that”.

“The thing that goes wrong more than anything else is putting the wrong people in the key positions,” he said.

Mr Bradford said while ICCPM was designed to extend knowledge about project management, it quickly became apparent that to fund itself, it would have to do consultancy work.

Hmm...the Thales conglomerate seems to have their sticky fingers stuck in a lot of murky (read corrupt) pies, there is even a possible link to the Malaysian PM Najib..

A case involving allegations of high-level bribery, blackmail, betrayal and the murder of a glamorous Mongolian socialite in Malaysia has resurfaced in France, only days after Malaysia's prime minister Najib Razak was cleared of corruption charges at home.

French prosecutors have charged a French businessman involved in Malaysia's $US2 billion ($2.8 billion) purchase of two French-Spanish built submarines with paying illegal kickbacks to a Malaysian official linked to Mr Najib, according to the French newsagency AFP.


Mr Najib, who was defence minister at the time of the purchase, has denied any wrongdoing but the case has been the subject of hot rumours and speculation in Malaysia's social media during his seven-year rule.


The French report named Ferrari-driving Malaysian businessman Abdul Razak Baginda, one of Mr Najib's best friends and policy advisers, as the person who allegedly received the kickbacks.



While the submarine deal was being negotiated, Mr Baginda was the lover of 28-year-old Mongolian socialite Altantuya Shaariibuu who was murdered by two of Mr Najib's bodyguards in a patch of jungle in the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur in 2006.


Ms Shaariibuu was dragged from a car, knocked unconscious and shot twice in the head, according to court testimony.


She had begged for the life of her unborn baby and then her body was wrapped in C4 explosives and blown up, ensuring the fetus was destroyed, along with the identity of the father.


Ms Shaariibuu, who was abducted outside Mr Baginda's house, had reportedly demanded $US500,000 to remain silent about her knowledge of the submarine deal.


French authorities who opened an investigation into the submarine purchases almost four years ago have issued an indictment against Bernard Baiocco, 72, the former president of Thales International Asia, according to an AFP report in the French language, that was translated by the Malaysiakini news website...


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/troubles-resurface-for-malaysias-najib-in-europe-20160130-gmhmn0.html#ixzz44WSRDLgK
Follow us: @smh on Twitter | sydneymorningherald on Facebook

Oh but that's not 'Thales Australia', there is no association at all, 'nothing to see here move along'
MTF...P2
Ps Hmm..wonder if Thales has/had any association with the FPDA?
Aviation Mandarin, JORN & the sleepy echidna.
 

[Gobbledock]

The return of ASA PFOS issue....the Frankenstein grows - welcome Gold Coast Airport.

This one has slipped beneath the radar, so to speak. But I reckon the Murky Mandarin as well as Chester the hair stylist and Malcolm In The Middle would wish that the pesky PFOS issue would just disappear!

Most recent article here;

Gold Coast Airport contamination revelations could spark property buyback call

https://sslcam.news.com.au/cam/authorise...efd1b5d334

And from a few weeks ago;

Calls for investigation after contaminated soil found at Gold Coast Airport

http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news...y-comments

Now, where is Electric Blue and his spineless Board Chair who always goes to ground when the big issues erupt? I think this is escalating to a point where OneSky is going to be financial drop in the proverbial bucket compared to what the long term PFOS rectification will cost. Either way I think a full blown Royal Commission into this airport contamination issue is well and truly overdue. 
I do wish that Nick and Dick could drag this one out into the open for all to see much more clearly. Maybe 'that man' Ean along with his young protege (MAD comic lookalike), and Sandilands will provide some much needed publicity. It is interesting how the Guvmint has tried to keep quiet about the problems at Oakey as well! 

TICK TOCK Minister for Perfect Hair TICK TOCK

Interesting additional article;

http://www.echo.net.au/2016/04/airport-m...n-details/

[Kharon]

Ask not for whom the weport tolls.

ATCO’s?  A calling to task, rather like Nuns or Vicars.  It’s just a bit more than a ‘job’ to pay the rent.  Flying is, to my way of thinking, a similar dedication.  It’s not’s just ‘a job’ but ‘the job’ of choice.  Can more money be made? Can there be a higher place on the social ladder for those with the brain?  Is it possible to further a career above ‘Captain’ or ‘Controller’?  Course it is; so why do we bother?  Love of the game, laziness; or just the simple pleasure, with no frills attached, of doing a thing we enjoy doing, very well?

No one is there at the end of a long ‘difficult’ shift to say well done and, truth be known, many of us haul ourselves into the car and offer “thanks to the pagan gods” that’s over and that we lived through it all; without a major cock-up. Crazy: so; would we change any of it?  Some of the peripherals, most certainly for our own sake; some of the rules perhaps for everyone’s sake, probably; but what of the essentials?  Not a chance, right?

My point – lest I forget – is a basic one.  Aviation (operational) recently and with thanks, offloaded a burden in the form of Rodger Chambers.  Famed author of the infamous  ‘Chambers Report’ and some other, potentially very embarrassing situations to the powers that be.  As a super salesman of his very own special talents he has, we are reliably informed, been given a job within ASA, dealing with the management of air traffic controllers.  Now, the man had SFA in the way of qualification to deal with drivers of airframes and we can assert even less in dealing with ‘management’ level air traffic controllers.  He appears to come with an alleged reputation of sliding in on a ‘good-fellowship’ basis then promoting his own personal pets while denigrating those who are not ‘mates’.  The tales and rumour emanating from Sydney region, if they can be believed, seem to support this theory, although there is not a scrap of factual evidence to support the stories – unless you consider the ‘Chambers report’ which seems to point the finger at his very own ‘troops’ and the organisation he worked for.  Passing strange tale that one; however, I digress.

I just wonder; if even half of what we hear and a quarter of what we can discover is anywhere near true, if our brothers and comrades working consoles this fine evening have considered who they are working for, in terms of general, personal; well being.  If the previous path is followed, once the initial soft sell and bonhomie wears off, after the fangs are revealed, will the doughty ATCO union be able to deal with the distortion and manipulation of ‘Wodgerised fact’ when trumps turn to clay?  

I do hope so; were I religious I would pray that the ATC were clever enough to get ahead of a game which has, in all probability, already started before too many of the ‘good guys’ are either seconded or outed.  I can wait a twelve month for the results; question is children, can you?

Aye well; there’s a fair warning offered in good faith, best I can do really.  But if RAeS mates Electric Blue Sociopath (EBS) and Wodger Weport Writing Wabbit (WWWW) team up, then the warning will be a timely one.  

Centre – this is P9 top of the stairs, cancel SAR – goodnight.

Toot toot.

[Peetwo]

Feeders of the ASA/Thales OneSKY trough - by 'that man' courtesy the Oz

What Airservices covered up: luxury Paris trips cost $40,000

• Ean Higgins
  
• The Australian
  
• April 22, 2016 12:00AM
  

Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association president Marc de Stoop says Airservices Australia is ‘very inefficient’. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

Details of trips to Paris that Airservices Australia tried to suppress show its executives spent more than $40,000 of the organisation’s funds in two excursions to the French capital only a month apart.

Two pairs of Airservices officials made the trips to talk with aerospace group Thales, the lead contractor on the $1.5 billion OneSKY air traffic control project, even though Thales has an ­organisation to service clients in Australia. The executives flew business class and stayed at a four-star Paris hotel.

Aircraft Owners and Pilots ­Association president Marc De Stoop branded the trips an example of what he claimed was extravagant and unnecessary expenditure by Airservices.

Airservices, which runs the nation’s air traffic control and navigation system and airport fire and rescue services, is government-owned but industry-funded.

Mr De Stoop said this meant the cost of such jaunts ultimately came out of the pockets of the ­financially struggling aviation industry, including his members.

“Why do they need to go there when they (Thales) have 3000 people here?” Mr De Stoop asked.

“They are very inefficient, Airservices Australia. They are costing us too much.”
Airservices media last month confirmed at least one trip to Paris had taken place to discuss One­SKY, but refused to provide details. But through a Freedom of Information application, The Australian can now reveal the full picture of the Airservices’ executives’ trips to Paris.

The documents obtained are two memos to Airservices chief executive Jason Harfield, detailing the financial reconciliations for the two trips taken by two Airservices officials each time.

The first trip, from December 14 to 20 last year, involved business class airfares totalling $17,979.66; $2296.52 for three nights’ accommodation and breakfast at the Pullman Paris La Defense hotel; and $714.20 for incidentals including transport, for a total of $20,990.38. The second trip from January 18 to 24 this year, involving a four-night stay, came to $20,635.15.

While the business class tickets cost $9000 each, a Webjet search found that for the corresponding dates of the first trip, airfares on KLM for one-stop return flights to Paris could be had for $5313 business class on China Southern Airlines, or $1735 economy on KLM.

The Paris trips, revealed by The Australian last month after a leak from a dissident executive, have sparked concern and are said to be one example of profligate spending on OneSKY, which is causing unease in the organisation’s ranks.

Some Airservices staff are also outraged at expenditure on consultants, such as the $1 million paid to former air force officer Harry Bradford to negotiate with Thales on Airservices’ behalf.

The OneSKY project will integrate the civilian and military air traffic control and navigation systems with new radar in a state-of-the-art system.

Airservices would not reveal which executives went to Paris.

In a statement, a spokeswoman said: “Senior executives from Thales, Airservices and Defence meet, from time to time, as part of the negotiation process for the One­SKY Australia program. Meetings generally have taken place in Australia, and on occasion in France.

“All travel is undertaken in accordance with Airservices travel policy, which is consistent with the Australian government’s international travel policy with respect to class of airfare, hotels and incidental expenses.”

MTF...P2

[Gobbledock]

Good work by 'that man' again.

A classic yet common example of snouts in the trough. It's been going on for decades in the alphabet soup agencies and all of government.

Interesting how ASA wouldn't release the documents and they had to be retrieved through the FOI process. A transparent agency wouldn't hesitate to release such documents if all were above board and in the best interests of the TAXPAYER AND THE AVIATION USERS WHO ULTIMATELY ARE THE ONES WHO PAY FOR ALL THESE OVERSEAS HOLIDAYS.

Barnaby and Malcolm, you own this mess, fix it. You've allowed Pumpkin Head to operate with free diplomatic immunity, he allowed the appointment of Harfwit as CEO, of Bus driver An(g)us as Board Chair, but it's time to slay the Murky dragon and clean up the 3 agencies.

TICK TOCK Barnaby and Malcolm, an election is coming and the voting aviation IOS are not happy TICK TOCK

[Peetwo]

Politics & the inconvenience of internet public record??

While researching for the latest update to the 'Wong QON' series -
&.. WONG QON III - & her one & only appearance at RRAT Estimates last year...

Wong muck raking & the GRABOR Party -

P9 - I could live with the window dressing of Cash, the bad manners displayed and endless side chats while questions were being asked etc.  No more than a minor irritation, some others came in and asked some fairly pointless questions, which, thankfully, took little of the valuable time available and were not blatantly ‘political’.  But the tedious Wong session took the biscuit.

 
And that was before I discovered the Wong QON - Part I & Part II.     

Pps At the request of the Ferryman...

Here is the Hansard:

24 February 2015 (HTML & PDF)

Infrastructure and Regional Development

The OBS here is that if Wong was so 'enraged' by the possibility that South Australian ATCOs may lose their jobs, then you would of thought the Senator would have put many more written QON to ASA? Perhaps she discovered the amount of political muck raking she could cause was negligible and so she gave it up. She certainly didn't follow up the issue in any RRAT Estimates since..     

...I discovered a further aberration to the Wong (& therefore Labor) defence of potential loss of South Australian ATCO jobs at Adelaide airport:

Senator WONG: When did the briefing of Mr Williams occur—not Senator Williams but the member for Hindmarsh? When did that occur, approximately?


Ms Staib : It was leading up to the board meeting.

Senator WONG: So it was prior to the meeting. Did he ask you not to proceed?

Ms Staib : No, he did not.

Senator WONG: He did not tell you not to proceed?

Ms Staib : No.

Senator WONG: So the local member did not stand up for jobs in the electorate?

Senator EDWARDS: Let's get to the issue.

Senator WONG: Okay. You might not think that is an issue, Senator Edwards, but I think—anyway, I will move on.

& ..

Senator WONG: And if the safety case is not up to scratch, do you not proceed with it?

Ms Staib : If CASA does not accept the safety case, that is correct.

Senator WONG: Well, as a South Australian senator, I am asking you not to proceed with it. So you should be clear, on the record, it is my view and I suspect it is the view of many of my colleagues. We do not want this decision made. We do not want these jobs shifted. We certainly do not what we regard, from what we have been told and what I see the state government saying, something that compromises these arrangements at Adelaide airport.

Senator EDWARDS: Just following on that line of question, is it true that the genesis for this policy actually exists in a previous government? No, the genesis for this is laid dormant but was a policy of a previous government.

Mr Hood : Senator, if I can take that—

Senator EDWARDS: Sorry?

Senator WONG: It is happening under you.

 In an ABC PM segment from the previous year - i.e. June 2014 - the former minister for the oversight of aviation, Albanese was briefly interviewed for comment (in bold) : Concern for passenger safety follows Airservices Aust location merge proposal  

MARK COLVIN: Pilots and air traffic controllers say they fear passenger safety will be at risk if Airservices Australia pushes ahead with a proposal to merge some of its locations.

The ABC has learned of plans to consider removing controllers monitoring airspace in Sydney, Adelaide, and Cairns and 'hub' them in Melbourne and Brisbane.

Science reporter Jake Sturmer has the story.

(Aeroplane engines)

JAKE STURMER: It's July 13, 1995 near Canberra, terrible flying conditions, and at 7,000 feet the engine of the Cessna 210 carrying three people failed.

Instructor pilot Clark Gibbons took charge.

CLARK GIBBONS: I then contacted air traffic control, they gave us headings to steer. I had asked to be put over and land on Lake George.

JAKE STURMER: There was dense cloud on the day, making it virtually impossible to see where they were going.

Clark Gibbons put his faith in air traffic control, which was using radar signals to guide him to what he thought would be a safe landing spot.

CLARK GIBBONS: They then gave us the headings, which then...when we have popped out of the cloud, we've crashed into the side of a hill.

Ten seconds would have been the maximum amount of time we had then from seeing the trees, seeing the hill, having nowhere else to go, we've crashed into the hill.

JAKE STURMER: Clark Gibbons and his other passengers suffered serious burns in the crash.

The Bureau of Air Safety Investigation found that the air traffic controller guiding Clark Gibbons was not familiar with Canberra.

He was based in Melbourne because Airservices Australia consolidated the region's Terminal Control Unit. TCUs, as they're known, look after the airspace for about 60 kilometres around each airport.

Airservices Australia is considering moving its Sydney, Adelaide, and Cairns TCU's into Melbourne and Brisbane.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: This is a proposal that's simply about cost cutting and we shouldn't be cutting costs when it comes to aviation safety.

JAKE STURMER: Labor's Transport Spokesman is Anthony Albanese.

The former Transport Minister's western Sydney electorate is near the airport.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Common sense tells you that if you live and work at the actual airport which is Australia's most significant airport, it's the most highly densely populated area of Australia, there's a reason why you want to have the air traffic control around that airport controlled from Sydney airport itself rather than from a remote location in Melbourne or Brisbane.

JAKE STURMER: Airservices Australia raised similar plans around a decade ago, but eventually rejected them because the business case was marginal.

And internal staff discussions obtained by the ABC reveal that controllers have warned managers not to underestimate the benefits of local knowledge and that it could be difficult to get staff to move to the new centres.

In a statement to the ABC, Airservices said no decision had been made and this was a review of all the options available.

It said that centralising operations could improve career development and help remove duplicated infrastructure, equipment, and maintenance. Airservices said that safety was its number one priority.

Peter McGuane from the air traffic controllers' union says they'll be carefully studying the review once it's finished.

PETER MCGUANE: Our concern and our attention will be directed to making sure that all the appropriate areas have been addressed and areas that we identify - in a technical sense and procedures - that all those things are properly done and properly the subject of consultation in a very detailed manner with us.

JAKE STURMER: For Clark Gibbons, who still bears the scars from the crash, consolidation isn't the solution.

CLARK GIBBONS: I'd like them to make sure that their training certainly gave people that were operating a sector a firsthand knowledge of what's there.

MARK COLVIN: Retired pilot Clark Gibbons Jake Sturmer's report.

 
This was despite Albo being supportive of the ASA proposal (by default) throughout his tenure as the minister. This concept had been touted as a future proposal from ASA executive management first in 2001 and then ten years later in 2011:

Senator WONG: In the period 2007 to 2013, was there any work done again exploring the closure of the TCU in Adelaide?

Ms Staib : There was some research done in preparation for the OneSKY program, which we talked about before, and how the organisation would deliver air traffic control services into the future. Was in 2008?

Mr Rodwell : In 2011 there was some—

Ms Staib : In 2011 there was a report done by Deloittes to look at that.

Senator WONG: But no decision was made to close the TCU?

Ms Staib : In 2011?

Senator WONG: Correct.

Ms Staib : No.

Senator WONG: Are you aware what led to the minister and the board—the board ultimately—determining not to proceed with the closure when it was previously attempted?

Ms Staib : I would have to go back and look at the records for that.

Senator WONG: I suggest to you there was quite a campaign run by particular MPs, Mr Georganas and others, about this issue. Do you have any knowledge of that?

Ms Staib : I believe there was activity from politicians and I do believe at the time there was some objection by Civil Air.

Senator WONG: But it is different now, is it?

Ms Staib : Civil Air have stated that they do not believe it is an issue around safety...

    
So when Wong later asks about who in the Parliaments (Federal & SA) was in the loop of the ASA contemplation of the relevant TCUs to be relocated to the Melbourne and Brisbane control centres...

Senator WONG: Please tell me you did not just offer it to government members. Are you going to answer that question?

Ms Staib : It was not just government people. For example, we did brief Mr Albanese.
Senator STERLE: Sorry, Senator Wong, but this is very important. Ms Staib, you said you briefed members of this committee. Which members?
Ms Staib : Senator Heffernan, Williams—
Senator WONG: He is not a member of this committee.
Senator STERLE: So New South Wales. Keep going.
Senator WONG: Oh, Senator Williams?
Ms Staib : Yes.
Senator WONG: Oh, sorry.
Senator STERLE: So two New South Welshmen. Who else?
Ms Staib : Mr Entsch.
Senator STERLE: Queensland. Keep going. He is not on our committee.
Ms Staib : Senator Fawcett.
Senator STERLE: Okay. South Australia. Tick. You have got one out of four. Who else on the committee?
Ms Staib : From my recollection—
Senator STERLE: So it was not members of the committee. They were certain political people and some happened to be on and off this committee.
Ms Staib : We offered a briefing to—
Senator STERLE: The secretary is sitting right here. Secretary, did you? No, he did not.
Senator WONG: He cannot—
Senator STERLE: Ah, it is all the smoke. We all know there was no briefing of this committee.
Senator WONG: Sorry, Ms Staib; you wanted to finish the list.
Ms Staib : We offered a briefing to Senator Xenophon.
Senator XENOPHON: When was that? What date was that?
Ms Staib : It was a period when you were away, Senator.
Senator XENOPHON: I will find out.
Senator WONG: When did the briefing of Mr Williams occur—not Senator Williams but the member for Hindmarsh? When did that occur, approximately?
Ms Staib : It was leading up to the board meeting.

...it would appear that the Opposition spokesperson - Albo - had been kept in the loop well before the ASA board decision. And from the ABC PM program Albo did not appear to have any issues with the possible relocation of affected States ATCO jobs...

One wonders whether the subsequent silence, by first Albo & then by Wong, has something to do with the fact that the ATCO union Civil Air had no issue with the ASA TCU consolidation to two central units.

It will be interesting to see if the Labor pollies acquiesce to a ASA similar proposal for tower ATCOs being moved to either Brisbane or Melbourne? Because from the US that seems to be the way of the future in Air Traffic Control - see HERE & HERE.

Air traffic controllers inside the Remote Tower Centre in Sundsvall, Sweden.

Source: Saab AB


MTF...P2

Ps Note with that future potential proposal who could be one of two future beneficiaries - FFS! 'Safe trough feeding for all Frogs'.

[Peetwo]

Politics & the inconvenience of internet public record??

While researching for the latest update to the 'Wong QON' series -
&.. WONG QON III - & her one & only appearance at RRAT Estimates last year...

Wong muck raking & the GRABOR Party -

P9 - I could live with the window dressing of Cash, the bad manners displayed and endless side chats while questions were being asked etc.  No more than a minor irritation, some others came in and asked some fairly pointless questions, which, thankfully, took little of the valuable time available and were not blatantly ‘political’.  But the tedious Wong session took the biscuit.

 
And that was before I discovered the Wong QON - Part I & Part II.     

Pps At the request of the Ferryman...

Here is the Hansard:

24 February 2015 (HTML & PDF)

Infrastructure and Regional Development

The OBS here is that if Wong was so 'enraged' by the possibility that South Australian ATCOs may lose their jobs, then you would of thought the Senator would have put many more written QON to ASA? Perhaps she discovered the amount of political muck raking she could cause was negligible and so she gave it up. She certainly didn't follow up the issue in any RRAT Estimates since..     

...I discovered a further aberration to the Wong (& therefore Labor) defence of potential loss of South Australian ATCO jobs at Adelaide airport:

Senator WONG: When did the briefing of Mr Williams occur—not Senator Williams but the member for Hindmarsh? When did that occur, approximately?


Ms Staib : It was leading up to the board meeting.

Senator WONG: So it was prior to the meeting. Did he ask you not to proceed?

Ms Staib : No, he did not.

Senator WONG: He did not tell you not to proceed?

Ms Staib : No.

Senator WONG: So the local member did not stand up for jobs in the electorate?

Senator EDWARDS: Let's get to the issue.

Senator WONG: Okay. You might not think that is an issue, Senator Edwards, but I think—anyway, I will move on.

& ..

Senator WONG: And if the safety case is not up to scratch, do you not proceed with it?

Ms Staib : If CASA does not accept the safety case, that is correct.

Senator WONG: Well, as a South Australian senator, I am asking you not to proceed with it. So you should be clear, on the record, it is my view and I suspect it is the view of many of my colleagues. We do not want this decision made. We do not want these jobs shifted. We certainly do not what we regard, from what we have been told and what I see the state government saying, something that compromises these arrangements at Adelaide airport.

Senator EDWARDS: Just following on that line of question, is it true that the genesis for this policy actually exists in a previous government? No, the genesis for this is laid dormant but was a policy of a previous government.

Mr Hood : Senator, if I can take that—

Senator EDWARDS: Sorry?

Senator WONG: It is happening under you.

 In an ABC PM segment from the previous year - i.e. June 2014 - the former minister for the oversight of aviation, Albanese was briefly interviewed for comment (in bold) : Concern for passenger safety follows Airservices Aust location merge proposal  

MARK COLVIN: Pilots and air traffic controllers say they fear passenger safety will be at risk if Airservices Australia pushes ahead with a proposal to merge some of its locations.

The ABC has learned of plans to consider removing controllers monitoring airspace in Sydney, Adelaide, and Cairns and 'hub' them in Melbourne and Brisbane.

Science reporter Jake Sturmer has the story.

(Aeroplane engines)

JAKE STURMER: It's July 13, 1995 near Canberra, terrible flying conditions, and at 7,000 feet the engine of the Cessna 210 carrying three people failed.

Instructor pilot Clark Gibbons took charge.

CLARK GIBBONS: I then contacted air traffic control, they gave us headings to steer. I had asked to be put over and land on Lake George.

JAKE STURMER: There was dense cloud on the day, making it virtually impossible to see where they were going.

Clark Gibbons put his faith in air traffic control, which was using radar signals to guide him to what he thought would be a safe landing spot.

CLARK GIBBONS: They then gave us the headings, which then...when we have popped out of the cloud, we've crashed into the side of a hill.

Ten seconds would have been the maximum amount of time we had then from seeing the trees, seeing the hill, having nowhere else to go, we've crashed into the hill.

JAKE STURMER: Clark Gibbons and his other passengers suffered serious burns in the crash.

The Bureau of Air Safety Investigation found that the air traffic controller guiding Clark Gibbons was not familiar with Canberra.

He was based in Melbourne because Airservices Australia consolidated the region's Terminal Control Unit. TCUs, as they're known, look after the airspace for about 60 kilometres around each airport.

Airservices Australia is considering moving its Sydney, Adelaide, and Cairns TCU's into Melbourne and Brisbane.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: This is a proposal that's simply about cost cutting and we shouldn't be cutting costs when it comes to aviation safety.

JAKE STURMER: Labor's Transport Spokesman is Anthony Albanese.

The former Transport Minister's western Sydney electorate is near the airport.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Common sense tells you that if you live and work at the actual airport which is Australia's most significant airport, it's the most highly densely populated area of Australia, there's a reason why you want to have the air traffic control around that airport controlled from Sydney airport itself rather than from a remote location in Melbourne or Brisbane.

JAKE STURMER: Airservices Australia raised similar plans around a decade ago, but eventually rejected them because the business case was marginal.

And internal staff discussions obtained by the ABC reveal that controllers have warned managers not to underestimate the benefits of local knowledge and that it could be difficult to get staff to move to the new centres.

In a statement to the ABC, Airservices said no decision had been made and this was a review of all the options available.

It said that centralising operations could improve career development and help remove duplicated infrastructure, equipment, and maintenance. Airservices said that safety was its number one priority.

Peter McGuane from the air traffic controllers' union says they'll be carefully studying the review once it's finished.

PETER MCGUANE: Our concern and our attention will be directed to making sure that all the appropriate areas have been addressed and areas that we identify - in a technical sense and procedures - that all those things are properly done and properly the subject of consultation in a very detailed manner with us.

JAKE STURMER: For Clark Gibbons, who still bears the scars from the crash, consolidation isn't the solution.

CLARK GIBBONS: I'd like them to make sure that their training certainly gave people that were operating a sector a firsthand knowledge of what's there.

MARK COLVIN: Retired pilot Clark Gibbons Jake Sturmer's report.

 
This was despite Albo being supportive of the ASA proposal (by default) throughout his tenure as the minister. This concept had been touted as a future proposal from ASA executive management first in 2001 and then ten years later in 2011:

Senator WONG: In the period 2007 to 2013, was there any work done again exploring the closure of the TCU in Adelaide?

Ms Staib : There was some research done in preparation for the OneSKY program, which we talked about before, and how the organisation would deliver air traffic control services into the future. Was in 2008?

Mr Rodwell : In 2011 there was some—

Ms Staib : In 2011 there was a report done by Deloittes to look at that.

Senator WONG: But no decision was made to close the TCU?

Ms Staib : In 2011?

Senator WONG: Correct.

Ms Staib : No.

Senator WONG: Are you aware what led to the minister and the board—the board ultimately—determining not to proceed with the closure when it was previously attempted?

Ms Staib : I would have to go back and look at the records for that.

Senator WONG: I suggest to you there was quite a campaign run by particular MPs, Mr Georganas and others, about this issue. Do you have any knowledge of that?

Ms Staib : I believe there was activity from politicians and I do believe at the time there was some objection by Civil Air.

Senator WONG: But it is different now, is it?

Ms Staib : Civil Air have stated that they do not believe it is an issue around safety...

    
So when Wong later asks about who in the Parliaments (Federal & SA) was in the loop of the ASA contemplation of the relevant TCUs to be relocated to the Melbourne and Brisbane control centres...

Senator WONG: Please tell me you did not just offer it to government members. Are you going to answer that question?

Ms Staib : It was not just government people. For example, we did brief Mr Albanese.
Senator STERLE: Sorry, Senator Wong, but this is very important. Ms Staib, you said you briefed members of this committee. Which members?
Ms Staib : Senator Heffernan, Williams—
Senator WONG: He is not a member of this committee.
Senator STERLE: So New South Wales. Keep going.
Senator WONG: Oh, Senator Williams?
Ms Staib : Yes.
Senator WONG: Oh, sorry.
Senator STERLE: So two New South Welshmen. Who else?
Ms Staib : Mr Entsch.
Senator STERLE: Queensland. Keep going. He is not on our committee.
Ms Staib : Senator Fawcett.
Senator STERLE: Okay. South Australia. Tick. You have got one out of four. Who else on the committee?
Ms Staib : From my recollection—
Senator STERLE: So it was not members of the committee. They were certain political people and some happened to be on and off this committee.
Ms Staib : We offered a briefing to—
Senator STERLE: The secretary is sitting right here. Secretary, did you? No, he did not.
Senator WONG: He cannot—
Senator STERLE: Ah, it is all the smoke. We all know there was no briefing of this committee.
Senator WONG: Sorry, Ms Staib; you wanted to finish the list.
Ms Staib : We offered a briefing to Senator Xenophon.
Senator XENOPHON: When was that? What date was that?
Ms Staib : It was a period when you were away, Senator.
Senator XENOPHON: I will find out.
Senator WONG: When did the briefing of Mr Williams occur—not Senator Williams but the member for Hindmarsh? When did that occur, approximately?
Ms Staib : It was leading up to the board meeting.

...it would appear that the Opposition spokesperson - Albo - had been kept in the loop well before the ASA board decision. And from the ABC PM program Albo did not appear to have any issues with the possible relocation of affected States ATCO jobs...

One wonders whether the subsequent silence, by first Albo & then by Wong, has something to do with the fact that the ATCO union Civil Air had no issue with the ASA TCU consolidation to two central units.

It will be interesting to see if the Labor pollies acquiesce to a ASA similar proposal for tower ATCOs being moved to either Brisbane or Melbourne? Because from the US that seems to be the way of the future in Air Traffic Control - see HERE & HERE.

Air traffic controllers inside the Remote Tower Centre in Sundsvall, Sweden.

Source: Saab AB


MTF...P2

Ps Note with that future potential proposal who could be one of two future beneficiaries - FFS! 'Safe trough feeding for all Frogs'.

Pps ANAO due to report..

Airservices Australia's Procurement of the International Centre for Complex Project Management to Assist with the OneSKY Australia Project


Report preparation
Contribution has closed
Due to table: May, 2016

Portfolio: Infrastructure and Regional Development
Entity: Airservices Australia

The audit objective is to examine whether Airservices Australia has effective procurement arrangements in place, with a particular emphasis on whether consultancy contracts entered into with International Centre for Complex Project Management (ICCPM) in association with the OneSKY Australia project were effectively administered.

[Peetwo]

TAAAF also suggests ASA privatisation -  

Courtesy of Oz Aviation:

TAAAF calls on government to privatise Airservices

April 28, 2016 by australianaviation.com.au Leave a Comment
 
The Australian Aviation Associations’ Forum has called for the privatisation of Airservices, with the funds used to set up an Aviation Future Fund.

The Forum says the current Airservices’ model is “no longer capable of effectively responding to emerging aviation opportunities or the need for greater efficiency”.

“The partially-corporatised model under which Airservices Australia has operated for almost 20 years is increasingly incapable of delivering efficient and affordable air traffic services in a growing aviation market,” said TAAAF’s 2016 policy document, which was released on Thursday.

“Airservices should be privatised along the lines of the Canadian air traffic provider, Nav Canada, which has operated successfully and safely for over 20 years.

“Nav Canada is a not-for-profit regulated monopoly owned by industry stakeholders who are represented on the governing board and surpluses are reinvested in the corporation or used to reduce prices.”

As part of the privatisation of Airservices, TAAAF also called for major airport operators to be responsible for day-to-day management of aircraft noise reporting and take over aviation rescue and fire-fighting services.

TAAAF estimates the privatisation of Airservices would generate about $1 billion. Of that, $500 million should be spent on a developing training, research and leadership programs.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Australia (AOPA), which has 2,600 members and aims to represent the general aviation sector, has also called for Airservices to be privatised.

The federal government has said previously it did not support the privatisation of Airservices.

With a federal election likely to be held on July 2, TAAAF is also calling for the federal government to appoint a Minister Assisting for Aviation, whose role would be to “oversee and coordinate a new aviation strategy for Australia”.

A national aviation strategy and integrated aviation infrastructure master plan were also needed to meet the forecast growth in demand over the next two decades.

“The Forum believes there are significant savings for industry and government through a more efficient planning process,” TAAAF said.

TAAAF has also proposed changes to the Civil Aviation Act, given Australia’s “highly prescriptive approach to aviation safety” had “hindered the development of the industry for little discernible safety benefit”.

TAAAF chair – and former Airservices chief executive – Greg Russell said the association’s proposed policy initiatives offered “real pathways to improved services, savings for the taxpayer and more effective regulation”.

“It is estimated that over $2.2 billion in benefits to government, industry and society would be realised from the adoption of these policies,” Russell said in a statement.

“A new approach to aviation challenges through a government/industry partnership would make Australia into a regional aviation leader and drive growth and opportunities across the nation.”

Hmm...makes sense to me??  - then again I'm only a simple knuckle-dragger, what would I know...  

Don't reckon Harfwit would be happy with that idea, he might actually have to work hard to justify his esteemed position and his cut of the trough - then again he may not even keep his job in the real world of big business...

MTF...P2  

[Peetwo]

TAAAF also suggests ASA privatisation -  

Courtesy of Oz Aviation:

TAAAF calls on government to privatise Airservices

April 28, 2016 by australianaviation.com.au Leave a Comment
 
The Australian Aviation Associations’ Forum has called for the privatisation of Airservices, with the funds used to set up an Aviation Future Fund.

The Forum says the current Airservices’ model is “no longer capable of effectively responding to emerging aviation opportunities or the need for greater efficiency”.

“The partially-corporatised model under which Airservices Australia has operated for almost 20 years is increasingly incapable of delivering efficient and affordable air traffic services in a growing aviation market,” said TAAAF’s 2016 policy document, which was released on Thursday.

“Airservices should be privatised along the lines of the Canadian air traffic provider, Nav Canada, which has operated successfully and safely for over 20 years.

“Nav Canada is a not-for-profit regulated monopoly owned by industry stakeholders who are represented on the governing board and surpluses are reinvested in the corporation or used to reduce prices.”

As part of the privatisation of Airservices, TAAAF also called for major airport operators to be responsible for day-to-day management of aircraft noise reporting and take over aviation rescue and fire-fighting services.

TAAAF estimates the privatisation of Airservices would generate about $1 billion. Of that, $500 million should be spent on a developing training, research and leadership programs.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of Australia (AOPA), which has 2,600 members and aims to represent the general aviation sector, has also called for Airservices to be privatised.

The federal government has said previously it did not support the privatisation of Airservices.

With a federal election likely to be held on July 2, TAAAF is also calling for the federal government to appoint a Minister Assisting for Aviation, whose role would be to “oversee and coordinate a new aviation strategy for Australia”.

A national aviation strategy and integrated aviation infrastructure master plan were also needed to meet the forecast growth in demand over the next two decades.

“The Forum believes there are significant savings for industry and government through a more efficient planning process,” TAAAF said.

TAAAF has also proposed changes to the Civil Aviation Act, given Australia’s “highly prescriptive approach to aviation safety” had “hindered the development of the industry for little discernible safety benefit”.

TAAAF chair – and former Airservices chief executive – Greg Russell said the association’s proposed policy initiatives offered “real pathways to improved services, savings for the taxpayer and more effective regulation”.

“It is estimated that over $2.2 billion in benefits to government, industry and society would be realised from the adoption of these policies,” Russell said in a statement.

“A new approach to aviation challenges through a government/industry partnership would make Australia into a regional aviation leader and drive growth and opportunities across the nation.”

Not a good look Harfwit - 

The Heff will be laughing in his beer...  

Going off today's article in the Oz - Airservices targets $100m in cuts as first loss looms..

..Airservices Australia will soon embark on an “ambitious’’ transformation program to slash more than $100 million from its cost base as the organisation prepares to post its first financial loss in over 20 years.


The Australian can reveal the government-owned organisation — which employs more than 4000 staff and manages air traffic around the nation’s busiest and largest airports as well as co-ordinating rescue and firefighting services for on-site accidents — will post more than a $10 million loss this financial year as spiralling costs hurt its bottom line. The company made a $4.5m profit last financial year.

While Airservices continues to pull in just over $1 billion a year in revenue, the organisation’s costs continue to eclipse its income due to backroom inefficiencies and stalling airline fees.

But new Airservices chief Jason Harfield is taking action to reign in those costs and has put in place a 12-month transformation plan internally titled “Accelerate” to recast the organisation’s ­expense base.

“Our profit was over $4m last year but this year we will record a loss,’’ Mr Harfield told The Australian.

“It will be the first loss (Airservices has recorded) in 20 odd years and that’s the real indication that the operating model needs to be looked at.

“It served us well but the way we have operated the organisation is no longer sustainable.

“Over the last 10 years, we’ve had revenue growth of about 5 per cent, which really came on the back of the mining boom. But that has come off and the capacity wars of the two major airlines changed, and those dynamics meant our revenue has plateaued.

“The problem we have is that our cost base has continued to grow at 6 to 7 per cent.

“A lot of that was fixed on the regulatory nature of our service provision but a lot was also inefficiencies, which have grown through the organisation over time.”

Mr Harfield said there would be no “sacred cows” as the program comes into effect on July 1. It will hone in on three target areas: Airservices’ operating model and how it functions; asset and program management; and technological improvements in back office functions. Mr Harfield has set the Accelerate program a deadline of July 1 next year for completion.

The running of the program coincides with a moratorium on the fees Airservices charges airlines until July 2017.

The current pricing agreement was to expire on June 30 and was to be replaced by a 5.3 per cent rise in the first year of the five-year deal, with a weighted average of 3.3 per cent over the life of the agreement.

“I don’t think it’s fair that the industry should pay for inefficiencies that we have in the organisation. So I want to clean them up before we go out with a price increase,” Mr Harfield said.

He said the internal changes would cut job numbers, but he said frontline staff including air traffic controllers and emergency services staff would not be immediately affected.

“The first part of the Accelerate program will not touch the front line but it will touch back of house staff,” he said.

“The front line is efficient and is delivering right but I do want to make it more efficient. But I do expect to see a reduction in our staffing footprint (overall).”

With the changes in place, Mr Harfield expects Airservices to drive a double-digit reduction in its cost base, which would equate to more than $100m a year.

“It will be quite significant. I can’t be specific now because we are going through the detail but we have a target on what will be achievable. To recorrect the path we are on, we would need to look at a double digit reduction, which makes this very ambitious,” he said.

The internal changes at Airservices come ahead of the implementation of its $1.5bn OneSKY project to integrate the civilian and military air traffic control and navigation systems with new radar in a state-of-the-art system by 2021.

“The OneSKY program, which will have a life of 25 years, will underpin over a trillion dollars to the Australian economy so it’s not something we can stuff up. We need to do it,” Mr Harfield said.

“But we weren’t match fit to deliver it and that’s what I’ve been changing.

“I’ve grown up in this organisation. I know where the skeletons are but I also know the potential of this organisation and I believe I’m the one with the ability to unlock it.”

 ..on ASA being financially in the red for the first time in its 20 year existence, now might be a good time to flog it off before Harfwit and those other make believe executive wannabes junk the value of ASA even further?? - just saying


MTF...P2

[Gobbledock]

Electric Blue said;

“I’ve grown up in this organisation. I know where the skeletons are but I also know the potential of this organisation and I believe I’m the one with the ability to unlock it.”

Oh puuuuulease, spare us. Get your hand off it you egotistical arse licker. You - unlock ASA? The only thing you need to unlock is your tongue from Sir An(g)us anus mate.

Dipshit.....

[Gobbledock]

Sydney airspace aircraft vanishing act

ATC aren't happy;

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-02...rt/7376740

More disappearing planes, more crap technology, more smoke and mirrors from the billion dollar business!

I predict four things to stem form this article and revelation;

1) The pissweak Sir Anus will go into hiding
2) Electric Blue will be donning the blue suit and claiming that he, as the airspace Messiah, sees no pertinent issues
3) Electric Blues poodle and media presstitute will be writing a media response (once he finishes his Tuesday tongue cleansing of Electric Blue's chocolate rim)
4) Hoody will do some ATC P.R work and try to settle his troops. (Perhaps a good excuse to throw a Toga party and put it on the corporate expense card?)

P_666

[Peetwo]

Good catch Gobbles...

Courtesy the other Aunty:

Sydney Airport plane tracking system regularly failing, workers fear for passenger safety


Exclusive by national technology reporter Jake Sturmer Updated yesterday at 7:25pm



Photo
Airservices Australia still uses the system, allowing them to land more planes per hour.
ABC News: Giulio Saggin


A critical plane tracking system at Australia's busiest airport is failing regularly, leaving air traffic controllers deeply concerned about safety.

Key points:

• 15 failures detected in WAM system in last month alone, according to controller fault logs
  
• Earliest recorded failure has been at 9:10am
  
• At no time should "expediency take precedence over safety", Civil Air says
  
  

The failures have so far not resulted in any major safety incidents at Sydney Airport, but air traffic controllers fear it is only a matter of time.

When the system fails, planes disappear from one screen and are only visible on the older, slower radar screen.

In the last month alone, there were 15 failures detected in the Wide Area Multilateration (WAM) system, according to controller fault logs obtained by the ABC.

Despite the problems, Airservices Australia continues to use the system, which allows them to land more planes per hour.

The organisation, which manages Australia's airspace, has acknowledged some concerns about instability and agreed to only rely on the system between 7:00am and 9:00am — peak times during weekdays.

The earliest recorded failure has been at 9:10am and controllers believe the use of the entire system should be suspended until it is fixed, or staff get the right training.

Do you know more? Email investigations@abc.net.au

Internal defect reports describe WAM problem as 'systematic'


Photo A controller's log of failures in the WAM system from March 20 to April 18.
Supplied

The air traffic controllers' union, Civil Air, believes at no time should "expediency take precedence over safety".

What is Wide Area Multilateration (WAM)?

• In order to land more planes per hour during poor visibility conditions, such as low cloud, air traffic controllers use a sophisticated surveillance system called WAM
  
• WAM is faster than radar
  
• Allows controllers to land planes on Sydney Airport's parallel runways, where they are separated by a few seconds (1 kilometre)
  
• When WAM fails, planes disappear from one screen, only appearing on the separate radar — leaving controllers unable to accurately determine if aircraft are potentially heading into one another
  
  

The ABC has seen emails to management where staff express "no confidence" in the system and fear that "there is a norm forming of acceptable instability".

Controller logs of faults obtained by the ABC from between March 20 and April 18 this year show the system has failed 15 times and internal defect reports have described the problem as "systematic".

If the aircraft are not 2 nautical miles (3.7 kilometres) apart when the WAM fails, controllers have to divert all planes on final approach to the runway — known as a multiple breakout — which is a scenario that controllers have not been trained for.
[/url]
Video 2:10 Passenger safety concerns after plane tracking system fails
[url=http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-02/passenger-safety-concerns-after-plane-tracking-fails/7377720]ABC News

Instead of breaking out two planes, controllers could be breaking out up to six and "tripling their workload", according to Civil Air.

"The reality is we haven't simulated breaking out six aircraft," Civil Air president Daryl Hickey said.

"These people can deal with these complex situations quite well but the reality is we haven't trained for it, we haven't simulated for it.

"So we couldn't say with any certainty what might happen."

Controllers have not yet had to run the untrained multiple breakout scenario — as when the WAM has failed, the planes have been more than 2 nautical miles apart.

On its website, Airservices Australia states WAM and "Parallel Runway Monitoring (PRM) can potentially cut air traffic delays caused by poor weather by as much as 80 per cent".

This can have significant flow-on effects — if the number of planes per hour drops significantly, more flights would be placed into lengthy holding patterns and some would most likely be cancelled.

Email sent to staff as controller dissatisfaction builds

Air traffic controller concerns have been building and management was forced to quell dissatisfaction two weeks ago.

If you're unable to identify what's causing the fault then we don't think you can say with any certainty that it won't happen at an earlier time in the day.

Civil Air president Daryl Hickey

"We understand that several of you are not satisfied that we have followed the [Safety Management System] in our risk assessment and management of the WAM issue," the email to staff read.

"The control to only use PRM [and using WAM] between the hours of 7:00am to 9:00am is providing the same level of operational risk as we have always carried.

"We do not expect to have a failure between the hours of 7:00am to 9:00am.

"There have been no failures, whether we are in PRM or not, between the hours of 7:00am to 9:00am.

"This is why we are only going to run PRM between 7:00am to 9:00am. This is a standard aviation risk-based approach."

But that is not a presumption Civil Air accepts.

"If you're unable to identify what's causing the fault then we don't think you can say with any certainty that it won't happen at an earlier time in the day," Mr Hickey said.

Airservices Australia is also forcing airlines to carry 50 per cent more holding fuel (30 minutes extra as opposed to 20 minutes) during PRM operations.

In a statement, Airservices Australia acknowledged an "issue" but said it maintained "multiple redundancy in all its surveillance systems".

"Any single system unavailability does not impact aviation safety," a spokesperson said.

"Our highly trained controllers have the skills and knowledge to manage system unavailability.

"Airservices has been working closely with the vendor since December 2015 to resolve an issue … which can have some impact on the number of landing aircraft during poor weather."

Losing aircraft, software glitches...yada..yada, reminds me of some of the issues highlighted in this past post of mine - ASA - She'll be right mate??:

..Airservices Australia considered a similar limitation for the 787 fleet last year because of the same software problem, but the consequences would have been more severe. Unlike Canada, Australia mandates that all aircraft above 29,000ft must have ADS-B transponders.


A blacklisted aircraft would be treated the same as one that is not equipped with ADS-B, forcing 787 operators such as Jetstar to remain below 29,000ft while in Australian airspace.


Ultimately, Airservices Australia decided to accept the “risk” of allowing 787s to operate in ADS-B-mandated airspace with standard separation distances, ICAO’s reports show...

...[b]Finally, the agency blacklisted the 787 on surface management systems at three airports – Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. But the airport restriction was only intended to raise awareness about the issue, as other airport position monitoring systems can pinpoint the 787’s location on the surface...

...[b]Around four months later, Airservices Australia noticed a similar problem when a Jetstar 787 appeared to deviate “significantly” off-track, then suddenly “jump” back to the planned route on a controller’s screen, the ICAO documents say...[/b][/b]

MTF...P2

[Kharon]

There’s non so deaf etc.

When a person like Civil Air president Daryl Hickey expresses concerns, the powers that be need to start paying attention, serious attention and get something done, quick smart.  These are not the pandering, mindless mouthing’s of a hapless lapdog in a dreadful suit.  These are the words of a man who runs one of the most efficient, effective ‘associations’ in Australia.  His members can and do express their expert, calm, pragmatic concerns to their association. Note, the members are subject to some fairly hefty responsibility and liability; and, if they are ‘concerned’ then the minister needs to be afraid, very afraid.

This is not some dog barking or a child crying wolf.  These are intelligent, dedicated, responsible people.  The right advice is there for the minister – the blood will, most definitely, be on his hands if the unthinkable ever happens and he has taken advice from the happy clappy, match fit buffoon.  Take Hickey and Hood into a back room minister, get the real gubbins and act, swiftly, correctly and promptly; while you may.

Oh, and don't even think of hiding behind the 'caretaker' firewall; score the points now, then even if you loose power, you will have a fairly substantial stick with which to beat the opposition.  Think on.

Selah.

[Gobbledock]

"Take Hickey and Hood into a back room minister"

While dressed in toga's?

On a serious note my sources tell me that the ATC's are rumbling louder than Truss's bowels after too much cheese intake.
They are not happy with Electric Blue's official appointment, not happy with the limp wristed weakling Houston, not happy with 'Million dollar Harry', and not happy that they are being worked to the bone and are exhausted and undervalued shift workers who are treated like dogs begging for scraps at the dinner table while the Executives enjoy 6 star holidays and reacharounds with Thales executives at overseas locations!!

The Minister for perfect hair might not give a shit, and neither do any other bureaucrats. But surely the Red Rat and it's opponent Il Deuce must be pissed off with how much they are slugged by ASA's incompetent management while they live the life of Riley at the expense of what they charge the airlines in fees and charges?

I wonder if Scotty MacMillan of Alliance fame will pop up and give the ASA a spray? After all, Scottys airline also funds the ASA trough!

Oink oink Miniscule. Your clock is ticking.

[Kharon]

The case for:

Privatisation of ASA ala Canada makes so much sense, (a) it works and (b) it takes all the ‘troughery’ (well, most of it) out of the equation.  The TAAAF and AOPA suggestions have much fiscal merit and the government gets rid of much potential for great embarrassment.

Remember that Clark fellah in Estimates, condescending, smooth talking, arrogant twat; sat there and said “we run a billion dollars business”. Etc.  Lying hound, they were gifted a monopoly and it was air services money paying for all the extensive, expensive business’ and ‘training’ jollies to Las Vegas and Paris.  

I find it hard to see how any responsible government can allow things to continue on as they are; the warnings are writ large.  ‘The words of the prophet are written on the dunny walls’ and after the resounding noise of metal meeting metal at speed and stench of melting flesh will the sounds of silence reverberate around a shocked world?

I’ll reiterate – if Civil Air are expressing concern, then something needs to be done by government, before the association decides to act for them.  Rolling strikes perhaps, not for pay increases; but for the safety of the travelling public.

Toot bloody toot.

[Peetwo]

The case for:

Privatisation of ASA ala Canada makes so much sense, (a) it works and (b) it takes all the ‘troughery’ (well, most of it) out of the equation.  The TAAAF and AOPA suggestions have much fiscal merit and the government gets rid of much potential for great embarrassment.

Remember that Clark fellah in Estimates, condescending, smooth talking, arrogant twat; sat there and said “we run a billion dollars business”. Etc.  Lying hound, they were gifted a monopoly and it was air services money paying for all the extensive, expensive business’ and ‘training’ jollies to Las Vegas and Paris.  

I find it hard to see how any responsible government can allow things to continue on as they are; the warnings are writ large.  ‘The words of the prophet are written on the dunny walls’ and after the resounding noise of metal meeting metal at speed and stench of melting flesh will the sounds of silence reverberate around a shocked world?

I’ll reiterate – if Civil Air are expressing concern, then something needs to be done by government, before the association decides to act for them.  Rolling strikes perhaps, not for pay increases; but for the safety of the travelling public.

Raiders of the OneSKY trough: cont/-

The ASA session at Estimates lasted less than 2 minutes, so is not worth regurgitating. However I did notice that the Hooded one was absent and now I think I know why..  

Hoodlum to take over from Beaker -

Well here's a turn up for the books, from Binger courtesy of the Oz:

New ATSB chief Greg Hood faces tough choice

The federal government has appointed former Airservices executive Greg Hood to replace Martin Dolan as the head of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.


The appointment will be announced today by Minister for ­Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester, who will grant Mr Hood a five-year term, starting from July 1, 2016, as the chief commissioner of the ATSB.

Mr Hood will replace Mr Dolan, who has been in the media spotlight for the past two years as the head of the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

As one of his first duties, Mr Hood will have to make the difficult decision whether or not to continue the search for the missing aircraft.

“They way I see it, there is still 15,000sq km to go and it would be remiss of us not to continue being hopeful until that area is searched,” Mr Hood told The Australian.

“MH370 and what transpires with the search will be my biggest immediate challenge.

“But any decision to extend, expand or curtail the search will be a very delicate decision to be taken in conjunction with the Australian, Malaysian and Chinese governments.”

In 18 months of searching, submersible vessels equipped with cutting-edge sonar equipment have not been able find any trace of the Boeing 777, which was on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 passengers when it disappeared on March 8, 2014.

The search — which has cost Australian taxpayers about $90 million — is expected to cease by the end of June if no fresh evidence is found.

Mr Hood has more than 30 years’ experience in the transport sector, most recently as executive general manager of Air Traffic Control at Airservices Australia.

He previously held several senior management positions in the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASE) including executive manager of the Operations Division.

“This appointment will enable the ATSB to continue to perform its vital role as the national transport safety investigator to the high standards expected by Australians,” Mr Chester said.

    
Still absorbing the implications of this appointment, 1st take is that this is actually a very good thing. One thing Hoody definitely knows is where all the shelf-wared skeletons of PelAir cover-up & Airtex/Skymaster (Canleyvale tragedy) are buried...

Time will tell whether he can return 'Reason' & credibility to the ATSB but he definitely is not a Muppet like Dolan with NFI...   

Given the serious implications highlighted by the SMH article - Sydney Airport plane tracking system regularly failing, workers fear for passenger safety - and the Ferryman posts that followed, perhaps Hoody has picked a good time to jump ship... 

Don't mention the "T" word -

Meanwhile Harfwit is still preaching "nothing to see here..move along", courtesy Binger from the Oz:

Airservices defends consultancy payments

• Mitchell Bingemann
  
• The Australian
  
• May 6, 2016 12:00AM
  

The chief executive of Airservices Australia has defended the awarding of millions of dollars in contracts to an obscure Canberra-based consultancy firm, saying it was “value for money” and that the imminent release of a government investigation into the awarding of those deals will find nothing wrong.

The Australian National Audit Office late last year launched an investigation into consultancy contracts awarded to the International Centre for Complex Project Management for Airservices’ $1.5 billion OneSKY air traffic control and navigation project, which will integrate military and civilian airspace management by 2021.

The probe was launched after a Senate rural and regional affairs and transport legislation committee said Airservices’ dealings with ICCPM carried possible conflicts of interest.

The Senate committee was told how a “husband and wife team” had been on opposite sides of a contract transaction between Airservices and ICCPM over One­SKY. It also heard that former RAAF officer and chairman of ICCPM, Harry Bradford, had received $1 million to act as lead negotiator on Airservices’ behalf in its dealings with Thales — the international aerospace company that has the lead contract for OneSKY — when the chairman of ICCPM at the time, Chris Jenkins, was Thales managing director.

In its investigation — the results of which are to be released this month — the audit office has looked at whether Airservices has “effective procurement arrangements” in place, with a particular emphasis on whether consultancy contracts entered into with ICCPM were “effectively administered”.

But Airservices chief Jason Harfield has spoken out ahead of the ANAO’s imminent release of its findings, saying that while processes could have been better executed, no wrongdoing was committed by the organisation.

“Could we have done things better or in a different way? Yes, we could have done this better but no one has done anything wrong, and this was about an organisation wanting to make sure it could deliver on what it has promised,” Mr Harfield told The Australian.
Mr Harfield said it was necessary to engage ICCPM’s Mr Bradford as a negotiator because he carried expertise that spanned across both the civilian aviation and air force sectors. He said the $1m paid to Mr Bradford for his consultancy services “absolutely” represented value for money.

“This is not something we do every day and the size and complexity of the negotiation and the fact you are bringing in not only Defence and Airservices together but the supplier too. When we were originally looking for a lead negotiator, we looked at the cost of going to the big four — KPMG or PwC — and the rate that we were going to get (from Mr Bradford) was less than what we would have had to pay there,” he said. “When you think that this is a $1.5bn program over 25 years and to invest $1m on someone to help negotiate the contract, it’s money well spent. Yes you can sit there and say this price tag is big, but the value for money from our opinion is very much there for where we have got to and where we are going.”

An internal review of Airservices’ dealings with ICCPM found that while there were no actual conflicts of interest, there were flaws in the company’s handling of the contract arrangements that could lead to a “perceived” conflict of interest. “We could have in hindsight managed the contractual arrangements better with ICCPM so we have made changes,” Mr Harfield said.

“We still have a relationship with ICCPM but it’s in a very different form to how it was previously to make sure those perceptions are better managed. We are now contracting direct with individuals instead of going through ICCPM and we are making sure that the protocols around that are much more transparent.”

Mr Harfield said Airservices engaged ICCPM to negotiate on its behalf as it did not have the expertise necessary to close the $1.5bn OneSKY contract.

Airservices and the Department of Defence have handed over about $8m in consultancy fees to ICCPM since it was engaged in 2010.

“We were always going to ask for assistance and help. We have a history of not being able to do this right with simple projects. So we asked for assistance as it’s not the capability that we have in the organisation,” Mr Harfield said.

“The one thing I want to make clear is the positions and ICCPM and their contribution were in most cases and in particular the roles that have been mentioned in The Australian were joint decisions by Defence and Airservices and a lot of those were paid a portion by Defence as well as Airservices.”

  
Hmm...funny how Thales only gets one passing mention...



MTF...P2

[Peetwo]

The OneSKY (Thales) trough runneth over -

Well in light of Harfwit's "nothing to see here" plea above and the Hoody defection to the ATSB, the following from 'that man,' via the Oz, is kind of embarrassing..

Airservices Australia execs racked up $40,000 bill on Paris trips

• Ean Higgins
  
• The Australian
  
• May 6, 2016 12:00AM
  

Airservices Australia chief executive Jason Harfield has owned up to being one of the four executives who made trips to Paris for talks with aerospace group Thales that collectively cost more than $40,000.

Details of the Paris trips in December and January were fiercely guarded secrets the Airservices media unit attempted to keep hidden from the public and the aviation industry that funds the government-owned organisation.

They were only revealed by The Australian last month following a freedom of information application.

The FOI information produced documents showing two pairs of Airservices officials made the trips to talk with Paris-based aerospace group Thales, the lead contractor on the $1.5 billion OneSKY air traffic control project.

The executives flew business class and stayed at a four-star Paris hotel, on the three or four days they were in the French capital each time.

Thales has more than 3000 staff in Australia to deal with customers here, leading the president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Marc De Stoop, to brand the trips an example of what he claimed was extravagant and unnecessary expenditure.

The issue of trips to Paris, and other spending by executives and huge fees for consultants, has also been a bone of contention among dissident Airservices staff.

Airservices, which runs the country’s air traffic control and airport rescue services, has appointed Thales the principal supplier for OneSKY, which will integrate the civilian and military ATC systems into a new state-of-the-art service by 2021.

Even after The Australian received the FOI information detailing the trips, Airservices media would not reveal which executives went on them.

But with a second FOI request in train to find out which executives took the trips to the City of Light, Mr Harfield revealed the answer in an interview with The Australian.

He said he and Airservices chairman Angus Houston had made the trip in January, while general manager of future service delivery Nick King along with chief financial officer Paul Logan went in December as part of the negotiations with Thales.

“We’ve had a long-term relationship with Thales, 25 years, as well as the fact that Thales is our current incumbent supplier,” Mr Harfield said.

“We agreed that the chair and CEOs will get together twice a year, once in Paris and once here in Australia.

“The chairman and myself will probably go again next year. It’s once a year for us.
“Patrice Caine — the group chairman (and CEO) of Thales was out here in October last year. This is an ongoing thing.”

Mr Harfield said it was necessary for Mr King and Mr Logan to travel to Paris for talks with Thales because the French capital is home to the company’s air traffic management business.

“The actual headquarters for air traffic management — although there is a unit in Melbourne of about 80 people — is actually in Paris,” he said.

“We went as part of negotiations. It was a joint Airservices/defence delegation.
“The trip with the two executives will be a one off. No other one planned … unless we have to go to air traffic management headquarters.”

Details of other spending, including on Airservices credit cards, were requested by The Australian but not voluntarily provided. Those are now also subject to an FOI application.
Additional reporting: Mitchell Bingemann

Keeping digging Higgo & Binger...
What a good time to consider flogging off ASA - see HERE TAAAF Aviation policy pdf page 17 (R12) & pg 39 -
MTF...P2

[Gobbledock]

Snouts in the trough


Sneaky An(g)us and Electric Blue;

"Details of the Paris trips in December and January were fiercely guarded secrets the Airservices media unit attempted to keep hidden from the public and the aviation industry that funds the government-owned organisation.
They were only revealed by The Australian last month following a freedom of information application".

Houston has always been a sneak. Harfwit has 'learned the ways of the trough' from his Master, An(g)us.

The heart of the matter is this; if there is nothing untoward, dishonest or inappropriate, why cover it up? Why does The Australian need to go through FOI to get the information? Houston and Harfwit have been caught covering up, simple.
ASA is a cash cow for executives to spend as they please. The airlines should be furious because while their aircraft are playing hide n seek with antiquated systems the ASA top brass are living the life of luxury. Disgusting!

"Safe trough swimming for some"