[P7_TOM]

Been there – Done that.

I note, with interest the Unspeakable Prune made a call for a petition to be sent off to ‘government’, decrying the CASA actions (or non action) taken against one Glen Buckley Esq. The tale is yet another, of a long procession in the annals of ‘Embuggerance’ for fun and sport. I wish ‘em well and all the good fortune in the world – however………

Way back, in A.D. 2011; a group of ‘like minded’ aviation professionals were appalled by the ‘John Quadrio’ case, it was a bench mark drawn in shear frustration. It all started (believe it or not) during a darts match and a few Ales. One of our number commented we sounded like a bunch of Barristers, arguing over a point of law. Thus, the Bar Room Barristers (BRB) came into being. The only part which may be questioned would be the ability of ‘real’ Barristers to argue aviation law against the BRB. At that very first, impromptu, light hearted ‘meeting’ there was over 150 collective years of hands on, management pilot experience, playing darts and having a quiet Ale, innocent like. Banging on as pilots do. Long story short: non of ‘us’ knew much about ‘Choppers’ – but we all knew someone who did. Perhaps we may be able to help Quadrio out of a hole – he did not dig. It amazed us just how many contacts we (collectively) had and how many contacts our contacts had; world wide. Attempting to help one of our own revealed a world wide network of ‘friends’. So, from that little acorn the ‘network’ was born. Professional Aviators Investigative Network (PAIN) grew. It became a very real, serious ‘association’, the Aunty Pru forum a natural progression. End of (boring) history lesson.

Anyway: ‘We’ decided to launch a ‘petition’ to assist Quadrio. It was a fair bit of work - particularly for P9 (#1 Son) who, through no fault of his own, ended up ‘scribe’ to collective opinion.

By now, I expect you’re wondering what the point is. Fair question. I beg your indulgence M’Lud.

I cannot provide the over 1000, written responses, for that would betray a trust. But I may provide the original ‘Limited Release’ document which was provided to PAIN associates for ‘comment and suggestion’. From  the AP archives (virus and tracker free).

In 2012 (seven years ago) a rough draft of the petition was passed around. The final version went absolutely nowhere. PAIN barely had half a dozen ‘read’ responses from ‘government’, let alone any serious political interest. It took a lot of effort to understand just how impervious ‘government’ is to the plight of the aviation industry, when the CASA ministerial protection racket has total control.

So, to G. Buckley Esq. AP would say, don’t waste time with petitions. Court costs money, but IOHO; it is the only road worth travelling.

Here, I regret, endeth the lesson. The road is long, treacherous, dangerous to travel and bloody expensive. Even so – GB only has two options; walk the miles, carry the load; or, walk away.

I can see ‘K’ at the end of the stable, pulling Ale x2 from the keg. Time to sit down, shut up and sup up.