[Peetwo]

Follow up to last - worthy choc frog submissions...



Nominees for the Ol'Tom AP choc frog award? 

To Whom It May Concern,

I write to you with my comments and concerns regarding the recent 2 Bills relating to the “Civil Aviation (Unmanned Aircraft Levy) Bill 2020” and the upper limit of $300 stated in that Bill.

I believe the people proposing, drafting and entering this Bill for consideration are not in touch with the subject, are not experts on the matter and have no idea of the effects such a levy would impose.

I am a hobbyist. I fly fixed wing remote controlled aircraft. It is not uncommon for people such as myself to have 10, 20, 30 or even more models. By definition, these are toys which are flown at safe locations (Remote Controlled Aircraft Model Clubs). You are proposing that we need to pay a levy of $300 per aircraft which has been flown for years at no cost to the government nor CASA and has been done so safely without a single recorded safety issue.

There is no justification for this exorbitant amount which could easily run into thousands of dollars and put many out of the hobby.

It is my humble opinion that hobbyists and their aircraft should be kept and treated completely separate to
commercial activities. If the commercial sector wants to fly Remotely Piloted Aircraft for the purpose of profit then I have no qualms about a levy being charged against them. But I do have an issue with a levy and or registration fee being charged against a person who is simply conducting a hobby. As a hobbyist, what is my cost to the government or the Australian people? My cost to the government or people of Australia should be reflected in the charges issued to me by the government.

Prior to CASA wanting to register every RPA in the country for “safety” reasons, hobbyists were self regulating. Why has this changed? Where is the body of evidence that demonstrates that our hobby is dangerous and requires additional legislation and regulation. Again, there has not a been a single recorded fatality in Australia associated with our hobby.

Assign whatever levy you want to commercial interests, but implore you to keep our safe hobby affordable.

Best Regards,

Greg Butler

And nominee No.2:

...I object to this bill in the strongest possible terms particular with it's ramifications to the flying of recreational model aircraft. Not only is this legislation vague there are no protections to stop a recreational aircraft being charged $300 for registration. Such a move would kill the hobby.

However this goes to much deeper question of the attempts to regulate model aviation out of existence.
I'm curious where is the peer reviewed risk assessment this is based on? Also do we have dash cams from
actual aircraft showing drone sightings? Those of us in the hobby knows that these claims are dubious at
best. Currently the only assessment that this is based on is clearing out the 0 ‐ 400 ft airspace for
commercial gain.

Also it will be worth your while considering what is at risk here. Model aviation is a key aviation and
engineering nursery. However don't take my word for it, here it from the horses mouth of who this will
impact the most,

Is this something that you really want to throw under the bus for uncertain short term commercial gain...

MTF...P2