[Peetwo]

A Sandy reply to PIP - 

Yesterday I opened up the latest CASA Briefing and it was with a heavy heart that I read the following bureaucratic waffle from PIP...

Director of Aviation Safety, Pip Spence
 
Human nature being what it is, people want certainty and clarity, so it's not surprising that one of the main questions that people have been asking me is what are my plans for changing CASA.
 
Having been in the role just over two months, the two key themes that have really struck me are: the significance of the changes that we are part way through implementing (both in terms of the regulatory framework and the way we operate) and the commitment of CASA staff to supporting aviation safety.
 
These two things have confirmed in my mind that my focus should be on incremental changes - we are a professional organisation, but that does not mean there is no room to improve. 
 
To identify those areas for improvement we must engage, listen and understand both with the aviation community and within the organisation. And we need to make sure that we focus on the things that are important to aviation safety as informed by the aviation community.
 
This means being open to new ideas about how to do things better. It also means addressing outstanding issues arising from changes implemented as part of our regulatory reform. I will be looking to the Aviation Safety Advisory Panel for advice on prioritising this work and developing clear timelines. We know there are issues with the rules covering pilot and engineer licensing, with a need to remove any unintended consequences. We also know there are concerns about some of the new flight examiner requirements that must be addressed.
 
CASA must also continue to improve the way we transition to new regulations and bring the aviation community with us. But the good news is the mammoth task of introducing the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations is inching closer to completion, so we are working from a much better position.
 
And the other good news is that we are building on already solid foundations.
 
I’m very mindful of the scale of change that is going on and the pressures caused by those changes. Part of my job is to make sure we continue to function at a high level through this time of change and provide the safety support the aviation community requires.

With that in mind, I’m very conscious the resurgence of COVID 19 has hit the aviation community hard in many areas.  My thoughts, and the thoughts of everyone in CASA, go out to those people in aviation whose livelihoods and careers have again been impacted by this ongoing pandemic.
 
To help both operators and pilots at this time, CASA is introducing an exemption which will allow pilots to exercise the privileges of their ratings without having to complete a flight review or proficiency check for up to 2 months past the expiry date. 
 
This flight review exemption will be available until the end of October 2021, although we will keep the COVID situation under review and make further changes if needed. It is important to note the exemption should only be used if a flight check or review cannot be undertaken due to COVID-19 restrictions. Full details of the exemption are on CASA’s website.
 
All the best Pip

However Sandy lifted my spirits with this 'no prisoners' response...

So there we have it, the first real communication from the CASA CEO, otherwise known by the really silly and excruciating title of ‘Director of Air Safety.’

Two months and nothing.

“…incremental changes..” but not one specific item.

“ And the other good news is that we are building on already solid foundations.” 
Charitably let’s assume Ms. Spence is meaning Aviation Hearse has solid foundations.
For certainly she speaks not of the much beleaguered and shrunken industry of General Aviation (GA) trying desperately to cover ever more CASA fees, and finding the time to handle CASA’s mountainous paperwork and avoid criminal prosecution for some minor misdemeanour. We have ‘crimes’ for some activities that don’t even rate a mention in the USA rules.

Does Ms. Spence expect us to believe there will be improvements? Surely in over two months she might have reviewed the pronouncements of her predecessors? If so she would understand why we don’t believe a word of it. Because belief and hope have been hammered out of us.
Words are not sufficient;  and all the words have been said over and over again but the results for GA have been “incrementally” worse and worse, death by a thousand cuts.

“…mammoth task of introducing the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations is inching towards completion.”

Who created this mammoth task and why? Well, at long last nearly finished;  after thirty three years? before inches gave way to millimetres? Not to mention $millions wasted with 830 employees beavering away. Snails move at lightning speed compared to CASA’s  never ending story.
In fact the CASRs will not be finished until they are replaced by a workable set of rules such as NZ, or better still for the harmonisation of industry, the US FARs.
But wait, Mr. Carmody told us it was all done and dusted. It really is impossible to believe that the feel good intentions of the CASA leadership will be translated into reality. Its just soft soap repeated.

Ms. Spence, with respect,

Please don’t tell us how good it is or how it is going to be improved. If you are to survive your stint with CASA and have your reputation intact, better still enhanced, you must decide to take some reform measures now to the Minister and ask him for his support.

You could start with :-

(1)  A rapprochement with Glen Buckley.
(2) Go to Minister Dutton with the recommendation from the Forsyth report to remove the ASIC requirements for GA pilots.
(3)  Private Pilot medicals same as RAAUS or USA.
(4) Delete Cessna Special Inspections for Private ops., as USA.
(5)  Allow independent instructors, same as USA where 70% of pilots are trained by independent instructors.

The last reform (5) will help to regenerate the whole of GA, a start to rebuild training throughout Australia where, due to over regulation and unnecessary regulation, we have lost some twelve hundred flying schools which is why we’ve been importing airline pilots.

Get some runs on the board and then tackle the other main problems like the wrong split of VH registered aircraft and the RAAUS system because here safety has suffered, quite apart from our loss of freedom to chose, and forcing people into a fleet of extremely low weight. RAAUS, a monopoly entity administering aircraft with an artificial weight limit, which are often not suited to Australian conditions, but are favoured by many because of a more practical regulatory environment, especially the medicals.

Make a stand within Aviation House and GA will stand with you, you will be a hero to thousands, I’m not exaggerating.

Sandy Reith.

Hmm...it my be time for Barnaby to give PIP a nudge in the right direction as it seems that (once again) the newly appointed DAS/CEO is in serious danger of being captured by the CASA Iron Ring 

 "..But the good news is the mammoth task of introducing the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations is inching closer to completion.."



So Carmody and the current CASA Board Chair have both told porky pies! Are you able to retract Queen's Birthday Gong's for misleading both the industry and the Federal parliament? 

MTF...P2