[Peetwo]

..From a channel 7 new blurb, the words “the aircraft used to be owned by a local tourism operator” seemed fairly innocuous until news started to filter through that there are criminal proceeding against the operator Barrier Aviation in the offing.  For those not familiar with that tale of woe, in short, a Cairns based tourism operator was closed down a few years back, under highly contentious circumstances.  There was much of to-do about the closure and the actions of CASA in doing so.  Now it seems there is to be a further round with the owner to be prosecuted; so at least we will be able to get hard fact on this shortly.

What happened to Barrier is a classic embuggerance and to many represents one of the darkest, dirtiest passages in the CASA history.  This is not the thing that has that has drawn attention.  The prosecution and the CASA department of undesirable tricks are the focus of future interest...  

But for mine; if this all turns out to be true it speaks volumes for the Skidmore double standard approach to regulating the industry.  Prosecution is becoming ‘popular’ when black letter application of the ‘law’ under strict liability is tested in a court, while the smiling, fluffy, feel good tambourine bashing goes in public.  Some would call that two faced, others would say it sets the seal of doom on any meaningful reform of the regulators attitude.  I say I will check this out and see what transpires.  Careful when dealing with rumour is good advice...

"Civil Aviation Safety Authority
Gerard Campbell > Executive Manager, Operations Division, CASA"

Indeed, buyer beware of this bloke. Unbelievable that he is acting as the face of Fort Fumble. And as P2 says, he is one of the last Execs from the McComic era that needs to be dispatched to somewhere like McMurdo Sound. That would leave the Witchdoctor and Flyingfiend to go!!!

Fuehrer Campbell is famous for his love of delivering unwarranted pineapples across Australia's farthest regions. And he patiently counted down the years until he had worked his way into a position where he could finally take revenge and deliver Barrier Aviation the mother of all Friday afternoon pineapples. He is a quiet snake, meandering about, not saying much, listening and observing, then acting like a firey whirlwind consuming all in its path.

Attend a pithy discussion with egg head presenting? I think not.

"Safe protected backs for all"

Spot on Gobbles, not the sort of bloke I'd want preaching to the next gen Wannabes...

For the record, from my research Herr Campbell was one of the strongest proponents of the McComic black letter law dispo, that fronted all the most sinister, weasel worded, CASA manuals & DAS directives such as the Enforcement manual:

..Most of the regulatory decisions CASA makes are such that conformity with authoritative policy and established procedures will be conducive to the achievement of these outcomes. From time to time, however, decision-makers will encounter situations in which the strict application of policy, in the making of a decision involving the exercise of discretion, would not be appropriate. Indeed, in some cases, the inflexible application of policy may itself be unlawful...

  
Hmm...on the Barrier connection, I wonder if Herr Campbell has his fingerprints on any of the (above) disturbing rumour?

The reason being that the quoted foreword from the former DAS McComic was extracted from the latest version 4.4 (published January 2016) of the enforcement manual:

Enforcement manual

Our enforcement manual outlines the policies and strategies we have in place for aviation safety compliance.
Director's preface
Revision history(last update January 2016)
Table of Contents

1. About this manual
   
2. CASA's Enforcement Policy
   
3. Initiating the Enforcement Process
   
4. Compliance-Related Action
   
5. Civil Action - Enforceable Voluntary Undertakings (EVUs)
   
6. Administrative Action
   
7. Administrative Action - Serious and Imminent Risk
   
8. Infringement Notices (Administrative Fines)
   
9. Voluntary Reporting - Aviation Self Reporting Scheme
   
10. The Demerit Points Scheme
    
11. Criminal Action - Prosecution
    
12. Access
    
13. Gathering Evidence and Handling Exhibits
    
14. Note Taking
    
15. Interviewing
    
16. Detaining Aircraft
    
17. Police Assistance
    

• Appendix 1 - Flowcharts - Coordinated Enforcement Processes
  
• Appendix 2 - The Legal basis of Regulatory Enforcement
  
• Appendix 3 - Delegations and Exercise of Powers by Delegates
  
• Appendix 4 - Guidance on the term 'fit and proper person'
  

Complete manual

 Therefore Herr Campbell is still given carte blanche to operate by the McComic black letter law dispo - FFS!  

Also passing strange, is that according to the Director's preface McCormick is still officially the DAS

UFB?- Note the version date & the moniker:

Regardless of whether the above is a reckless, indifferent administration error by the Legal Services Division, the fact still remains that Oliver Skidmore-twist condones the evil intent of the former DAS's black letter law dispensation that was lovingly abused & exploited by the likes of Wodger and Herr Campbell.

This would seem to be in direct contradiction of the CASA's adopting a 'Just Culture' and the new 10 point regulatory philosophy - OST Weasel Words to Qantas Group Safety Conference, [b]Sydney – 13 October 2015:[/b]

Employ rational ‘just culture’ principles


For a safety partnership to be sustainable for a longer period of time, there is one more important cog in the wheel we need to embrace and employ — that is the application of just culture principles.


Most people in aviation have heard the term ‘just culture’ - the concept has been around for some years and is used around the globe in aviation and other sectors involved in hazardous activities.


There are many definitions of ‘just culture’, however, generally it is used to describe an approach where if you make an honest error or mistake and report it we should look at ways to educate, train or grow necessary skills so that it does not happen again.

Of course, this doesn’t mean people can or should get away with anything, or that appropriate action taken in the interests of safety may not be necessary. Gross negligence, recklessness, wilful violations or destructive acts are not tolerated and may well be subject to punishment — there is a clear line in the sand.


I believe, the ‘just culture’ approach will enhance availability of information to CASA, which in turn will make our decisions more informed and measured. The advantage of a just culture approach is that it encourages people to be open and accountable about their mistakes, so there is better reporting of errors and the ability to learn from them is enhanced. Fear of punishment doesn’t stop people from making mistakes. But mistakes can be avoided by robust safety systems, training and an overarching commitment by everyone to achieving the best possible safety outcomes.


I will be leading CASA in implementing a just culture approach. We will work to develop a regulatory and operational environment where genuinely honest mistakes are recognised for what they are — opportunities for learning and improvement. CASA’s response will be to understand why the mistakes were made and how we can reduce the likelihood that the same mistakes will occur in the future.


Where the people and organisations involved demonstrate a willingness and ability to address errors and omissions in a responsible and constructive way, CASA will not need to take enforcement action. Certainly no punitive action will be necessary. We will encourage the individuals and organisations involved to identify and understand the factors behind mistakes. We will then support them in their efforts to develop and take the most appropriate course of action to prevent a recurrence of a mistake through further training and education, while effectively minimising risks to safety in the meantime — I consider this approach a fundamental shift from our recent past - we need to recognise that a cultural change in both CASA and industry are required to harvest the real benefits of this concept.


Elements of a just culture approach are already implicit in CASA’s enforcement policy and practice. However, we will be making this commitment clearer and more explicit as part of our overarching approach to regulatory policy and practice. Together we can all work to maintain and improve safety, while fostering trust and promoting accountability.


New Regulatory Philosophy


To complete setting the future direction for CASA, I released another important policy statement last month — CASA’s new regulatory philosophy.


The regulatory philosophy sets out ten key principles to guide and direct the way our organisation will regulate Australian aviation. What I have talked about so far has been captured in this philosophy.


I believe this new regulatory philosophy is an important milestone for both CASA and the aviation community.


There is now a clear and concise set of principles to guide all our actions


Elements of these principles are already reflected in existing policies and practices but the adoption of this regulatory philosophy will sharpen the focus on how we are performing. I am committed to ensuring these principles make a real, positive and lasting difference to the way CASA operates and the way we interact with the aviation community.


I appreciate some people may be wondering how or whether these principles will make a practical change to the way we carry out our regulatory responsibilities. So I invite the aviation community to use CASA’s regulatory philosophy as a benchmark against which our performance can be measured.

MTF...P2