[Peetwo]

Yes Minister the numbers don't lie...

Last couple of weeks of quotable quotes, from the Aunty Pru TOI (timeline of incompetence) monitoring of one Oliver Skidmore's reign of CAsA while deeply inflicted with AIOS...

But, only in the eye of the beholder.

Not so, according to Skidmore.  He is actually bragging, to all and sundry that administrations from all over the world ring him to discover, for themselves just how the Australian system works; it seems, according to Skidmore, that they all want to throw out their simple, ICAO compliant rule sets and follow the sterling example.  This, boys and girls is not a tale of my imagining.  Nope, I have had this now from several who I would count amongst the sane; they always look either slightly stunned or bemused when they tell the tale.

If, and it is a seriously big IF; anyone from overseas a rings OST to discuss ‘Australian’ aviation regulatory reform it is because they either (a) cannot believe the stories of wrack and ruin are true and need to hear it from the horses arse; or, (b) they want to know how to extort the serious amounts of money the scam of regulatory reform provides

I have little doubt that the reports of Skidmore repeating this fairy tale to any who question the shambles are true.  This leaves us with a man clearly not only out of his depth, but one who is quite happy to be the front man to one of the greatest rip-offs ever inflicted on the tax payer. The story also casts serious doubts over probity – if this is the yarn being flogged, hand over heart, to a hapless minister, dumb enough to believe it; then we are all in serious trouble.

This is not even mildly amusing: nothing like an aging maiden Aunt who talks to the ‘wee folk’ at the bottom of the garden, believing that fairy pooh make the sprouts grow better.  This is not remotely funny.  What we have here is either a venal, gross deception, a fraud perpetrated on ministers of the crown; or, someone who should be introduced to your Aunt.   Either way, the road to reform is not only blocked by those who make a living from it, but by the person who is; or was, expected to remove the blockage.

It is not only my opinion – Skidmore must resign or be put out to pasture on the grounds of diminished responsibility; not only being a danger to himself, but to others. You need look no further than his treatment of CVD or the Part 61 fiasco to find unequivocal evidence. His response to the ASRR beggars belief and answers all questions of intent.  The sad part? Well, I believe he actually believes all is well and he can bluff his way out of the unholy mess.

Selah.

Just someone else's OP - Part I

Yet another slap in the face for the Rev Forsyth & his esteemed, fully 'independent' crew:

From the IOS Penal Colony: "Not happy Oliver!" 

Used to fly students into Ansett and the then Australian Airlines maintenance hangars at Tulla. Both companies were very cooperative taking us in for educational tours. Made a few of these evening flights, one memorable for watching a Fokker Friendship being towed into one of those hangars alongside something with rear engine nacelles, probably a DC9. Must have been a dozen staff able to watch standing around while we looked on and I thought to myself that F27 wingtip will collide with the jet's engine nacelle. It did. Not too serious, screw drivers out and went to work to change the wing tip. I made a mental safety report on the spot, in one third of a second not three years, that goes like this;  "if you don't look you will not see."

 Reminds me of the chief of CASA who has asked AOPA for the facts regarding the decline of GA and is then shown the CASA figures which do show the disastrous decline that's been obvious for years. Yes you might have your eyes open but if you can't be bothered, or don't want to see, then mind blanking will prevail.

Via Oz Flying:

2016 CASA Stakeholder Relationship Survey
CASA 2016 Stakeholder Relationship Action Plan

Read more at http://www.australianflying.com.au/lates...41e6MDE.99

 

Can you believe what's attached to that 2nd link? - 90 pages of glossy dribble trying to desperately turn a sow's ear into a silk purse.. - Please can someone with authority or political sway get a grip here, the three aviation safety stooges are running amok in the asylum, FDS!

The Last Minute Hitch: 19 August 2016

"The DG might be pointing in the right direction, but the leg is long and there are headwinds."

Read more at http://www.australianflying.com.au/the-l...SwzaKMh.99

Sandy follows up, via one of the PAIN email chains, with what I believe is intended to be a posted comment on the Oz Flying article:

It beggars belief that taxpayer and industry money has been wasted compiling this report. Not to mention an insult to three distinguished Panel Members of the Forsyth report. It is true that the Forsyth report recommended that stakeholder surveys should be made alongside KPIs to be indentified. Their report made it abundantly clear, from an independent viewpoint, that General Aviation had an extremely poor regard for the regulator, the spendthrift CASA. CASA chose to largely ignore Forsyth, but then Director of Air Safety Mr. Skidmore declared that the Forsyth report was just an opinion. 

The real question is simply what's the point until and unless there are substantial reforms in place and then measure the success or otherwise? 

There was no need whatever for the C B report to restate the 'bleeding obvious' and a state of affairs that has existed and grown worse over many years. Can't help wondering what was the cost of this report and how was this firm selected? The costing should have been be reported along with the findings. 

Anyone with any interest in aviation should alert their Parliamentary representatives to the shameful actions of CASA, the ongoing destruction of small aviation business, waste and extraordinary mismanagement, AVMED, SIDs, ADS B, the tip of iceberg. Talking to CASA will not bring about any meaningful reform. 

Sandy Reith

 
&.. This AM Thorny cribbed a Leady post from off the UP - HERE - and of course the "K" Sunday ramble over on the Dazzling Dazza's shame thread - Irresistible force paradox.

...The latest, expensive, touchy-feely, vomitus ‘report’ -  (HERE) - produced at CASA’s behest, on the industry credit card is an expense we could well have been spared. It is not only insulting to the Rev. Forsyth and his ‘expert’, independent team; but assumes the industry is as green as it is cabbage looking. The CASA response to the report – classic, copy-book stuff; more time, more money, more shuffling, more window dressing, Oh, and new ‘statement’ neckwear for the top deck.  This, all to support the deceit in a text book bureaucratic smoke and mirrors charade...  

Well apparently the straw that broke the camel's back was that - latest, expensive, touchy-feely, vomitus ‘report’ -  (HERE) ; check out Binger's latest (via the Oz) with this damning headline - Survey shows industry’s deep loathing for CASA. Not a good look if your the Minister... :

Phil Hurst says CASA has ‘a major management problem with transparency and accountability’. Picture: Ray Strange - P2 Edit: Sorry Binger no offence to Mr Strange but IMO the above pic is better...

• Mitchell Bingemann
  
• The Australian
  
• 12:00AM August 26, 2016
  @Mitch_Hell
  [img=0x0]http://pixel.tcog.cp1.news.com.au/track/component/author/4c134add4c3a9e4881f7841b69d9ac85/?esi=true&t_product=the-australian&t_template=s3/austemp-article_common/vertical/author/widget&td_bio=false[/img]
  

Infrastructure and Transport Minister Darren Chester has told the aviation regulator to pick up its game after an inaugural survey into its performance revealed a deep schism between it and the ­industry it oversees.

The minister’s warning to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority came as the nation’s air safety boss, Mark Skidmore, yesterday resigned from the aviation regulator after just 20 months. It is understood the two incidents are not linked.

"..The minister’s warning to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority came as the nation’s air safety boss, Mark Skidmore, yesterday resigned from the aviation regulator after just 20 months. It is understood the two incidents are not linked.."     - Yeah right!

The results of the government-ordered survey, by research agency Colmar Brunton, shows large segments of the aviation industry hold a deep dissatisfaction towards CASA on a range of issues.

More than 1200 respondents completed the survey, exceeding CASA’s target of 800, that shows about 46 per cent of the industry was “dissatisfied or very dissatisfied” when it came to their relationship with the regulator. Just 25 per cent of respondents said they were satisfied.

A key concern was a perception that CASA could be overly punitive rather than collaborative when it came to solving issues.

The organisation’s service delivery also copped a beating: 49 per cent of respondents said they were disappointed and CASA’s dialogue with the industry came out with a similar number of dissatisfied customers.

The most damning finding is the regulator’s score on its development of aviation safety regulations. On that issue, 58 per cent of respondents were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.

A CASA spokesman said the organisation had developed a “comprehensive action plan in response to the survey’s findings, with work already under way in many key areas”.

CASA said it would test new regulations through internal peer review, where regulatory development and operational staff would assess impacts on industry before introducing new rules.

It also said new methods of consultation would be trialled, including enhanced online and greater face-to-face inter­action.

“CASA’s aim is for the aviation community and CASA to be partners in safety and we are working hard to achieve this goal,” the CASA spokesman said.

Mr Chester welcomed the findings of the survey, saying Australia’s enviable aviation safety record was due to the “important work of CASA in partnership with the aviation sector”.

But he also said “while progress has been made to improve the relationship between CASA and industry, there’s always more work to be done.”

“The survey has clearly highlighted that there are a range of areas where CASA needs to continue to improve,” he said.

Aerial Application Association of Australia chief executive Phil Hurst said the survey was a “fundamental confirmation of how broken CASA still is”.

“That is a damning indictment of CASA’s management and its inability to act decisively on yet another comprehensive review of its shortcomings,” Mr Hurst said.

“If anyone in business received this sort of feedback from clients they would either be out of business or doing everything within their power to claw back their reputation and trust.

“CASA is doing neither. CASA still has a major management problem with transparency, accountability and in developing ways to work positively with industry to create win-win scenarios.”

Mr Hurst said CASA needed to invert its philosophy to help industry be better, rather than forcing unworkable regulations that were crippling it with onerous costs.

“Someone at CASA — either the board or the minister — must step up and address these fundamental shortcomings urgently. AAAA strongly supports the minister and the board acting decisively to address the ongoing dysfunctionality of our aviation regulator,” he said. - Phil Hurst in bold: P2 OP - Again in not too many words Phil Hurst absolutely nails it - CF for PH...

Miniscule minder:"Yes minister, that little chap said that you are stark naked. Do you want me to go back an censor some of your last selfie-tweeps ??" -


MTF...P2

Ps Not sure who down there in Canberra is currently responsible for pulling Dazzling Dazza's strings but whoever it is could they please keep doing it and a lot harder...