[Peetwo]

A world of hurt.

Coming off the excellent P2 research HERE – “Just saying - But how's that working out for you, oh carefully manicured & coiffured miniscule for NFI?”

I reckon we are all grown up enough here to realise that there is more to being a ‘government’ than just running the place in a peaceful, prosperous manner. To form a ‘government’ is a twisted, complex Gordian knot, deals within deals, promises within promises and favours; both owed and due. I can, sort of, live with that. But when it comes to the selection of ‘ministers’ there should/must be a line drawn between ‘politics’ and patronage. OK, you have ‘obligations’ to others – fine. But then government ministers do have a far greater responsibility, to ‘the people’ which should/must transcend petty alliances and favours owed.

Aviation is a perfect example of why it is essential to select ‘ministers’ carefully; or, at least prudently.  When a new start apprentice first enters a busy workshop they do not place the apprentice in sole charge of a complex, dangerous, expensive, vital machine – doesn’t happen for what should be self evident reasons. Yet they bring in some smooth talking, professional ‘vote catcher’ who used to be a snake oil salesman; plonk him in a big office somewhere and gift him the ‘transport’ portfolio – just like that.  It’s bollocks.

To ‘assist’ in ministerial decision making, with the big office comes a team of ‘advisors’. Now in the aviation case; there is much to hide. Hundreds of millions down the pipes, incompetence, intransigence, total unaccountability, and they do own a gift from the ‘gods’ –  the mystique of 'safety'. Our lucky, smooth talking swain has just landed on a very comfy Lilly pad, in the middle of a very dangerous swamp, filled with some of the vilest creatures known (and some yet to be identified). The secret to survival is to sit very, very still and under no circumstances go swimming. For to trespass in those dark, dank, smelly waters is lethal. So, there it sits, knowing that in time another passing Lilly pad, heading down stream to a greener, cleaner, much safer pasture will turn up. Just do as ‘advised’ – sign here – all good – thank you minister.

‘We’ cannot change this; not a cat in hell's chance. What we can/must do is ensure that the next CASA DAS, head of ATSB and; for pities sake, the next head of the ASA are the ‘right stuff’ and will provide the Snake oil salesman with sound, honest advice which will  help this ailing industry escape the fowl swamp. It is up to industry to ‘keep-‘em-honest’ – if not industry, then who?  

Selah.

DDDD_MNFI - Olive branch or WWC... (WWC - word weasel confection)

P2 - Before I begin I note that Chester's thread has quietly passed 40K views. Well done 4D and the choccy frog voucher is in the mail...

Following on from the insightful offering from the Ferryman, today in the Oz the new aviation editor PG Cleary has written an article that ironically points towards the fact that the miniscule Muppet 4D & his Muppetmasters may actually be taking notice of PAIN, the IOS and some of the more credible Alphabet soups...

Regional operators have Chester’s ear
12:00amPAUL CLEARY
The General Aviation Advisory Group will form at an industry round table at the Avalon Airshow next month.

Federal Transport Minister Darren Chester has responded to concerns about the pressures on general aviation by creating a new high-level advisory group.

The General Aviation Advisory Group will come together for the first time at an industry round table at the Avalon Airshow next month.

In a clear signal that the group will raise the concerns of operators in remote and regional Australia, the GAAP will be chaired by Martin Laverty, chief executive of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, and will report directly to the minister.

Mr Chester, a Nationals MP from country Victoria, has been paying close attention to representations by regional airlines and is concerned about the increased regulatory burden on small operators.

“The General Aviation Advisory Group will ensure the industry has a voice at the heart of government by providing advice directly to me on matters affecting the sector,” Mr Chester said.

“Members have a range of expertise across a wide spectrum of general aviation activities, from flight training through to manufacturing and maintenance. I am looking forward to the feedback and ideas on the future direction of our general aviation sector.”

The new group will also act as a reference body for the general aviation study being conducted by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics.

Mr Chester said the study was examining the state of general aviation in Australia, and would identify the challenges and potential opportunities for the sector. “The study is well underway, with the study team having already consulted with a range of industry associations and businesses across multiple jurisdictions,” he said.

“Together with the advisory group, we can work towards the common goal of a safe, growing and sustainable general aviation industry.”

The first formal meeting of the advisory group will be held in Canberra next month.

The general aviation industry has been concerned about proposed fatigue rules that will put added cost pressures on small charter companies and regional airlines alike.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority last month announced a review of the rules, which it is due to report by September. This is the second time that CASA has delayed the introduction of the rules...

  
So is this a real olive branch being offered to the GA industry sector, or yet another one of those mirages that keeps disappearing over the horizon?

Coupled with the 4D letters to the TAAAF & AOPA - HERE -  the next part of the Cleary offering makes me suspicious that we are about to witness the pushback from M&M and his minions... :

...Pilots who fly with the major airlines say that safety is being compromised. But the regulatory cost on the industry is also being increased by alarmist concerns about the standard of air traffic control.

Airservices Australia, which is responsible for air safety at all of Australia’s commercial airports, is trying to cut costs through a program known as Accelerate.

Airservices chief executive Jason Harfield said the cuts to back-office staff were needed to reduce costs.

He said the Accelerate program, which will cut 700 jobs, was needed to “minimise the cost burden on Australian aviation while continuing to safely perform our critical air navigation and aviation rescue fire fighting roles”.

Airservices has seen an “unsustainable” increase in overall staff numbers over the past 10 years, rising from 2996 employees in 2006 to 4468 employees in 2016.

Jim Davis, who chairs Regional Aviation Association of Australia, said he told the ABC this week that he had no concerns about air traffic control safety. He was asked by a journalist if the cuts would affect regional airports.

“I said there is no impact on operational safety issues with the changes Airservices Australia are making. I said that a couple of times. We are happy at this stage because the changes are not in a critical areas,” he said.

The ABC reported this week that the Accelerate program had created a “crisis” in air traffic control and it could cause an air disaster.

I gather the quotes are from this spiteful piece: 

ABC’s ‘selective’ safety reports
12:00amPAUL CLEARY
The ABC may have breached its charter by not reporting industry comments about air safety contrary to its reports.

Now it could be that this is a typical Newscorp v ABC journalistic ding-dong but from past experience, when the Oz was neutered by the government and it's self-serving aviation safety agencies under former aviation editor and CASA-sexual Steve Creepy, I am very cynical and suspect...  Especially when you consider some of the Aunty Pru archived 'that man' Higgins contributions on the subject of ASA & OneSKY trough funds etc..etc
Examples:

#26 Pilots, victims’ families call for change as planes fly blind

#40 Aviation watchdog CASA shares safety role  

#27 Pilots forced to weather cloudy service  

Helpful hints for Cleary...   Besides referring to your work colleague Ean Higgin's archive of articles on the diabolical shenanigans at ASA, please refer to the PAIN Youtube archive: https://www.youtube.com/user/004wercras/...shelf_id=0 

Hint: Look for tags and/or titles with words like Airservices, performance, OneSKY, ANAO, KPMG, dodgy deals, audit or even Aunty Pru...

Examples:

Happy reading and/or viewing...

MTF?- Definitely...P2