[Peetwo]

RAAA Summer 2016/2017 newsletter -

In their latest newsletter the RAAA's Jim Davis in 'From The Lefthand Seat' outlines the areas of advocacy the association will be actively pursuing throughout 2017. Davis also gives an insider goss and update to the Department vs TAAAF dispute on the actual progress on the implementation on the Forsyth (ASRR) review recommendations:

Recently we have seen encouraging developments in some key areas which
give us hope that 2017 will be a better year on the regulatory front.

The RAAA has been lobbying hard for some time for the recommendations adopted by the Government in the Aviation Safety Regulation Review (ASRR) to be implemented in a meaningful fashion.

The reports being published by the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development on the progress of ASRR implementation were attracting strong industry criticism as being inaccurate and were seemingly designed just to tick off each recommendation without making any real attempt to accomplish the aims of the report.

In other words it was becoming a political exercise rather than a genuine attempt to achieve any significant reform. The RAAA has made repeated representations to CASA, the Department and the Minister (both previous and current) on this topic.

Until late last year we seemed to be hitting a brick wall with the relevant bureaucrats refusing to acknowledge the logic of our position.

However this has now changed with CASA convening a meeting last November with David Forsyth and industry representatives, including the RAAA. This initiative arose out of discussions at the RAAA convention and CASA is to be congratulated for it.

The meeting highlighted some serious discrepancies with industry opinion being that CASA had achieved the desired ASRR report outcome in only 33% of recommendation in contrast to the Department’s claim of 64%.

Of concern was that some key recommendations were in effect being bypassed. Further meetings are being held between the Department, CASA and David Forsyth as a consequence of this difference in assessments and it is to be hoped that these will see a satisfactory resolution of the differences.

The CASA board and the Director of Aviation Safety (DAS) have contributed to this process and genuinely want to see the recommendations implemented properly and achieve the desired outcomes. It is refreshing and encouraging to perceive this attitude at the executive level in CASA.

Another area where the RAAA has been very active and vocal is that of regulatory reform and in particular the changes brought in by CAO 48.1. CASA have announced a postponement of the implementation of this new regulation while an independent review is carried out.

The RAAA has long maintained that CASA should apply DAS Directive CASA 01/2015 and its Regulatory Philosophy to this new rule.

Until recently CASA refused to do this on the technicality that 48.1 was formulated before DAS Directive 01/2015 was published.

However, under the new DAS' sanity has finally prevailed and the Terms of Reference of the independent review into CAO 48.1 clearly state that Directive 01/2105 must apply to the new fatigue rules.

The RAAA will be actively involved in the review process and we hope to see a new set of rules that will ensure safe operations with regard to pilot fatigue whilst not unduly penalising operators. It has been done overseas and there is no reason why it cannot be done here.

Harmonisation of our regulations is another area where the RAAA has pushed for change and we will continue to do so in 2017.

It is ludicrous that Australia has generated so many unique and restrictive regulations while the rest of the world falls in line with either EASA or FAA rules.

While there will always be need for some local variations we should be aiming for as much commonality as possible. This is particularly so in aircraft and component manufacturing and certification.

There is some hope that progress is being made in these areas and hopefully we will see improvements in 2017 that will enable Australian industry to be more competitive.

However we still have a long way to go in achieving meaningful harmonisation.

Progress is also being made in the area of LAME training where the RAAA, along with AMROBA and the ALAEA, has been heavily involved with relevant Government bodies and is also a member of ETAG (the Engineering Training Action Group) and the Industry Reference Committee.

With so many different Government institutions involved in LAME training it has been a very frustrating exercise but it is vital that we see the current ruinous trends of an aging LAME population and a declining number of apprentices reversed.

The RAAA will continue to devote considerable time to achieving this in the coming year.

Our annual convention was again a success in 2016 but the RAAA board has decided on a change of venue for this year.

This is a result of feedback from those who wish to combine business with pleasure and bring family members along with them.

This year we are delighted to announce the 2017 National Convention will be held at the RACV Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast.

Not only are the facilities world class, close to both the Gold Coast and Brisbane airports and has a championship golf course but Family friendly with many activities onsite and easily accessible offsite; Australia’s famous theme parks are only 30 minutes away.

So keep the dates of 25-27 October free in your calendar and I hope to see you there!

 
MTF...P2