Dick Smith recruits Byron to sell Act change message - 
Follow up in the Oz today:
Follow up in the Oz today:
Quote:Aviation changes still safe: expertMTF...P2
12:00amANDREW BURRELL
Australia’s aviation laws could be overhauled without compromising air safety, a former CASA chief says.
Aviation rule changes still safe, says former CASA chief
The nation’s aviation laws could be overhauled to reduce escalating costs for operators without compromising air safety, according to a former Civil Aviation Safety Authority chief.
Bruce Byron yesterday backed key changes to the Civil Aviation Act being pushed by businessman Dick Smith, who has complained about a rise in needless red tape.
He said the changes “struck the right balance” and would filter down to bureaucrats at CASA, leading to “less proscriptive” regulations that would cut costs for airlines, aerodromes, maintenance organisations and the general aviation sector.
The Australian revealed yesterday that Mr Smith, a former CASA chairman, last month secured approval from Barnaby Joyce and Anthony Albanese for a rewrite of the act, but the prospect of a bipartisan deal died with Mr Joyce’s resignation from cabinet on February 23.
Mr Joyce, then the Coalition transport minister, had agreed with Mr Albanese, his Labor counterpart, about removing a key part of the act that requires CASA to “regard safety as the most important consideration” in regulating the industry.
Under the changes, CASA would instead be required to prioritise the “highest level of safety in air navigation” with the need for “an efficient and sustainable Australian aviation industry”.
Mr Joyce, who resigned in the aftermath of his affair with political staffer Vikki Campion, declined to comment yesterday, but he did confirm the details of the proposal he agreed to as minister.
Mr Smith praised Mr Albanese for his willingness to reform the aviation sector and said he hoped the Turnbull government’s new Transport Minister, Michael McCormack, would back the proposed amendments.
Mr Byron said he had tried to make similar changes to the act when he ran CASA between 2003 and 2009. “This part of the act has sat there in stone for 30 years and I think a review of it would be appropriate,” he said yesterday after being approached by The Australian.
Mr Byron said he did not believe the amendments would affect Australia’s excellent record in air safety because organisations including airlines, maintenance companies, air traffic controllers and airports were already required to have an effective safety management system.
It was now world’s best practice to recognise that aviation could not be completely free of hazards and associated risks.
“It’s realising that you can never achieve absolute safety,” he said. “If you want that, stay in bed.
“Any transport system will have attendant risks and it’s a matter of managing them. Having a recognition of that fact enshrined in the legislation might prevent various CASA administrations from going too far.”
Mr Byron said some of the regulations that had been imposed since he left CASA appeared to have imposed an unnecessary additional cost of compliance on operators.