09-20-2018, 12:22 PM
More from AOPA on medical reform...
Quote:AOPA AUSTRALIA MEETS WITH SENATOR GLENN STERLE
The AOPA Australia Vice President, Richard Talbot, and Executive Director, Benjamin Morgan, has today met with Senator Glenn Sterle to discuss CASA’s failure to deliver fair and unbiased private pilot medical standards.
Under CASA’s new basic class 2 medical system private pilots are being forced to demonstrate a higher medical fitness than commercial truck drivers operating heavy B-double vehicles on Australian highways transporting dangerous goods!
CASA has imposed unfair differential safety standards that purposefully seek to deny RPL and PPL holders of a self certification private drivers licence medical standard. Yet at the same time CASA have provided a private business (RAAus) and its pilots these rights!
Quite simply it is either safe or unsafe for a private pilot to operate an aircraft in Australia on a Self certification private licence medical standard - CASA must end the double standards!
CASA should not be abusing its position and power in forcing unfair and biased aviation safety standards that seek to intentionally disadvantage RPL and PPL pilots, so as to force them into a private self administration business (RAAus) where they are exposed to fees and charges that do not exist within the CASA system!
Importantly, it appears that CASA’s decision to deny all general aviation RPL and PPL holders of a self-certification private drivers licence ??????? was made following calls from the RAAus self-administration for CASA to provide their business with a ‘competitive advantage’ threatening to hand back to the regulator the administration and management of the recreational pilot community should it adopt the same reforms as the USA and UK.
As a result of this egregious denial of pilots rights, CASA regulated RPL and PPL holders are forced to become customers of a private business (RAAus) that owns your medical, your licence and your aircraft registration! Pilots are forced to pay fees and charges that are unregulated and are subjected to oversight and disciplinary processes that are at the discretion of the private business and the personalities that run it. And, to prevent you from electing to stay within the government regulated general aviation industry, CASA have denied pilots the right to choose by refusing to provide an equal and unbiased self-certification private drivers licence ??????? standard.
It certainly appears that CASA has been influenced into protecting the private business interests of the RAAus, rather than protecting the safety concerns of the greater general aviation community.
Are we now seeing the wholesale corruption of our national aviation safety regulator? Why is CASA creating safety standards that disadvantage RPL and PPL holders, whilst deregulating the rules for a private business?
Does any of this pass the pub test?
The Deputy Prime Minister must now step up and end this abuse of power and demand that Australian private pilots be regulated equally and fairly.