[Peetwo]

"From little things big things grow" - Paul Kelly 1991

From the Shame for Truss thread it would seem that the Dick Smith - "Wake up Wazza" - campaign has diverged somewhat and I get the feeling that Dick will very shortly be changing track to tackle Farmer Truss from a very different sector - "..bogies at 11'oclock...err..no hang on 6'oclock..." .

In one short week - from last week's Weekend Australian article by Ean Higgins - Dick has managed to ruffle a considerable amount of bureaucratic, fat pigeon feathers and has definitely notified his intentions to Cantberra that he is on a mission...

However it is interesting to see where Dick's first real foray has ended up?? Well from Ean Higgins article today I would say the matter has firmly landed in the nest of Ms Staib & her backstabbing, fellow trough feeding Executive...  : 

{Choccy Frog for DS: Love Dick's comment (in bold) & the ASA inevitable response..  }

Air controllers set to fight ground-staff help

• by: EAN HIGGINS
  
• From: The Australian
  
• June 06, 2015 12:00AM
  

Reporter
Sydney




Ballina Byron Gateway Airport on the NSW north coast. Source: Supplied
 
Air traffic controllers have vowed to fight a move to allow firefighters at regional airports to provide basic air traffic information to ­pilots, although pilots have ­received the idea warmly.  

As revealed yesterday, after years of campaigning by aviators including businessman Dick Smith, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority issued a statement to The Weekend Australian saying airports could apply on a case-by-case basis to have ground staff ­obtain training and a legal exemption to provide such services.

The move opens the prospect of Australian airports that do not have air traffic control towers adopting the American practice, where fire and rescue officers, mechanics, baggage handlers and check-in staff using the Unicom radio system give pilots observable information such as what aircraft are circling and on the runway.

Under CASA regulations, such information can be provided only by operators who have held an air- traffic controller’s licence in the previous 10 years, but CASA now says it could provide training and a “legal instrument” to other acceptable ground staff.

Civil Air, the union representing air-traffic controllers, yesterday registered its opposition, while Airservices Australia, which is funded by airlines and runs the fire stations at airports, indicated it would not adopt the system.

“Anyone exercising an air traffic function has to have the training and experience of an air traffic controller,” said Civil Air executive secretary Peter McGuane.

To devolve such responsibilities to firefighters and other ground staff, he said, would not be in the interest of air safety.

“Just because they do it in another country doesn’t make it right,” he said.

Australian Federation of Air Pilots president David Booth, who is an airline captain, said he would be open to fire and rescue crew at Ballina airport in northern NSW, for example, manning the Unicom radio service to provide local air traffic information, because they have a command structure, a professional culture and often an ­excellent viewing platform.

“If I’m flying into Ballina and a firefighter had received some training, and could give me a traffic picture of what’s flying around the circuit, that would be of some value,” he said.

He said such a system would help identify, for example, “a guy in an ultralight” who might not be using the radio as most pilots do in uncontrolled airspace to maintain separation through discussions among themselves.

The secretary of the aviation branch of the United Firefighters Union Australia, Henry Lawrence, said the union just learnt of the CASA policy and was yet to form a view on it.
Airservices Australia indicated it had no plans to have its firefighters provide air traffic information to pilots, saying radio services were a matter for airports.

..However, Mr Smith said Airservices, being funded by the airlines, was interested mainly in saving money and making profits, and its executives were rewarded accordingly. But an Airservices spokes­woman said senior executive remuneration was “linked to delivery of industry supported outcomes, with a priority focus on safety”..

           
While on ASA I also noted the following from yesterday's the "Strewth" , which was quite amusing but at the same time pathetic really... :

Just like Moz

In the US, at airports too small to have a control tower, the resident firefighters get to give basic air traffic control information to pilots via a system called Unicom. Not so here. But there’s a move afoot by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority to change this and increase effective air control cover. In his role as the nation’s aviation enthusiast-in-chief, Dick Smith flew our colleagues Ean Higgins and Renee Nowytarger to Ballina in northern NSW, just one of the airports that would have been ideal to illustrate the story. There they chatted with the chief fire officer, who said his crew spent its time maintaining physical fitness and a high level of alertness, and an ability to get to any part of the airport — in full gear — in three minutes. He was invited to take some fireys to Smith’s plane for a photo. Jokingly, this invitation included the clause they be there in three minutes. Three minutes went by, then 10, then 20. A passing firey was quizzed — there was going to be no photo. Higgins has been chasing it up with Airservices Australia. It seems the lessons Scott Morrison imparted in all those grim media “briefings” in his former portfolio did not fall on deaf ears. Behold Airservices Australia’s Amanda Palmer: “In terms of your request for a photo, unfortunately, following further discussion with our Chief Fire Officer, we’re unable to provide access to the fire station. In terms of interviewing firefighters on station — it is also our policy to not allow our operational staff to comment on non-operational matters.” Take that, Higgins! (For the benefit of any interested government bodies, we are encouraging Higgins to take out Australian citizenship so that you have something to strip him of.)

MTF...P2