11-20-2020, 04:04 PM
Today Senator Susan McDonald has shown herself to be made of the right stuff. The path she treads is narrow, uphill and with many wide, smooth, downhill seeming short cuts. Politics, so fraught with the difficulties of human nature, often derided by the citizenry but still respected deep down because its the way we can live peaceably and prosperously together.
It’s been called the art of the possible. This Senate hearing is surely showing what’s not possible. Not possible to continue with the failed model of governance that is embodied in divorcing aviation regulation and administration away from Ministerial responsibility. The very antithesis of responsible representative government is to palm of such functions of government to unelected independent bodies.
I hope that Senator McDonald and her fellow Committee Senators, Rex Patrick and Glenn Sterle will derive the satisfaction that is due to them for persisting in their efforts, and hopefully will see real benefits coming to Australia through a revitalised General Aviation industry. But still a long way to go and little of lasting substance will be accomplished until Parliament changes the model of governance.
Well done to the GA stalwarts who’ve been brave enough to speak publicly, and forthrightly express their opinions. Most particularly to Glen Buckley who speaks very well of CASA’s utterly untenable actions in his own extraordinary case, but he also stands for GA generally and all those others who have been treated unfairly, bullied and harassed without proper cause by this out of control regulator.
To mention with gratitude some others. Mary Brown’s calm but firm and clear exposition of why they are running down their GA business. John McDermot explaining the time delay factors of CASA and how much more effective and business friendly are operations in other jurisdictions. Phil Hurst exposing the machinations of CASA to derail the recommendations of the industry working parties. Robert Cassidy effectively comparing the workable rules of the USA to our new super costly procedures particularly as they relate to recency and re-validation of different ratings and licences.
Medicals came in for a mention but the full import was not developed. Arguments about the RAAUS self declared car driver being appropriate for the restricted airspace allowed to that category were not dissected.
Firstly RAAUS training schools do exist in controlled airspace, notably at Moorabbin airport.
(Insert photo of Minister McCormack sitting in an RAAUS registered training aircraft of Soar Aviation).
Furthermore no mention of the efficacy or history of medical incapacitation problems that would substantiate some risk factor that would preclude operations in any civil airspace. One might imagine that by now after more than thirty years of self declaration in this category some trends, if undesirable, would have been evident.
Secondly, the USA (very successful) reformed medical standard for private flying (BasicMed) is a model that could easily be adopted which would put many pilots back flying. Mr. Carmody today quoted statistics of how many applied for CASA medical certificates and how many were rejected. What he failed to reveal or consider were the hundreds or thousands who have been required to undertake such costly and frequent investigations, well in excess of their regular GP recommendations, who have simply given up trying.
Thirdly nothing was said about the failed CASA reform, the much vaunted Basic Class 2, a GP validated exam which was CASA’s answer to the new BasicMed standard of the USA. We’ve now found out that it’s not available for many because one has to reach the highest standard, ‘unconditional’ applicable to a commercial bus or truck driver. Perversely, truck and bus drivers can still work with a conditional pass, but that’s not good enough for a private pilot.
Might have missed something but didn’t hear a word about the Commonwealth’s airports being overrun with factories and shopping centres or runway closures. Nothing either about the two Aviation Security Identity Cards, one is the biennial $300 ASIC requiring presentation at limited venues at each renewal, the other five year ‘AVIC’ is available but the use of same is not defined in an understandable manner and so not recognised by many, often officious, airport reporting officers or managers with big badges. No such special identity cards in the USA, no reports to us of the efficacy or history of real usefulness in actual security around airports. Who cares?
It’s been called the art of the possible. This Senate hearing is surely showing what’s not possible. Not possible to continue with the failed model of governance that is embodied in divorcing aviation regulation and administration away from Ministerial responsibility. The very antithesis of responsible representative government is to palm of such functions of government to unelected independent bodies.
I hope that Senator McDonald and her fellow Committee Senators, Rex Patrick and Glenn Sterle will derive the satisfaction that is due to them for persisting in their efforts, and hopefully will see real benefits coming to Australia through a revitalised General Aviation industry. But still a long way to go and little of lasting substance will be accomplished until Parliament changes the model of governance.
Well done to the GA stalwarts who’ve been brave enough to speak publicly, and forthrightly express their opinions. Most particularly to Glen Buckley who speaks very well of CASA’s utterly untenable actions in his own extraordinary case, but he also stands for GA generally and all those others who have been treated unfairly, bullied and harassed without proper cause by this out of control regulator.
To mention with gratitude some others. Mary Brown’s calm but firm and clear exposition of why they are running down their GA business. John McDermot explaining the time delay factors of CASA and how much more effective and business friendly are operations in other jurisdictions. Phil Hurst exposing the machinations of CASA to derail the recommendations of the industry working parties. Robert Cassidy effectively comparing the workable rules of the USA to our new super costly procedures particularly as they relate to recency and re-validation of different ratings and licences.
Medicals came in for a mention but the full import was not developed. Arguments about the RAAUS self declared car driver being appropriate for the restricted airspace allowed to that category were not dissected.
Firstly RAAUS training schools do exist in controlled airspace, notably at Moorabbin airport.
(Insert photo of Minister McCormack sitting in an RAAUS registered training aircraft of Soar Aviation).
Furthermore no mention of the efficacy or history of medical incapacitation problems that would substantiate some risk factor that would preclude operations in any civil airspace. One might imagine that by now after more than thirty years of self declaration in this category some trends, if undesirable, would have been evident.
Secondly, the USA (very successful) reformed medical standard for private flying (BasicMed) is a model that could easily be adopted which would put many pilots back flying. Mr. Carmody today quoted statistics of how many applied for CASA medical certificates and how many were rejected. What he failed to reveal or consider were the hundreds or thousands who have been required to undertake such costly and frequent investigations, well in excess of their regular GP recommendations, who have simply given up trying.
Thirdly nothing was said about the failed CASA reform, the much vaunted Basic Class 2, a GP validated exam which was CASA’s answer to the new BasicMed standard of the USA. We’ve now found out that it’s not available for many because one has to reach the highest standard, ‘unconditional’ applicable to a commercial bus or truck driver. Perversely, truck and bus drivers can still work with a conditional pass, but that’s not good enough for a private pilot.
Might have missed something but didn’t hear a word about the Commonwealth’s airports being overrun with factories and shopping centres or runway closures. Nothing either about the two Aviation Security Identity Cards, one is the biennial $300 ASIC requiring presentation at limited venues at each renewal, the other five year ‘AVIC’ is available but the use of same is not defined in an understandable manner and so not recognised by many, often officious, airport reporting officers or managers with big badges. No such special identity cards in the USA, no reports to us of the efficacy or history of real usefulness in actual security around airports. Who cares?