[Peetwo]

Off the other side of the Yaffa -

Today the new BizAv editor Phil Smart had this to say about the Tamworth rally tomorrow..

Gathering in Tamworth


Tomorrow (Friday) will see what may turn out to be a watershed moment in Australia’s general aviation industry, when the industry’s associations and personalities rally at Tamworth Regional Airport to urge the Federal Government to take immediate measures to end the “regulatory nightmare that is destroying Australia’s general aviation flight training, charter and maintenance businesses.”


Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester and Civil Aviation Safety Authority chairman Jeff Boyd will all be on hand to hear industry’s view that moving to European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) style regulatory systems has introduced irrelevant regulation while increasing compliance costs to unaffordable levels.


The day’s official program will begin with a closed door meeting between the Government representatives and leaders of various Australian industry associations, followed by a public question and answer session.


In his monthly newsletter CASA CEO Mark Skidmore appealed for patience from the industry in waiting for change.


“The pace of change may not be as fast as some would prefer, but real change is underway,” he said. “Like any worthwhile task everything cannot be achieved at once and foundations must be laid before the structure can be constructed.”


Mark Skidmore has been around the block, so he will know that the industry’s response to that comment will probably be a retort to the effect that CASA could have paid more attention to laying the foundations of regulatory reform before imposing new regulation.

In an ideal world industry and regulator will sit down and discuss the issues in a calm and rational atmosphere (which indeed has been happening through various industry groups such as the Australian Helicopter Industry Association) and find practical solutions that work for both parties.


But regardless of Skidmore’s intention to solve the problems industry will present again tomorrow, CASA and the Ministers at Tamworth are going to have to be ready for some coal-face frustration from people for whom new and often illogical regulation has had an adverse and immediate impact on their own ability to make a living (and provide one for others) without any measurable safety benefit.

Hmm...could there be a Choc Frog in the offing for the new BizAv editor -
MTF...P2