[thorn bird]

Oh dear P2,
the chickens come home to roost.

[Peetwo]

From the school of 'passing strange' coincidences - 

Not sure about home to roost TB but I think it is about time "K" started up a TAB on how long it'll be before the witless, wonder from Wagga will pause to change feet again?? 

In the meantime this via the other Aunty yesterday...

---

Flying school for Chinese pilots reports racial abuse, laser pointer attacks and jammed radio signals

ABC Mildura-Swan Hill 
By Christopher Testa

Posted yesterday at 5:01pm

PHOTO: QantasLink is among those to have raised concerns about increased activity at the airport. (ABC News: Christopher Testa)
RELATED STORY: Flying school allegedly funded with embezzled Chinese loans

Reports of interference with aircraft radio communications and the use of laser pointers at one of regional Victoria's busiest airports, where a flying school trains pilots for Chinese airlines, are being investigated.

Key points:

• International Aviation Alliance CEO Simon Clemence said tensions over the academy's presence meant it had become "reluctant to even let [the students] out"
  
  
• Mr Clemence, who is also Mildura's mayor, said unknown persons had jammed radio frequencies
  
  
• A spokeswoman for the Australian Communications and Media Authority said it was investigating a complaint
  

The International Aviation Alliance academy has been subject to a number of complaints about noise, however CEO Simon Clemence said tensions over its presence in Mildura had escalated to the point where the academy had become "reluctant to even let [the students] out".

Mr Clemence, who is also Mildura's mayor, said unknown persons had jammed radio frequencies to prevent its aircraft from operating, and aimed laser pointers at its planes.

And, he added, Chinese student pilots aged in their 20s had been subjected to racial abuse on aircraft radios and in public.

"All the rednecks are coming out and quite literally attacking us," he said.

Academy helping amid covid-19: Clemence

The flying school opened to much fanfare in 2019, when Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack announced the Federal Government would contribute $2 million toward the installation of an instrument landing system at the airport.

Mr McCormack at the time said the funding was allocated because Anne Webster, then the Nationals candidate for Mallee, "continually rang me and rang me and rang me" and said the region needed the landing system to attract flying schools to Mildura.

PHOTO: The academy has been subject to a number of complaints about noise. (ABC News: Christopher Testa)

But in recent weeks, enough "distressed" constituents had written to Dr Webster angry about noise from late-night training flights that the MP had written to the flying academy to ask it to consider changing its schedule.

Part of the school's plan to alleviate those concerns involves expanding to places like Swan Hill, whose council this week voted to pursue negotiations that could eventually lead to 200 Chinese student pilots learning to fly at the Swan Hill Aerodrome, despite some councillors' concerns.

Mr Clemence said the academy's presence had helped some businesses in Mildura survive the downturn associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, and that it was even courting interest from the Tasmanian Government.

But while business leaders and local councils were attracted to the academy's promise of an economic boost, Mr Clemence said the students had been subjected to vigilante behaviour in the community.

A spokeswoman for the Australian Communications and Media Authority said it was investigating a complaint about interference to licensed radio communications services at Mildura Airport and had encouraged the airport's management to report the matter to police.

Mr Clemence said while there were genuine community concerns about aircraft noise and foreign ownership, he felt "anti-Chinese sentiment" was fuelling much of the outrage at a time when coronavirus was spreading.

"If this was Qantas, would anyone really be making all the complaints and allegations they are making now? I don't think so," he said.

ATSB found no need to investigate report

QantasLink is among those to have raised concerns about how increased training flights have made Mildura Airport a more difficult place to fly to.

In a recent airspace review, the carrier told the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) it had begun to find radio traffic at Mildura "challenging", with pilots commonly encountering "poor or miscommunication" on radio calls.

Virgin Australia, another of the three commercial airlines to service Mildura, also told the review none of CASA's recommendations would address the risk of "insufficient or ineffective communication" involving student pilots whose first language was not English.

Peter Guest, a recreational pilot from Mildura, said he had encountered communication issues on multiple occasions, and felt it was "just pure luck that there hasn't been a collision yet".

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) contacted Mr Guest this week after learning of an incident last Sunday (April 19) in which he claimed a pilot from the flying school failed to respond to his radio call as he prepared to land.

The ATSB decided no further investigation was warranted.

CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said more education about radio use at Mildura was planned but stressed the airspace was safe, with three incidents recorded over the past year out of almost 20,000 flights.

---

"..continually rang me and rang me and rang me.." -  Hmm...why do I get the feeling that a certain 'Editor at Large' won't be leaving that Mick Mack comment alone -   

And this bit: ...also told the review none of CASA's recommendations would address the risk of "insufficient or ineffective communication" involving student pilots whose first language was not English...

Not the first time interested parties (Airservices/big developers/ local & state govts) to an identified airport/airspace safety risk issue have completely ignored the proposed risk mitigation proposals/recommendations put forward by either our inept aviation regulator; or the ATSB, State Coroners and even the Australian Senate...

Finally, in response to my rehash of the March 2019 Mick Mack interview by Ben Fordham (see my previous post), Sandy has forwarded the following FB comment to his local member Dan Tehan...  



 

MTF...P2 

[P7_TOM]

Censored – by order of Aunt Pru.

‘You ’eathen, where the mischief ’ave you been?

P2 - “Hmm...why do I get the feeling that a certain 'Editor at Large' won't be leaving that Mick Mack comment alone”.

Oh, he will Sir, I can assure you of that. When I stopped laughing, after I'd read, for the third time, 'the Ode to 'Wing, Wong and Wang' I asked (politely) that it be reserved for private consumption at the next BRB/IOS indaba. Should top off the party nicely. I believe you had the initial version provided during a telephone conversation; so, it follows that you had an inkling of what was developing.

The concept of Rang and rang and rang devolved into a Wang and Wang and Wang; ably supported by Wing (on the left) and Wong (on t'uther)- Wanging away in a cat-house. Let's just leave it out for the moment; lest we offend some delicate sensibilities – which you encouraged.

It is writ in the style of Kipling – reflecting the immortal line “though I've belted you and I've flayed you, by the living god that made you.” Etc. You can see where it was all going; 

"Now in Injia’s sunny clime,   

Where I used to spend my time   

A-servin’ of ’Er Majesty the Queen,  

You really shouldn't encourage him; Bad P2. Wicked P2. No choc frogs this week.

"Tho I've wang and wang and wang ya -
And tried with salve to save ya;  - (Etc),

Not for publication, what with ministerial sensitivity and all. We have even cancelled the big 'Sock drive'. Remember that – seemed to us the minister only ever opened his mouth to change feet – there was great concern that slobbered on socks may transmit 'foot in mouth disease' so we got organised and collected Oh, ever so many socks – in aid of preventing the disease from spreading. Regrettably, it seems the disease is incurable. So, the socks have been sent to Oxfam in the hope that some poor blighter, in a gods forsaken refugee camp with cold feet may gain some comfort from warm feet. Which IMO beats the hell out of ministerial foot in mouth disease.

I must say the Doll's house looks brand new; I note there are some smeared paint fingermarks around the top of 'K's glass. The price of fame eh? No matter, the keg is full, my need is great and the company is acceptable. I shall read again the 'Ode' to Wing and Wong and why they Wang (and Wang and Wang), with a cigar and enjoy a pleasant evening amongst the dearest of friends.

[Peetwo]

Wagga's witless wonder Mick Mack cops a serve from Barilaro -   

Via the Oz:

‘Hope you’re proud of yourself’: John Barilaro unloads on Michael McCormack over Eden-Monaro

By STAFF WRITERS
7:50PM MAY 5, 2020
295 COMMENTS




NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro has unleashed an extraordinary attack on Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack blaming him for his decision not to run for a federal seat in Eden-Monaro.

Sky News political editor Andrew Clennell has obtained an explosive text exchange between the two men in which Mr Barilaro says McCormack was “threatened” by his plans to run.

“Don’t hide behind the “members will choose the candidate’ rubbish, as you were the only one saying such lines,” Mr Barilaro wrote in the leaked messages.

“Don’t you think my branches would have backed me in?

“To feel threatened by me clearly shows you have failed your team and failed as a leader.

“You will never be acknowledged by me as our leader. You aren’t. You never will be.

“The Nats had a chance to create history, to change momentum, and you had a candidate that was prepared to risk everything to make it happen.

“What did you risk? Nothing.

“Hope you are proud of yourself.”

The revelations will rock an already unstable McCormack Nationals leadership which was the subject of an unsuccessful challenge by former leader Barnaby Joyce.

Mr McCormack told Sky News he had “never done anything but provide support” to Mr Barilaro.

“I have never done anything but provide support for John Barilaro … he’s been great for regional NSW,” he said,

“I gave him fulsome support. I still did say the local branches would have to endorse him. I have never given away the autonomy of local branches.”

MTF...P2 

[P7_TOM]

Minister – in hiding; or, getting one?

“What did you risk? Nothing.”

Barilaro – spot on. Barilaro probably has NDI about the bloody awful mess civil aviation has degenerated into – but by Golly, he has measured this WWW from Wagga very well.

Not even in it's darkest hours has so much confusion, anxiety and disappointment been ladled onto the smouldering carcass of what was – once – a thriving, proud industry. A minister so terminally dumb and easily led has sat back and done absolutely Sweet Fanny Adams to assist anyone but those to which he is obliged to support – on advice – SOAR for a starter; when a clean cut 'proper' alternative system – Buckley's – was getting the crap kicked out of it.

Long will the name McCormack ring in the ears of those aviation operations surviving his rule as 'minister'. But when matters aeronautical return to a semblance of normality – there will be questions to answer. Not that the WWWW boy could even start to answer without the experienced, highly qualified tea lady from RAOZ at his ear piece.

IMO - Barilaro nailed the thing, in one.

“Hope you are proud of yourself.”

The tragic thing is of course, the fool probably is.

Yes. I'll have another pint to go with my quiet smile at the industry pictorial (blown up to big now in the pub) of the aviation world's opinion of his tentative ministerial tenure.

[Peetwo]

Labor again bi-partisan's Regional and General Aviation - 



Via Sic'em'Rex throws up the challenge on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Senator_Patrick/stat...6572796934

---

Rex Patrick
@Senator_Patrick

@AustralianLabor has just sold out regional Australia. A number of regional air routes will now see flights reduced or abandoned. The only chance for these communities now is for @The_Nationals to force a change in Govt thinking @SenMcDonald @Barnaby_Joyce @mattjcan #auspol

Katharine Murphy: Ref - https://twitter.com/murpharoo/status/126...3984830471
@murpharoo

Labor has this morning resolved to oppose a move by @Senator_Patrick
to disallow regulations requiring regional airports to undertake security screening, (despite some internal angst, & Coalition angst) https://theguardian.com/australia-news/l...5ecde582b6 #auspol

---

P2 OBS: Totally aware that the miniscule will simply soft cock the issue deferring to ScoMo and Skull Dutton, Rex notably hasn't included Mick Mack's Twitter handle in his tweet...

Industry needs to get onboard the Sic'em'Rex initiative and support both his petition - see HERE - and attempts to disallow this OTT legislation...

Via FB:

REGIONAL AIRPORT TAX WILL AFFECT SA REGIONS


A final report by the Federal Department of Transport confirms that a cost of $51.20 per passenger will be added to a flight from Whyalla to Adelaide if my disallowance motion does not get supported in the Senate this Wednesday.

Regional Express appeared before a Senate Committee last Thursday and stated, “It certainly makes it unviable for us, because we don't make that extra 35 per cent of the ticket price—the $52 per passenger—out of the service to Whyalla at the present time. That's a real problem for us, because if we can't operate profitably we obviously can't continue to provide a service.” QANTAS has made similar remarks to the Senate in the past.

Whyalla, Port Lincoln and Roxby Downs are all in line for fare increases. Mount Gambier and Kingscote may end up in a similar situation further down track. It’s totally unacceptable - I don’t mind there being security screening at regional airports but the Federal Government needs to cover the costs.

Before the vote on Wednesday I intend to file a petition in the Senate to make it clear that regional Australia doesn’t want this new form or tax. Please join the more than 1,000 South Australians who have already signed the petition.

MTF...P2 

[Peetwo]

Shannon Wells on Twitter caught this...

Elysse Morgan
@ElysseMorgan

The Singaporeans (and Sharp) played McCormack for the pitiable fool he is. Hey, why wouldn’t you?

P2 - Why wouldn't you indeed?? 

Rex, Virgin animosity steeped in aviation history

Joe Aston Columnist

One fascinating understanding to emerge from Virgin Australia’s collapse into voluntary administration has been the simmering animosity between its leadership team and the Singaporean leadership of its country competitor, Regional Express Holdings (or Rex).

Last week, Rex chairman Lim Kim Hai launched a fierce broadside at Virgin’s management “in the last 10 years” through this newspaper’s Chanticleer column. Lim also presented a rendition of Rex’s own history extremely favourable to himself, in which it “was extremely badly run” until he rode in and fixed it. Naturally!

Rex was created when the Australiawide consortium purchased regional carriers Kendell and Hazelton from Ansett’s administrators in August 2002. Lim was an Australiawide investor but had no role in the business restructuring (stripping the fleet of CRJ jets and renegotiating its EBAs with staff and its monopoly routes with Canberra) negotiated with administrators Sims Lockwood and KordaMentha by Australiawide chief executive Michael Jones and three lieutenants, one of whom was Virgin’s current CEO, Paul Scurrah.

Rex posted a loss in its maiden year (FY03) of $24.3 million and Jones was forced out by Lim in June 2003. Rex’s FY04 profit was $4.5 million and it partially floated on the ASX in September 2005.

Nobody can dispute Lim’s record astride Rex, one of consistent profitability. From 16 long years, he’s generated $257.5 million of cumulative post-tax profit. So what if the propellers periodically fall off his Saabs mid-flight!

Nor is Lim wrong that it would be remiss of administrator Vaughan Strawbridge not to radically recast Virgin’s aircraft leases and pilots’ EBA before selling it to new owners. Though Lim’s “experience” with this process in 2002 was that of an observer.

Scurrah hired Jones as Virgin’s chief strategy officer in September last year. Little wonder daggers are drawn.


Rex deputy chairman and former Nationals MP John Sharp, left, is politically well connected. Here he is with Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Michael McCormack and Rex executive chairman Lim Kim Hai. 

Particularly after Nationals leader and Transport Minister Michael McCormack quite inexplicably threw a $298 million lifeline to regional airlines in March – none of which is repayable, the lion’s share going to Rex – while refusing even to loan money to Virgin. Rex flies in and out of a lot of National Party electorates and its deputy chairman is former Transport Minister (and Nationals MP) John Sharp, who is concurrently a director of the federal National Party's asset manager and fundraising entity John McEwen House Pty Ltd. By comparison, Bridget McKenzie's a babe in the woods.

Of course McCormack was so cosmically useless throughout the Virgin disintegration that Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg had to draft in Saint Nicholas Moore to represent the Commonwealth in the restructure, whatever it is that entails.

On Tuesday, having taken public money from McCormack to “avoid 30 per cent to 40 per cent of our staff from being stood down”, Rex announced it’s pouring $200 million (and no doubt converting its Sydney slots currently used for bush flying) into new flights between capital cities! The Singaporeans (and Sharp) played McCormack for the pitiable fool he is. Hey, why wouldn’t you?

And little wonder Lim’s been trash-talking Virgin’s restructure.

And SW's response...

Shannon Wells
@shannon_wells

Again why does the transport and aviation industry have to suffer due to the incompetence of a ribbon cutting, vip jet loving, former country town news paper editor with no credibility who only skill is donning an Elvis outfit and covering his arse from leadership coups #auspol

MTF...P2 

Ps -HERE

[Peetwo]

Mick Mack a Muppet?? - Or a mouse??

Following on from the post above I note that Sharpie & CO got themselves a please explain from the ASX?? 

Via the UP: https://www.pprune.org/australia-new-zea...st10789285

Looks like REX are 'all hat no cattle' when it comes to getting jets. They've received a 'please explain' from the ASX over disclosing market sensitive information to a newspaper......


REX ASX Announcement

Hmm...wonder where Mick Mack was when the ASX called out REX on these 'passing strange' anomalies -    
 Surely it is within the remit of the responsible minister to have input to what would appear to be a manipulation of the share price and sales of two major players within the Australian aviation airline industry?? 

Next I note that our lost village idiot Mick Mack is once again displaying symptoms of foot and mouth disease: 

Ref: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...hange-quip

...Anthony Albanese has demanded the deputy prime minister and Nationals leader, Michael McCormack, apologise for observing that a lot of people “set their hair on fire” about climate change, given the recent experience of the catastrophic summer of bushfires.

The Labor leader said McCormack’s comment on Friday was “entirely inappropriate” given the government had conceded that climate change was one of the factors in the fires “that saw thousands of homes lost, that saw millions of hectares burnt, and that had a devastating impact on the communities of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia”.

“I’d say to Michael McCormack that he should reflect on those comments and retract them, and we need to be very careful about the language that we use,” the Labor leader said. “When it comes to climate change, it is real, we do need action.”

McCormack made the quip at a press conference in Canberra earlier in the day. Asked by a reporter whether he supported Australia adopting a target of net zero emissions by 2050, the Nationals leader replied: “It is 2020, we’re talking about 30 years in advance and a lot of people, I know, set their hair on fire about climate change and all the rest of it – yes, it’s important, for the farmers, it’s important, for their factories, it’s important.” 

Now compare the witless wonder from Wagga's ineptitude and bumblings above to the following insightful article from Senator David Fawcett:

He's BACK?? - If he ever really went anywhere...  

Caught this snippet from Andrew Hastie MP off Facebook:

 Senator David Fawcett is a former army officer and test pilot who serves with me on the intelligence and security committee.

His carefully considered views are an important contribution to this debate.

Senator Fawcett, writing for the weekend Oz, eloquently uses the analogy of comparing international aviation accident processes and philosophy (ie ICAO Annex 13) with the current farcical situation we have, where the Chinese Communist Party appears to be dictating the ToR for an upcoming international inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic - FDS! 

China’s ‘tank man’ stood for transparency

DAVID FAWCETT

12:00AM MAY 22, 2020
76 COMMENTS


Illustration: Eric Lobbecke
When the Boeing 737 MAX 8 of Ethiopian Airlines crashed on March 10 last year, China was quick out of the blocks to demand that airlines ground the jet. The Civil Aviation Administration of China sent technical experts to engage with the multinational team investigating the causes of the disaster, and China’s three main airlines have led calls for Boeing to compensate them for losses due to the grounding.

Aviation accident investigation is an exemplar of international collaboration following a disaster, as nations seek to work constructively to understand the cause and ensure it does not happen again. When we are all exposed to a risk, transparency and co-operation are held up as universally accepted norms that benefit China as much as any other nation.

This desire to protect the safety and rights of the individual who may suffer adverse outcomes is demonstrably not just a Western value. In fact Chinese diplomat Pengchun Chang, who played a pivotal role in enshrining individual rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, drafted what he identified as exemplars of traditional Chinese Confucian thought and culture such as “ren”, or benevolence towards the individual. These values have been demonstrated by the Chinese people throughout history, most recently by the people of Hong Kong but also on mainland China.

 As we approach the anniver­sary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, it is a reminder that the Chinese people and their traditional culture value transparency, the ability of an individual to express a view and accountability from their leaders. For citizens who advocate these values, it has been a hard road since 1949 when the Communist Party took power.

As the relentless pursuit of Marxist policies by Mao Zedong, the first chairman of the Communist Party of China, led to the death of many of his own people by starvation and violence, the titular head of state in the 1960s, Liu Shaoqi, increasingly objected. Conservative estimates suggest that between 30 million and 45 million people died, yet Mao’s response was to brand Liu a traitor and a capitalist, having him arrested and tortured until his death.

After Mao’s own death in 1976, hope of reform gradually grew in China. As the Cold War came to an end, the Chinese people called more openly for economic and political reforms, including transparency and free speech.
In 1989, the democracy movement grew in size and influence across hundreds of cities in China. Students, scientists, doctors, peasants and even some members of the military participated in gatherings and protests.
In its response, the Chinese Communist Party showed none of the benevolence so ably championed by Chang.

This anniversary marks 31 years since the ironically named People’s Liberation Army was deployed in Beijing to end the reform movement.

To the shock of the Chinese people and the wider world, on the night of June 4, 1989, president Deng Xiaoping ordered tanks and combat troops to clear the protesters from Tiananmen Square. The full death toll of this atrocity will never be known.

The official figure is in the hundreds but witness accounts point to more than 1000 civilians being killed in and around Tiananmen Square, thousands more injured, and even more arbitrarily arrested throughout China in the aftermath of the massacre.

In the days after the army stormed the square and took control of the city, the outrage at what had just occurred was epitomised by a lone Chinese man. Shopping bags in hand, “tank man” stood directly in front of tanks, blocking their movement around Tiananmen Square. The photograph of him standing in nonviolent protest, bringing a column of tanks to a halt, is a scene now famous everywhere except in China, where the truth of the 1989 massacre is suppressed. Nobody has ever established his identity or his fate, but he represents the millions of Chinese citizens who want freedom of speech and accountability from their government.

The courage demonstrated by this man is still prevalent in China today. Li Wenliang, a brave doctor in Wuhan, alerted colleagues to the dangers of an emerging disease we now know as COVID-19. Li was hauled before police and threatened by officials when his concerns became public. Days later, when he tragically died after contracting the coronavirus, the Communist Party even tried to censor news of his death.

Acclaimed writer Fang Fang courageously defied official censors, attacks by organised internet trolls and labels of being a traitor to keep and eventually publish online a record she called Wuhan Diary: Dispatches from a Quarantined City.

She writes: “If we don’t investigate who was responsible for such a massive incident, I wonder how the government can ever face its people … For some reason, even up until today, not a single official in Hubei has resigned. I guess they know how to play the game.”

The unfolding disaster that Fang documented now has resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of people around the world. Just as we do following an aircraft accident, an independent and transparent review to understand how the pandemic happened is imperative to ensure such a catastrophic outbreak never happens again. Support for such a review is welcome.

Chang, Liu, “tank man”, Li, Fang and many other brave — and not forgotten — Chinese citizens bear witness to the fact this call for transparency and freedom for people to speak the truth is not an attack on China and its people.

It is an opportunity for Beijing to engage with the world community, in accordance with established global norms, as a constructive partner.

Senator David Fawcett chairs the parliamentary joint standing committee on foreign affairs, defence and trade, which is inquiring into the pandemic’s strategic implications. Before politics, he served as an army officer and experimental test pilot.

   

MTF...P2 

[Peetwo]

A Muppet or a mouse? - Part II

Via the AFR:

Deputy PM saved Rex from bankruptcy

Joe AstonColumnist

 Last week on Squawk Box Asia, Regional Express Holdings chairman Lim Kim Hai tried justifying his recent dance moves on Virgin Australia’s grave in light of Rex’s own precarious standing up until its rescue by the federal government.

By way of refresher, Lim had lambasted Virgin’s “extremely lax and extremely non-courageous” management and its “dysfunctional” board of directors back on May 7, adding that Rex was “probably the most qualified party in Australia to be able to run an airline like Virgin”. No flies on him.

A week later, Rex’s deputy chairman, John Sharp, announced to this newspaper the planned launch of Rex flights between Australian capital cities using 10 new jet aircraft, failing to first inform its own shareholders via the Australian Securities Exchange platform. The new foray, Sharp revealed, will necessitate the issue of $200 million of new Rex shares, a mere 172 per cent of its current $116 million market capitalisation!

CNBC anchor Sri Jegarajah was rightly incredulous. “Mr Lim, with all due respect, you’re calling into question how Virgin Australia was run but Rex was facing bankruptcy in March. How would you characterise your financial health right now and what’s changed since then?”

What’s changed since then is that Rex has been given $67.6 million by Sharp's National Party comrade, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack, a full $53.8 million of that in untied grants, and more than Qantas and Virgin received in Commonwealth relief funding combined. That’s a handout worth 21.3 per cent of Rex’s annual revenues, so the equivalent of giving – not loaning – Virgin $1.2 billion and Qantas $3.8 billion.

Adding insult to injury, McCormack (who is also the Transport Minister and Nationals leader) said on April 2 that “Virgin will also be able to benefit from the $298m package that we put down the other day: $198m for subsidising the 138 routes flown to and from regional centres”. Which was completely false. Virgin did not qualify for a cent of this money.

That same day, McCormack said: “We can’t just pick and select individuals and winners out of this" – words he will be force-fed for the rest of his pitiful career.

Just like Virgin, foreign-owned Rex was going broke. “Even Rex cannot survive the next six months of this global emergency,” its chief operating officer, Neville Howell, pleaded. Even Lim confirmed to CNBC that Rex is only surviving “at least the next six months … thanks to the grant from the government”.

We can’t just pick and select individuals and winners out of this.
— Deputy Prime Miinster Michael McCormack

So McCormack told Virgin to find “a market-led solution” but gifted Rex all the cash it needed. Sharp, who just so happens to also be a longstanding National Party official, exalted McCormack’s “meaningful assistance package” designed to “prevent [Rex] from collapsing”. The audacity of the cronyism almost eclipses the cronyism itself.

When Prime Minister Scott Morrison reckoned on April 14, vis-à-vis the aviation sector, that “we haven’t been picking any winners or picking any favourites here”, he cannot have been properly briefed on his deputy’s staggering conduct.

Most galling of all are Rex’s grand (and expensive) growth plans just four weeks after a $67 million taxpayer freebie saved it from bankruptcy. Right now, Rex may be the only airline on earth in expansion mode. The Deputy Prime Muppet emits a resounding silence. Is this what not picking winners looks like?

TICK..TOCK miniscule, TICK TOCK indeed - 

MTF...P2 

[Peetwo]

Ref: https://auntypru.com/sbg-19-01-20-as-the...-leg-said/

TICK..TOCK goes the Mick Mack aviation cronyism clock - 

Via the weekend Age:

---

Box Hill Institute slapped with flight school class action

By Tammy Mills
May 30, 2020 — 12.00pm

Students at the Box Hill Institute's aviation course, including one who was almost killed in a crash, have slapped the TAFE with a class action lawsuit.

Gordon Legal is representing almost 200 students in a case that alleges the teaching standards were so low that many of the students did not meet Civil Aviation Safety Authority requirements to obtain a commercial pilots licence.

Both the college and the contracted course provider, Soar Aviation, were last year temporarily stripped of their authority to train the students. The Australian Skills Quality Authority found Soar Aviation was not adequately supporting the needs of individual students, wasn't meeting the requirements of the training package, and did not have appropriate assessment processes and practices.

Accreditation was restored for Soar in March and for Box Hill last month but both are subject to administrative sanctions imposed by skills authority.

In its court defence, Box Hill Institute denied the students' allegations, saying there was no guarantee the students would pass the CASA requirements and that was reliant on their individual performances.

Gordon Legal claims some of the students involved now have government VET loans of up to $100,000 and no qualification.

Former hospitality worker Jesse-Ray Sealy lost more than money when he pursued his dreams of becoming a pilot and enrolled at Box Hill.

He told The Age that In December last year, he was sent out in a plane that was markedly different from the aircraft in which he had racked-up 77 hours of experience.

He alleged he got 1.8 hours of flight training with an instructor in the Bristell - an aircraft now subject to a CASA safety notice - before he set out on a solo flight the next day.

Mr Sealy claims to have experienced technical and mechanical issues prior to a crash landing at Moorabbin Airport.

He was seriously injured, and requires ongoing skin graft and plastic surgery.


Jesse-Ray Sealy has joined a class action of aviation students suing the Box Hill Institute. CREDIT:JOE ARMAO

"I’m six months down the track and still struggling to even stand on my feet longer than an hour or so," Mr Sealy said. "It’s a miracle I even survived."

He said there was a high turn-over of trainers and the material seemed to be based on other flight schools.

“I might as well have been sitting at home doing my own pilots licence,” the 28-year-old said.

Mr Sealy's crash was the second in 14 months after another student was seriously injured and his passenger left a paraplegic when their Bristell plane came down near Stawell in October 2018.

Former student and lead plaintiff for the class action Nerita Somers claims to be $77,000 out of pocket and still without a commercial pilots licence.


Nerita Somers has taken her complaints to Gordon Legal.CREDIT:SIMON SCHLUTER

She hired an outside tutor at extra expense after failing a couple of exams initially because she “relied solely on Box Hill.”

“The information that we were taught in Box Hill is not aligned with the CASA manual of standards, you might as well throw that money down the drain,” she said.

Gordon Legal principal Rachel Jones said out of the 250 students who have registered interest in the class action, she was aware of only five who have obtained their commercial pilot licences and three had studied at other institutions.

“In light of the numerous complaints made by students, the writing had been on the wall for a long time, indicating there was serious deficiencies in the course construction and delivery,” Ms Jones said.

A spokeswoman for the Box Hill Institute said following an intense audit and consultation, ASQA confirmed the college can continue to run its aviation course with Soar Aviation.

"Student safety and wellbeing is a key priority for Box Hill Institute. We are committed to working closely with our partners to ensure the best outcomes for students," she said.

"Box Hill Institute is unable to comment on the legal proceedings as they are currently before the Supreme Court."

ASQA said it was satisfied, having regard to the risk posed to students and the quality of the sector, the most appropriate administrative sanctions have been imposed, with the regulatory authority issuing written directions to rectify breaches in training and resources.

Soar Aviation did not respond.

---

MTF...P2 

[Kharon]

“Soar Aviation did not respond.”

With the full blaze of ministerial promotion and happy snaps spread across the media; the horse and cart clean up squad must now follow along behind to clean up the mess in the wake.

Aunt Pru has been chatting to lots of RA Oz 'instructor' pilots; when one bloke raises an issue with subject X not too many alarm bells ring. There is always lots of opinion on what is wrong with a system – pub stuff – the usual grip[es and moans which can always be heard when a bunch of pilots get together. Most of it can be discounted. But; when what many believe to be serious anomalies are repeatedly trotted out and a clearly defined trend can be seen; it is time to call in the heavy mob. I know, I know, anecdotal evidence don't weigh too much; but some of the practices and methodology which appear to have been extensively used, with the knowledge cooperation of senior crew demand a full, impartial investigation. The easement and latitude permitted under the RA Oz system, whilst allowed 'in good faith' has IMO been compromised.

It would – IMO – be of benefit to all concerned to take a long, hard look at the way the system can be manipulated and find ways to plug the gaps. In theory and in most practice, there is little wrong with the notion of LSA operations – for private use. The flight schools which operate the aircraft under the CASA system seem to produce a good product, particularly in the system for obtaining a Commercial (CPL) licence. We did some rough numbers, comparing the SOAR system against a 'traditional' flight school path to a CPL; for pure recreational operations, the RA Oz system is a clear winner on cost. For almost any other form of licence, the 'traditional' pathway is quicker, ultimately less expensive and rock-solid. 

One other series of numbers we ran was that of Direct Operating Cost (DOC) against the charges made for training and aircraft hire. Let's just say caveat emptor; and leave it that. The Wannabe kids who never quite got up to an acceptable standard and needed to do more training at some of the rates quoted should get a refund; they won't – but enough said. We can hand that little problem over to Gordon Legal now, and await the ministerial statement of explanation. And wait, and wait and wait.

We may yet see a demonstration of high speed distancing, political tap dancing and some excellent verbal aerobics, which is great fun; but it don't put any beer in the fridge.

Toot – toot.

[P7_TOM]

To the tea lady.



It only seems fair, diplomatic and caring to share some thoughts from industry with the Witless Wonder of Wagga Wagga - about his 'aviation safety agencies'. Now that he's asked ATSB to write a glowing report on themselves, just so he can say what a fine job they are all doing – and how the ATSB can find no fault with Air Services or CASA, it only seems right to warn him here that there are some pockets of fury, masquerading as the discontent of malcontents. But, no doubt the ATSB soppy questionnaire can be parlayed into some kind of ministerial credit to save face and fool the general public - I mean what does it matter what the industry experts say in the face of such official evidence.



“K” has provided a pro forma series of answers for the ATSB – HERE. 



Dick Smith has had a chat (you want the video) - with the Air Services boss; HERE



And Old Ackro over on Pprune pretty much sums up the ATSB response to an ASA cock up  .



And Phil Hurst from AAAA delivers a universally applauded assessment of the CASA present worth and future value.



AAAA - “CASA still does not understand the difference between safety and compliance and continually considers itself to be the creator of safety, when in fact it is a well informed, safety motivated and guided industry – flying, maintaining and organising aviation operations – that creates safety. CASA clearly has an industry-accepted role in rule-setting, surveillance and enforcement – but it is industry that delivers safety. The dimension of the daunting task facing anyone in GA in simply absorbing, recalling and using the vast amount of written regulation of the industry, is now a safety impediment in its own right.”



Ayup, the ATSB touchy-feebly effort may just be final insult. It is creepy and crude, no doubt exactly the right tenor for a ministerial no action policy speech, one worthy of a third rate journalistic spin doctor.



Heh, heh (chuckle) – perhaps we could invite him to the next BRB indaba and see how he manages the real deal; that children, would be classified as real fun. Can he play darts I wonder? Maybe bring St Commode, Halfwit and Hoody along as a team -! Best stop there;  its BBQ night, time to light the fires etc...

[Peetwo]

Ref: http://dicksmithaviation.com.au/

To the tea lady.

It only seems fair, diplomatic and caring to share some thoughts from industry with the Witless Wonder of Wagga Wagga - about his 'aviation safety agencies'. Now that he's asked ATSB to write a glowing report on themselves, just so he can say what a fine job they are all doing – and how the ATSB can find no fault with Air Services or CASA, it only seems right to warn him here that there are some pockets of fury, masquerading as the discontent of malcontents. But, no doubt the ATSB soppy questionnaire can be parlayed into some kind of ministerial credit to save face and fool the general public - I mean what does it matter what the industry experts say in the face of such official evidence.

“K” has provided a pro forma series of answers for the ATSB – HERE. 

Dick Smith has had a chat (you want the video) - with the Air Services boss; HERE

And Old Akro over on Pprune pretty much sums up the ATSB response to an ASA cock up.

And Phil Hurst from AAAA delivers a universally applauded assessment of the CASA present worth and future value.

AAAA - “CASA still does not understand the difference between safety and compliance and continually considers itself to be the creator of safety, when in fact it is a well informed, safety motivated and guided industry – flying, maintaining and organising aviation operations – that creates safety. CASA clearly has an industry-accepted role in rule-setting, surveillance and enforcement – but it is industry that delivers safety. The dimension of the daunting task facing anyone in GA in simply absorbing, recalling and using the vast amount of written regulation of the industry, is now a safety impediment in its own right.”

Ayup, the ATSB touchy-feebly effort may just be final insult. It is creepy and crude, no doubt exactly the right tenor for a ministerial no action policy speech, one worthy of a third rate journalistic spin doctor.

Heh, heh (chuckle) – perhaps we could invite him to the next BRB indaba and see how he manages the real deal; that children, would be classified as real fun. Can he play darts I wonder? Maybe bring St Commode, Halfwit and Hoody along as a team -! Best stop there;  its BBQ night, time to light the fires etc...

---

---

#reformcasa



Ref: https://auntypru.com/sbg-31-05-20-whos-t...-to-blame/

Supporting a Royal Commission into aviation

---

I have recently prepared this video which is self explanatory.

---

Lead Balloon

Originally Posted by Mr Approach 
I can only, with exasperation, say again that it all boils down to what the Minister considers to be a safe air traffic control system.

If the system is to be run as a cost recovery exercise, then it will never be As Safe As Reasonably Practicable (ALARP). It will only be as safe as what money can be recovered from the users to fill Government coffers.

A national disgrace, but what other conclusion can be reached?

Dicks later post about his letter to the Airservice Board and article in the Australian, prove me correct.

The Board of Airservices, the Board of CASA and their CEOs simply do not care! Why becuase their boss does not care.

We can argue all we like in the columns of PPRuNe, it will not make one jot of difference.

Frankly I do not know what it takes to get a Government to take notice, for goodness sake let's close this interminable trail of argumentative emails.

There is a common misconception that the Minister is the boss of the heads of independent statutory agencies like CASA and Airservices. One needs merely to read the legislation that establishes them to work out it’s not true.

The heads of these agencies are not supposed to care what the Minister thinks. That’s precisely the Parliament’s aim in setting up independent agencies. If the Minister has a strong opinion about some specific issue, the Minister can try to get the Parliament to change the legislation or get a binding general policy order made. There’s a bunch of flim flam about high-sounding plans and policies and other stuff, none of which overrides the specific regulatory powers and their exercise. (The airspace regulation legislation is a work of art that makes the Minister look important but, when you scratch the surface - by reading it - you realise it’s a facade.)

(In any event, successive Ministers ‘responsible’ for aviation regulation over the last couple of decades seem to me to have been little more than meat puppets. For a while there it looked like Barnaby Joyce had the temerity to think and decide stuff for himself, but the machine sorted him out. Senator Susan McDonald will be cured of her case of independent thought, too.)

The Parliament is the boss of the independent agencies. The Parliament makes and changes the laws that establish and fund the independent agencies and confer functions and powers on them.

The constituency of the Parliament is in my view the problem. The major party abdication of responsibility to the ‘professionals’ in the agencies is the problem. As I’ve said many times, while ever a majority of voters vote either for Labor or the Coalition, they both win. I’ll bet the majority of people who whinge about the state of aviation in Australia vote for either Labor or the Coalition. (As HL Mencken said: “Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.”)

The solution is not another inquiry or commission. (And I note the pathetically small number of submissions made to the Senate inquiry into GA. There are more submission to the Senate inquiry into “the opportunities for strengthening Australia’s relations with the Republic of France”, FFS. It’s as if almost everyone in GA has no time on their hands at the moment to express a view, even if it is to provide glowing support for the efforts of CASA, ATSB and Airservices. Must be all that increased aviation activity out there.)


A smoking hole that used to be an RPT jet full of fare paying passengers flying in stone age G airspace will merely result in MORE power and MORE funding for the cabal of bureaucrats that have been in a symbiosis with major party governments for decades. That cabal is now effectively a mutual protection racket.

The solution lies in ending the duopoly. And the chances of that are somewhere between Buckley’s and none while ever people dedicate their finite energy to trying to change a meat puppet’s mind.

[Peetwo]

Ref: https://auntypru.com/sbg-8-12-19-a-constipation-theory/

Dear Mick Mack...L&Ks Wellsy -   

Reference: https://twitter.com/shannon_wells/status...5348432897

Hi minister, id like to complain about the fact that aviation is up the shitter yet the regulator still charges fees, minister - tough shit - and I’m reminding you again that we told you once already ... sick of the Nats having transport #auspol

---

---

#reformcasa

MTF...P2 

[Peetwo]

Dear Mick Mack cont/-

Over on social media the @CASABriefing Twitter minion tweeted this promo...

There have never been months like March and April 2020 in the history of aviation.

Previous world crises such as the world wars stimulated rather than strangulated aviation and the industry grew and evolved as technology rapidly progressed.

Read more: https://www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/20...-aviation/

---

And the inevitable response..

---

Shannon Wells
@shannon_wells

Yet you still charge fees and the minister doesn’t care

---

Phil Hurst
@PhilHurst62

CASA has a great opportunity to realise this is not business as usual and look to efficiencies, red tape removal and simpler regs. Instead they are now charging for ongoing access to Covid relief.


#reformcasa

Ref: https://twitter.com/PhilHurst62/status/1...3128594432

---

MTF...P2

[Peetwo]

Dick Smith, via the UP: 

I have spent quite a lot of time in preparing this video on airspace. 

I believe it has a message that we should at least do a costing for bringing the Class E airspace down to cover the approach – especially at airports that have ADS-B coverage and/or airline traffic.

I believe we have been lucky not to have had an airline accident in this 1930s style uncontrolled airspace.

For those who are interested, could I ask you to send an email to minister.mccormack@infrastructure.gov.au advising the Minister of your views – either supportive or not supportive.

Both CASA and Airservices have stonewalled the media on this issue. They just don’t comment, so the media can’t write a story.

Anyone who has flown in the US system would know just how well the Class E airspace works. It is not a 1930s system, it is a 2020 system.

Thanks in advance.

MTF...P2

[Peetwo]

Ref: https://auntypru.com/sbg-28-06-20-sellin...an-eskimo/

Is the worm (finally) turning on Mick Mack? 

Via the ABC 4 Corners:

Grounded: Australia’s aviation crisis and the future of flying
Posted Mon 29 Jun 2020, 9:15pm
Updated Mon 29 Jun 2020, 5:09pmitter


Grounded: Australia's aviation crisis and the future of flying


"It is the biggest crisis the airline industry's ever seen." Airline CEO

All around the globe, airports that were once thriving busy places are lying virtually dormant. The previously crowded terminals are silent, the planes are parked in neat rows and no-one knows if air travel will ever be the same.

"We've had flights with more dogs on them than passengers in the last couple of weeks." Airport Manager
Aviation is arguably the highest profile casualty of the coronavirus pandemic and the impact has been enormous.

"Aviation is the lifeblood of the economy. It's the arteries of the economy that facilitates the carrying on of business and the transport of people for work and for leisure, and of all of our goods. It's an extraordinary thing to now have that shut down." Airport Manager

The aviation crisis has driven Australia's second major carrier, Virgin, to the point of collapse. On Monday, the key players explain how things went so wrong so quickly.

"You have a big capital-intensive industry with a lot of people, and you have no revenue. Our revenue went down to a very, very low number very, very quickly." Former airline Chair

The program details the battle to keep the airline going, examining why it was vulnerable in the first place and what was driving the refusal of the federal government to step in and directly support Virgin.

"We were all tired. We'd all been working around the clock, seven days a week, 15 to 18-hour days, trying to avoid going into voluntary administration...I knew at that point that we were on our own." Airline CEO
Airlines all over the world are struggling to work out how to put passengers back in the skies safely, and affordably.

"Social distancing on an aircraft is not practical anyway...you'd have 22 people on 180 seat aircraft. And that would make the economics non-viable or the airfares would have to be nine times what they are today." Airline CEO

The crisis for the aviation industry is so profound that it's forcing airlines to confront the question - what is the future of flying and will they still have a viable business?

"I actually think our biggest competitor is going to be Zoom and Teams and WebEx and Skype...people in business have discovered that you can actually hold a pretty good business meeting digitally over the screen on your computer or your laptop." Airline CEO

(NB: Refer from approx 30:00 minutes) 

REPORTER MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: You will be aware of obviously the charges of cronyism, given that John Sharp is the Rex Deputy Chairman. He's also a former federal treasurer of the National Party. What do you say to those people?

MICHAEL MCORMACK, FEDERAL TRANSPORT MINISTER: I don't think any inference can be drawn from that.

MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: None at all?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK: No.

MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: Why not? I mean people look at it and say there are connections, they're getting favourable treatment, do you reject that?

MICHAEL MCCORMACK: Well, I get on well with Paul Scurrah, I get on well with Alan Joyce. UDB! Why is it that the aviation industry has to be lumbered with this totally uninspiring, totally captured, witless wonder from Wagga as minister - God help our industry because Mick Mack certainly won't... 

Meanwhile over on Twitter Tony Windsor picked up on this...

Ref: https://twitter.com/TonyHWindsor/status/...0104809473

Whilst the AFP raid an unknown NSW backbencher #OurGladys nobbles the media on a flight training scam in Tamworth. I for one will wait with interest as this story unfolds and how the local community and Federal member were duped.

****SCOOP****
How Paul Scurrah's Virgin Australia seriously undermined national security - and how News Corporation and the Liberal Party conspired to cover it up from the public. Things don't get any more serious.

#auspol #VirginAustralia #interference http://anthonyklan.com

Courtesy Anthony Klan... :

How China's Virgin Australia sold out the national interest

Anthony Klan | 30 June 2020



China's Virgin Australia ran a highly sophisticated campaign to corrupt media and mislead Australian public. Source: supplied

 
ANTHONY KLAN
EXCLUSIVE 

Virgin Australia, under current CEO Paul Scurrah, ran an elaborate scheme on behalf of its owners to mislead the Australian public and the nation’s politicians in a secret operation - which included aggressively muzzling the media - to set up a massive infrastructure project one hour’s flight time north of Sydney.
The 90%-plus foreign-owned Virgin Australia, on behalf of its two Chinese owners, the notorious HNA Group and Nanshan, who own and control at least 46% of the company, actively masked their activities from both the NSW and federal governments, in a move which also hid the operation from the public.
(Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and other major corporates have refused to do business with HNA Group because of its opaque structure - they simply don't know who they are dealing with; while Nanshan has allegedly "been at the centre of illegal land seizures", the "forced demolition of homes" and has "used violence against those who dared to stand in its way").
When the secret activities of Virgin Australia were exposed, the airline, under CEO Scurrah, successfully shut down any further media coverage and lied about their activities.
Virgin Australia, in formal written responses, labelled any scrutiny of what they were up to as “xenophobic” - a notorious fall back of the Chinese Communist Party.
Major Virgin owners HNA Group - which is now 100% controlled by the Chinese government - and Nanshan, which bought into the airline at the same time and whose owner is a long time Communist party apparatchik, had arranged to create the nation’s biggest flight training school in Tamworth NSW.
The project was massive - far bigger than any other flight school in the nation - and the mega-project had been launched at a secretive Chinese-language only media event in Sydney.
A press statement, first published in Mandarin, announced that the project was a done deal, and that the massive flight school was the first in Australia to be approved by the Chinese Communist Party.
After a contact alerted me to the story - months after the press conference - I was dumbfounded and approached Virgin Australia.
The airline denied having anything to do with the project.
This was blatantly untruthful.
One of the presenters on stage at the Sydney launch event was Virgin Australia senior executive Peter Cai.
At the time I was working for The Australian newspaper as a long-time investigative journalist.
I was gobsmacked and knew this was a page one story.
My immediate editor agreed and everything swung into motion.
The story was placed high up on the story list to run on page one.
During the afternoon of Thursday 21st March last year, something changed dramatically.
I later learned this - at the very least - involved direct interference from the office of NSW Liberal Premier Gladys Berejiklian.
The newspaper now wanted nothing to do with the article.
Late in the evening of Thursday 21st March, deputy editor James Madden told me it was a case of there being too much news around and it was “squeezed out” of the paper.
This struck me as highly unusual.
The following morning, in the office at around 6.30am, I filed the story to the online news desk.
The article had already passed the lawyers, been checked and approved by the subeditors, and was ready to go.
The online editor came by my desk and asked if I was sure I wanted the article to run online - it was a very strong piece which would otherwise run very prominently in the print edition of the paper.
I responded that I was well aware of this - but that the editors weren’t interested in it.
I had endless other stories to work on and I wanted to move on.
The story was published online and, unsurprisingly, was a major hit.
It was shared widely and other media outlets, including Sydney radio station 2GB, jumped on the story, similarly amazed at how remarkable it was.
Prominent aviator and former chairman of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority Dick Smith called me in a rage.
He simply couldn’t believe the news.
He is one of the most connected people in Australian aviation and he knew absolutely nothing about it.
Smith is not unknown for the odd bout of hyperbole, but this was something else.
There needed to be a thorough, high-level investigation and the story demanded maximum coverage.
I told him he was spot on.
I told him to call editor of The Australian John Lehmann and to tell him exactly what he had just told me  (but to keep it to himself that I had suggested doing this).
I did this because I too, was completely dumbfounded by what was going on.
The same morning I had put in a call to the office of Barnaby Joyce, the local federal member for New England, where Tamworth sits, and I had received a response back.
He  was aware Virgin had planned to build a flight school at Tamworth - this was common knowledge and presented some good news for the local economy.
But despite it being in its final stages of approval, he too knew absolutely nothing about any involvement of major Chinese government-linked conglomerates.
This was a great new online “top” to the hugely popular and well read story.
But not a word of it was published - and the paper hasn’t run a single word on any of it since.
The decision to not run the story had nothing to do with space.
On the morning of Friday March 22, shortly after the piece was run online, Lehmann, on a day off, called the the online desk - part of the “backbench” - and told them that not another word that I filed could be published without senior editors approving it first.
I was deeply concerned - not least because of the major concerns key security figures had repeatedly warned about regarding Chinese Communist Party interference, including in the media.
A message had been left on my desk phone.
It was from Berejiklian's office, a staffer called Miles Godfrey.
I called him back.
The conversation was circuitous and became heated.
He was doing everything he could to say the information “wasn’t a story” and to play it down.
Then, at the end of the conversation, he let slip: “Well just so you know I’ve spoken to John Lehmann”.
I was outraged.
Here was a PR for the NSW Premier going behind my back and calling the editor directly to have my extremely important story killed.
And it had worked 100%.
My immediate boss overheard our (loud) conversation.
He came up to me shortly afterwards and said not to fight with Miles Godfrey as “he’s going to be your boss on Monday”.
A week later Godfrey was deputy national chief of staff at The Australian.
I spent the next two days filing and refiling, over and over, the new information and follow-up stories.
I cc’d every one of the paper’s editors in the exchanges, which were principally with Madden.
There was always some “problem” with the piece.
No other editor engaged.
Nothing ran.
I subsequently learned of even more distressing information about Chinese government links to the secret Virgin deal.
Lehmann’s The Australian refused to publish a word of it.
I continued pushing the matter for several weeks and was repeatedly attacked by my immediate editor for refusing to let the matter go.
It culminated in my resignation.
I’m raising this because ABC’s 4 Corners ran a lengthy story on Virgin Australia last night and didn’t once touch on any of these serious issues surrounding the company, which, right now, could not be more in the national spotlight.
I found this deeply disappointing.
There is more, very serious, information to come.
You will find it here.

anthonyklan@protonmail.com

TICK...TOCK Mick Mack, TICK TOCK indeed!  


MTF...P2 

[Peetwo]

TICK TOCK goes the aviation safety Ministerial clock? - 

Not sure how much longer Mick Mack can continue to ignore the serious and systemic failures of the aviation safety bureaucracy but to put in some context here is the latest update to the ministerial aviation safety shitlist...



Via the UP, 1st from the Glen Buckley thread: https://www.pprune.org/australia-new-zea...st10827053

Update

I have been advised of the suggested payment to finalize this matter.

On this matter, it only relates to the reputational damage caused to me and includes the direction by CASA that my continuing employment was untenable in light of the comments I was making publiclyi.e. on PPRuNe as that is the ONLY place I post about this.

CASA has offered significantly less than $10,000 I am advised. (significantly less!). Being the somewhat thick-skinned fella that I am, I shrug it off. It only completely confirms my belief that CASA is not demonstrating any "good intent" whatsoever.

I have the Ombudsmans investigation continuing, and am confident that will demonstrate the unsafe culture that exists within CASA. in the interim. I will publish a letter that i have sent to the Deputy Prime Minister some time ago and anxiously await his response
18/05/2020

To: The Deputy Prime Minister, the Honourable Mr Michael McCormack.

In this correspondence, I am writing to you in your role as the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, and Regional Development. In that portfolio, you have responsibility for the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and the safety of aviation in Australia,

My name is Glen Buckley of 6 Susan Court Mount Waverley 3149.

Drawing on 25 years’ experience in the flight training industry, I am well qualified to make the statements that follow:

I fully stand behind everything I say. I am fully accountable for these comments in law. They are not intended to be vindictive or vexatious.

I am drawing your attention to a small group of CASA personnel, whose deliberate and considered actions and decisions negatively impact aviation safety.

I intend to name the personnel, but prior to that I will outline my considerations in doing so.

· I am naming them, as this is primarily a matter of aviation safety in Australia.

· I make no assertions about them outside of their conduct within the workplace, and they may well be good citizens of the wider community. I am only addressing their conduct in the workplace while exercising their power as CASA employees.

· I am naming them to protect the reputation of the vast majority of CASA employees who act professionally, and the reputation of CASA. The allegations are against a small number of the CASA Executive, and not the wider organisation.

· I have written to the Board of CASA on multiple occasions over a period of 6 months raising concerns of good governance. That correspondence was completely ignored. I have reasonable concerns that elements of the Board may be trying to “cover up” this matter, and from my personal experience that is my firm belief. I have been assured by Mr Mathews, the Chair of the CASA Board that you are aware of these allegations, nevertheless I feel it best to have it documented.

· I am endeavouring to minimise any further harm to my reputation and welfare, and that of other affected individual's and businesses.

Every statement I make can be well supported with documentary evidence, and that is the purpose of this correspondence. I am seeking a meeting with yourself or your nominee to submit my supporting evidence. I anticipate that would take approximately 90 minutes. I feel this would be the most efficient and effective use of resources for your Department. I would welcome any CASA representatives at any meeting you are able to facilitate. I am able to attend that meeting alone or with other industry participants that share these views, and have been impacted by unlawful, unfair and unjust conduct by these individuals.

It is important to point out that the first three named individuals have had similar allegations bought against them previously by Mr. Bruce Rhoades. Unfortunately, Mr. Rhoades passed away from aggressive cancer prior to being able to fully prosecute his case. It was however the subject of an ABC program. I had the opportunity to speak to Mr. Bruce Rhoades prior to his death, and his allegations were concerningly similar to my own.

I am alleging that the following four CASA Personnel:

1. Mr. Graeme Crawford- CASA Executive Manager- Aviation Group

2. Mr. Jonathan Aleck- CASA Executive Manager- Legal, International and Regulatory Affairs.

3. Mr. Craig Martin- CASA Executive Manager Regulatory Services and Surveillance

4. Mr Jason McHeyzer- CASA Region Manager Southern Region.

have.

· Made deliberate decisions, and have taken actions that do less than, maintain or improve aviation safety. In fact those actions and decisions degrade the safety of aviation.

· Have not acted in accordance with the Ministers Statement of Expectations to CASA.

· Breached obligations placed on them by the APS Code of conduct including specifically that they;

1. Have not behaved with honesty and integrity in connection with their employment.

2. Have not acted with care and diligence in connection with their employment.

3. Have acted to bully and intimidate.

4. They have not complied with legal obligations placed upon them.

5. They have not used Commonwealth resources in a proper manner or for a proper purpose.

6. They have provided false and misleading information.

7. They have caused detriment to several businesses, the loss of many millions of dollars investment in the aviation sector, and deprived a number of persons of their ability to derive a livelihood.

· Breached the requirements of Administrative law, Procedural Fairness and Natural Justice.

· Have breached CASAs own Regulatory Philosophy.

· Have breached obligations placed on them by the PGPA Act.

· Have knowingly and deliberately breached, clearly stipulated procedures in CASAs procedural manuals.

· Have breached obligations placed on them in Administrative Law.

· Have not behaved with honesty and integrity.

The affected Parties are aware that there is an option to pursue legal action, but that is not our preferred option. That would involve costly and protracted processes. That places an unfair burden on the parties bringing your attention to these serious allegations and should be entirely unnecessary, provided you are willing to facilitate the requested meeting.

Saying that, I must draw your attention to the fact that three legal firms have been extensively consulted, with each of them specialising in their respective fields. Legal advice suggests that there is a valid basis for a claim should the decision be made to proceed. The first of those three legal cases will commence shortly. One of the three cases will be a class action.

I have requested that the issuing of legal processes be held off until week commencing 25/05/20, in the hope that you feel you are compelled to act.

I give you my personal assurance, that should you choose not to assist in a resolution, that legal action will commence, as my options will be exhausted. I am fully satisfied that there is a deliberate attempt by CASA to “cover up” this matter,

You are aware that the action CASA took was not based on any safety concerns.

The Australian people deserve a Government that will act with integrity and in the best interests of the people that they serve. The opportunity to perform in the role of a Minister in the Australian Government is an honour, and it comes with an expectation that you will act at all times, to the highest standards of probity. By conforming to those obligations, you will maintain the trust of the Australian public.

In your role as the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, you have been entrusted with considerable privilege and wide discretionary power. There is an expectation that when acting in that role, you will act with due regard for integrity, fairness, accountability and responsibility, and in the public interest. As the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development you are accountable and responsible for the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA)

You have obligations placed on you to ensure that public servants are deployed only for appropriate public purposes.

You have obligations to ensure that reasonable measures are put in place within your area of responsibility to discourage and prevent corrupt conduct by officials.

I respectfully request that you give this correspondence the attention that it deserves, and provide me with the opportunity to present the evidence to you, or your trusted nominee at the earliest opportunity.

Respectfully,

Glen Buckley.

Next Clinton McKenzie off Dick Smith's 'Human lives are priceless' thread: https://www.pprune.org/pacific-general-a...st10831011

Quote:
Originally Posted by [b]megan[/b]

Perhaps we once had a sensible society [b]Clinton,[/b] did an aviation safety course where it was explained that the need (cost) to introduce a life preserving mod would be balanced against the predicted number of lives it may save. If it were otherwise we wouldn't have vehicles driving head on at a closing speed of between 200 and 260 kph and separated in their passing by a couple of feet.

If only that were so in aviation.

In order for cost and benefit to be “balanced”, a price has to be put on each of the lives predicted to be saved. Otherwise, the outcome is an arsepluck driven by mere intuition and politics.

What price does CASA put on a life predicted to be saved? I’ll bet all the passengers on RPT jets flying in and out of aerodromes in G (pre- and post-Covid19 would / will be fascinated to know why their lives are worth less than the cost of implementing E or D or C.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the cost balance ....

CASA destroys lives, livelihoods and liberties in the name of safety, and prices that destruction at precisely $0.0c. For example, how many people who would otherwise have been carried on ‘community service flights’ are now not carried, as a consequence of CASA’s reaction to a couple of tragedies? (Let’s assume, for a moment, that the reaction causally reduces the risks of ‘community service flights’.) Are all the people who would otherwise have been carried still getting all of the medical attention and treatment they need, without incurring further cost? If not, that’s a cost that should be put into the ‘balance’. And what of the cost to pilots who would otherwise have been at liberty to conduct ‘community service flights’ but can no longer lawfully do so? I thought we lived in a liberal democracy where individual liberty has a value and, therefore, its curtailment is a cost.

What was the real cost of CASA’s reaction and what was the price put on the lives predicted to be saved? Absent those numbers, the reaction was you-know-what.  

 



Next the latest off the AP:

Ref: https://auntypru.com/sbg-5-7-20-a-dance-...ven-veils/

Plus:  https://auntypru.com/forum/showthread.ph...7#pid11387

And finally: 

AE-2020-008 :  Technical Assistance to RAAus - Collision with terrain involving BRM Aero Bristell, 24-8555, Kanangra-Boyd National Park, NSW, on 16 December 2019

Summary

On 16 December 2019, a BRM Aero Bristell aircraft, recreational registration 24-8555, collided with terrain in Kanangra-Boyd National Park, near Oberon, New South Wales. The pilot was fatally injured.

In response, Recreational Aviation Australia (RAAus) commenced an investigation into the occurrence and requested technical assistance from the ATSB in the recovery of flight data from two instrumentation units – a Dynon SV-D1000 and Garmin aera 795; both of which were subsequently provided by NSW Police.[/size]

The ATSB successfully downloaded data from both devices, including flight path information and aircraft operational parameters. Figures 1 and 2 summarise this information.

Both instrumentation units were returned to NSW Police on 23 June 2020 and a technical report and all recovered data provided to RAAus on 24 June 2020.

With the completion of this work, the ATSB has concluded its involvement in the investigation of this accident. Any further enquiries in relation to the investigation should be directed to Recreational Aviation Australia.

The information contained in this update is released in accordance with section 25 of the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003.

Figure 1: Flight paths from Garmin and Dynon units

[b]Source: Google Earth, GPS points by ATSB[/b]
[b]Figure 2: Selected flight parameters[/b]

Source: ATSB

---

---

Why do I get the feeling that the Hooded Canary's aviary was glad to see the back of that particular accident, especially when you consider what the tail end of the GPS vertical profile pictorial appears to show -    

Hmm...a quick referral to the RAAus bollocks 'Accident and defect summaries' page 8:

16/12/2019: Fatal Accident involving RAAus member. RAAus accident consultants are assisting police in determining the causal factors that led to the accident.

Simply put unless the NSW Coroner's office decides to examine further, that'll be the last we hear about that particular fatal LSA (Light Sports Aircraft) accident -   

MTF...P2 

[Kharon]

Silence was the stern reply.

P2 - “Why do I get the feeling that the Hooded Canary's aviary was glad to see the back of that particular accident, especially when you consider what the tail end of the GPS vertical profile pictorial appears to show.”

In a way, it is probably just as well that the ATSB only did what they did and no more. The wriggly lines on the graph tell one part of the story; the flight path another, each in their own way informative, but not conclusive. Leaving the 'basic' questions unanswered and RAOz not providing any information worth thinking about. Even basic data like wind speed and direction, temperature, visibility etc is notable by it's absence.

If RAOz is to be allowed investigative powers then publication of details – a'la mode de ATSB should be made a requirement. We have no idea what the intention of the flight was. If for example, this was a cruise leg, then it puts a different spin on the accident ball. If it was a practice/ training flight, then it's another animal. I don't like this 'secret squirrel' stuff and see no reason for it. RAOz members should not be the only beneficiary's of the investigation – it was a fatal – it was a LSA – it appears to follow a familiar trend.   

FWIW (speeds approximate from the graph) – the wiggly lines are interesting; start with the altitude line; pretty constant until the airspeed fluctuations kick in. Then as the speed osculations increase, altitude is lost, culminating in a massive, rapid loss of both from about 240 KIAS to (about) 70 the end. That speed variance from a steady 100 KIAS – 150 back to 100 – up to 170 – back to 70 then all the way up to 225 before rapidly dropping back to 70 tells a tale. Note that the pitch (up/down) and 'roll' variation all coincide with the speed excursions.

Deliberate? Or did something go horribly wrong? From a steady cruise to a full stop in how long? Oh, no time line so we'll add that to a growing pile of questions then.

Was this an aircraft trapped in a mountain wave; no idea – no Met data.

Was this aircraft flying over a site and trying to take photo's or impress the mates on the ground? Who was flying – student or Pro?

Oh, there's a long list of questions which, IMO need to be speedily and publicly answered. This was a fatal – another fatal. Perhaps timely reporting and investigation could prevent another one.

Prevention is much better than some half arsed, part baked, useless bloody 'data' and silence.

Toot – toot.

[Peetwo]

Bristell in a spin with a letter of plea to the Mick Mack - 

Very much related, via the Yaffa:

 

Letter to Minister urges Rethink on Bristell
15 July 2020
Comments 0 Comments


Victorian aerospace company Edge Aerospace has written a letter to Minister Michael McCormack urging him to look into CASA's handling of the Bristell stall/spin issue.

Dated 10 July, the letter calls on the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Transport to intervene and direct CASA to take a more reasonable approach in the matter.

CASA issued an intent to ban stalls in Bristells in March this year after accidents in Clyde and Stawell. The ban was never implemented, but the Safety Notice remains in place, prompting the manufacturer BRM Aero to engage Edge Aerospace to assist with the technical details that have led to the notice.

Edge Aerospace states in the letter that the manufacturer has supplied all information regarding spin testing that CASA has requested and that CASA should now accept the statement of compliance from BRM Aero as demanded under the Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) category.

"CASA should be removing the Safety Notice and withdraw the threat to impose an operating limitation," the letter signed by Edge Aerospace Director Lorraine MacGillivray states. "CASA should also engage in communication with BRM Aero and provide guidance and most importantly provide evidence of supposed non-compliance."

The letter was supported with more than 100 pages of documents that support the contention that the Bristell had been properly spin-tested, that the aircraft complies with the ASTM standards that cover LSAs and that the manufacturer had supplied all information required by CASA.

"Spin and stall testing was conducted by a highly accomplished Russian military test pilot and formal reports and data produced related to this testing and has been supplied to CASA," the letter points out.

"CASA have not accepted the validity of this data. This is disturbing as CASA will not detail an issue or provide evidence of their opinion/view that the aircraft does not comply."

Among the concerns outlined in the letter are:

• CASA has used the results of stall/spin tests in Australia that may have been illegal given the aircraft is not certified for intentional spinning
  
  
• CASA has failed to outline why they believe the aircraft may not comply with the standards
  
  
• CASA has ignored all evidence provided that the aircraft does comply with the standards
  
  
• Despite CASA contacting other National Aviation Authorities over the matter, no other country has issued a Safety Notice on the Bristell.
  

BRM Aero has claimed that the Safety Notice has cost them upward of $2 million in sales in Australia and severely impacted importer Anderson Aviation Australia.


Edge Aerospace also takes issue with the recent Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation report into the crash of a Soar Aviation Bristell near Stawell. The report refers to the Safety Notice, but Edge believes it should not have been in the report because it had no bearing on the cause of the accident.

"CASA should be withdrawing the Safety Notice forthwith," the letter urges Minister McCormack, "on the basis that they have failed in their duty to assist the manufacturer, failed to provide any evidence of non-compliance and in fact have seemingly gone out of their way to jeopardise BRM Aero.

"We request that you intervene pursuant to the powers under Section 12 of the Civil Aviation Act to direct the Board of CASA to act reasonably in relation to the Bristell matter, to respond to our correspondence and to recognise the self-certification by the manufacturer that the Bristell complies with the ASTM."

CASA has told Australian Flying that an outcome is "not far away."

Comment has been sought from the office of the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport.

Hmm...yet another issue for the Mick Mack aviation shitlist...  

MTF...P2