[Gobbledock]

Darren Chester needs to go. Houston needs to go. Harfwit needs to go...

What a shambolic mess. And I would go as far as to say a borderline corrupt mess. For the Government and the Ministers office to try to hide an open and transparent public interview is breathtaking. It simply says "we are happy to cover up facts, we are happy to cover up things if we think we have made a mistake, we are happy to trick, fool and coerce the fare paying public and the hard working honest aviation industry".

THE MEDIA, THE SENATORS, THE AVIATION INDUSTRY AND THE OPPOSITION SHOULD BE SHAKING THIS ONE DOWN!

But it gets worse. Then this clown starts singing hymns from The Lord Houston songbook. Describing Houston as being some kind of Demi-god of goodness. Are you serious? Houston had a legacy of fu#kups under his belt wherever he has worked. It's just that like a slippery rodent he normally deserts the ship as it is taking on water or be throws people under the bus. If Chester puts all his trust in the Board Chairman and his inept CEO then no wonder we have this serious problem.

Then Chester says he has 'spoken to Sir Anus and Harfwit and has received assurances'. WTF! And you believe their empty words Darren? You really are a bigger tosspot than first thought.

You say that CAsA are across the issue! Ha. Again, you put your faith and trust in those shonks? They have been subjected to probably the most amount of government inquiries in human existence! You tosser.

Then you piss on the Unions, pilots, ATC's and every other part the aviation industry. What an insult to us, saying the aviation industry as a collective are scaremongering. What a disgrace. What an insult. What a lowlife. You've single handedly lost everybody. You now receive our vote of absolute no-confidence.

On top of that, YOU are the Minister yet you are not aware of a very serious radar issue?? Mate, time to crawl out from under Malcolm's desk, comb your hair, and hand in your resignation

Darren, you say 'people should come and talk to you' are you serious? Talk about what - selfie sticks, Twatter and hair product? Utter fool. I would be surprised if you could add 10 + 10. How could anyone talk to you about aviation and you then understand that 'dialogue'? Twat.

Everyone needs to share what this Muppet said in his interview. It is time for all of this shit to stop. We implore the good Senators to push for a royal commission into aviation. The fact that the Minister is not in tune with serious issues, combined with years and years of departmental mismanagement, obsfucation and coverups only proves what the IOS have been saying - THERE ARE SOME VERY SERIOUS AVIATION ISSUES.

TICK TOCK

[Kharon]

Of short planks and long drops.

It comes as no great surprise that a minister is a thick as the two proverbial short planks. It is also fair to say that no one is the ‘master’ of all subjects or disciplines; good advice is the key word here. Without sound advice, if you are a journeyman or even a master of any craft, you are buggered. In aviation we rely heavily on ‘sound advice’; from the Met department, from the ATCO, from the engineers, from the FO, from ground crew, even from the humble ‘honey cart’ driver – ‘accident’ if you will, is the savage beast kept at bay by a long, strong chain, the links made from ‘sound’, reliable advice.

GD – “Then Chester says he has 'spoken to Sir Anus and Harfwit and has received assurances'. WTF! And you believe their empty words Darren? You really are a bigger tosspot than first thought.”

This is a classic – That DDDD has NFI is clear as crystal; furry muff. Provided he receives the ‘good oil’ from a reliable source, then, with a bit of luck, things should stay in shape and proper decisions, made against good advice and sound counsel should keep him out of the really deep, smelly end of the swamp.  Clearly his pet ‘advisor’ on matters aeronautical needs the bullet, the minister has been in the shite since day one and keeps heading off in the wrong direction, deeper into the mire – only one reason for that. Whoever is whispering in the miniscule ear has a lesser grip on reality than the minister. Thing got me stumped is why does he persist following the wrong directions? Just fire the useless sod. It’s not as though ‘help’ and guidance is not fully and freely available to the miniscule.

The ‘miniscule’ could take advice from the good Rev: or, the inestimable Cannane; or the erudite Hurst; or the grand master Davis; or the peerless Mike Smith. There are at least another 100 good, wise heads which can; and, probably would (for free), asked nicely, assist our lost sheep to a safe haven. But no, the silly sod is attracted to lounge lizards, hairdressers, career bureaucrats and the like. To me, this demonstrates only shallow self interest; and, an altruistic interest in an easy passage to more popularity; with the local ‘dance with the stars’, cruise boat crowd. Which is probably as far as his self interest runs.

GD – “THERE ARE SOME VERY SERIOUS AVIATION ISSUES.”

True enough – and if this fool continues to listen to his hairdresser and tailor, rather than ‘experts’ it is only a question of time before these matters become a national disgrace, an embarrassing disaster, which will reflect badly on the government who lost their village idiot.

Toot toot.

[Peetwo]

Dazzling Dazza on MH370 - Not waving drowning...  

A summary off the AP MH370 forum of the recent days flurry of activity at ATSB HQ: 

Via ABC online:

---

Photo: Investigators said the wing flap was probably not extended when the plane crashed. (AFP: Australian Transport Safety Bureau)

MH370 was likely in 'uncontrolled descent', new report finds

Via the Oz:

---

Plane on ‘cruise’ before crash
12:00amBRENDAN NICHOLSON
Examination of wreckage from MH370 indicates its flaps were in a ‘cruise’ position when it crashed.

Worth a 1000 words, Hoody does it again - The pic from the Oz deserves another caption comp but where would you start??

The look on Hoody's face is a classic.." Is this miniscule for real??"
The gent looking under the flap..."what's he got under there??"
The Hoody extended hand...hmm maybe I'll leave that alone...  

BB - It appears to me that the taxpayer-funded ATSB members should be more focused on having an open, transparent and truthful inquiry into MH370.

  
On that point we should not forget that it was the Dolan led ATSB, that originally narrowed the scope of the 7th arc deep ocean search to the current high priority search zone. Now that same organisation believes we should be searching 'just a little bit' further North and wants our Government to go cap in hand to the other major DIPs (China & Malaysia at least??) for an additional $30 million to continue....

While we're on Peter Folly, I would like to award him a honorary AP Choc Frog for selflessly coming to the rescue of our totally inept NFI miniscule, who had forgotten polly-waffle rule 101: "when your in deep, stop digging" -     

Excerpt Press Conference — MH370 yesterday, note how DDDD remembers his pre-prepared lines but unfortunately that's all he remembers..   :

..Darren Chester: Well, ladies and gentlemen, we're available to answer any questions.

Question: Minister, how long to do you anticipate this first principles review will take to complete?

Darren Chester: Well, the team's going to be here in Canberra for the rest of the week, so we're talking about a three-day process and that will conclude by the end of this week.

Question: What do you hope to get out of it?

Darren Chester: Well, it's an opportunity to gather the experts from around the world to look at the available information, to exchange ideas. It's an opportunity for a full assessment of how the underwater search has been carried out, and a reassessment of the information from this process will be made publicly available at the conclusion—once there has been time to evaluate the discussions.

Question: Will there be a new search come out of it? It seems pointless to have a reassessment if the search is drawing to a close.

Darren Chester: Well I disagree. There is nothing pointless about what I said was quite an historic and heroic effort to search for MH370. We do owe it to the families involved of the passengers and crew to do the best we possibly can. We are doing the best we possibly can, and we assembled experts from around the world to reassess the data that's available to us and then make our decisions.

Look, into the future I must emphasise that decisions made in relation to the search area are not those for Australia alone. As I indicated, it's a tripartite agreement. We work in partnership with the Malaysian and Chinese governments on these issues. Quite rightly, we will continue to explore every bit of information that's available, and allow the experts from the ATSB in Australia, also the international experience, to inform our efforts.

Question: Are you ruling out a new search?

Darren Chester: All I'm providing for you today is an update on what's occurred thus far, and the plan for the next three days in terms of the first principles review. It's not my role as a Minister to second-guess the experts. What we're saying is there was an agreement reached in July this year between the three nations involved to focus on and complete a 120,000 square kilometre search area, and in the absence of any further credible evidence leading to any specific location, the search would be suspended at that time. So that is the process we've undertaken.

Question: Darren, you said that they're quite confident that they should be able to find something in the current search area. How likely is that?

Darren Chester: Well, those aren't words I've used in terms of confidence, or levels of confidence. We've remained hopeful throughout the whole process that we are searching the right area, and the report released today confirms we are searching in the right area. But in the absence of finding the aircraft, obviously it leaves room for further speculation and theories, but I simply won't second-guess the experts.

The information provided to us is that we are searching in the right area, but the degree of difficulty is something we all need to understand. We are talking about a search area which is 2,600 kilometres off the coast of Western Australia; we're talking about searching sections of the ocean which are four to six kilometres deep, with canyons and ravines. It is an extremely difficult and complex search. It has tested the limits of human engineering excellence and technical capacity, and it has been an historic effort.

To have not found the aircraft at this stage is frustrating for everyone involved, and particularly for the families of the passengers and crew, but we're continuing to work through the final 10,000 square kilometres of the 120,000 square kilometre high priority area, and we look forward to the discussion this week in terms of gathering experts from around the world to allow them to exchange their ideas, to re-examine the evidence that's available to us. And I think everyone involved is trying to keep hopeful and keep their spirits up about the prospects of locating MH370.

Question: Minister, could you actually give us an idea—you've mentioned that this is 6 kilometres deep in places, the canyons and ravines, very tough underwater terrain. What are the chances the aircraft could've slithered into some sort of underwater gully?

Darren Chester: Look, it's probably best if I defer to Peter now, in terms of the technical details in that regard. You've painted a very accurate picture of the challenging circumstances. If we were to imagine this 120,000 square kilometre search area and imagine it was on land, you're talking about a section of terrain from Melbourne to Sydney along the Great Dividing Range, except the depths are deeper than the Dividing Range is high. It is an extraordinarily challenging search area, but I'll refer you to Peter, if you like, in terms of some of the technical aspects.

Peter Foley: It's a good question, Brendan, and essentially why we're conducting the reacquisition of a number of sonar contacts with a remotely operated vehicle is to eliminate them. We've also got an AUV out there that covers some of the more challenging terrain, and it's a process of improving our confidence that we haven't missed it within the current search area.

Question: One of the aspects of this whole search that is quite extraordinary is the tiny amount of evidence you're actually working with. Now, you are–Defence, scientists and others–have helped you mine tiny signals that have come from this aircraft, or have been sent to this aircraft, responses to signals or whatever. This has been criticised by some as being too slender a body of evidence for you to rely on. Now, I understand that's all that you've got, but you do have an expert panel advising you–I gather some of those members are here. Is the feeling among the experts that you have advising you supportive of the conclusions you've reached so far?

Peter Foley: I must say, ATSB convene and coordinate the search strategy work as a whole, it's contributed to by a range of expert individuals, we've commissioned additional work, drift modelling is a good example of that where we've commissioned an expert to do our drift modelling as well once we started to see debris turn up around the coastlines of Africa. So you know, in essence we're not just reliant on the very scant satellite data, it's a key piece of the puzzle but we're also informed by anything that we can be informed by in addition to that. At this point it is probably debris which has enhanced our knowledge of certainly what happened at the end of flight, with the analysis of that section of main flap and indeed what we are doing with drift modelling, and currently in the process of, which is outlined briefly in the report there.

Question: Can you explain a little more about the flap, whether it was extended or not and what that actually means in terms of whether anyone was in control of the aircraft?

Peter Foley: What we've concluded from the analysis of that section of right main flap is that it was probably in a non-extended position which means that the aircraft wasn't configured for a landing or a ditching. You can draw your own conclusions as to whether that means someone was in control or not but taken together with the analysis of those last two burst frequency offsets, which indicate a high and increasing rate of descent, it means that we're looking for an aircraft that's actually quite close to the seventh arc.

Question: When we last spoke you mentioning the doubt about the evidence of the flap, what would it point to, I'm just wondering how confident you are as it's the mother of all conspiracy theories around some of these things. I mean how much solidity is there in kind of what you found? Is it sort of possible to definitively say you've got enough here to rule out some of those odd theories going around?

Peter Foley: The words in the report are most likely and that's the state that we indicate the flap was in, it was most likely in a non-extended or housed position, so you can never be 100 per cent and we are very reluctant to express absolute certainty but that's the most likely scenario.

Question: If the plane doesn't turn up in this last 10,000 square kilometres that needs to be searched, would the search be seen as a failure or do you think it was always the case of a needle in a haystack? You're probably not going to find it anyway?

Peter Foley: I don't think in any way, shape or form spending two and a half years of extraordinary effort looking for the aircraft could be seen as a failure and I would hate to express that thought amongst my team and indeed all the experts who are in the room who've devoted an extraordinary amount of time to finding the solution to a puzzle. I mean every single one of us is motivated by the desire to find the aircraft for the families and indeed for aviation safety more broadly.

Question: What do you hope this re-examination of evidence will achieve?

Peter Foley: Robin, it's really about going back to first principles and looking at all the evidence before us, any new analysis that we have before us and some of the analysis is emerging as Greg indicated, the drift analysis is evolving, I think also it's a chance to look back and see if there's anything else that we can possibly do to better our understanding, any additional work that can be done to better our understanding about what happened to that aircraft.

Question: And with this first principles review could we then see the search extended?

Peter Foley: That's not a question for me, it's a question for government, so I mean we will produce a report at the end of the day, from what the experts discuss, so over the next three days and then of course it's up to the governments tripartite to make any decisions in relation to that.

Question: And what is a realistic timeline though with searching for the aircraft? Obviously there's an end date at the moment, how long would you like to see that extended for?

Peter Foley: I have personal views, which I don't care to share but I don't think anyone, anyone who's been involved in this search wants to walk away without finding that aircraft, that's just human nature.

Question: Is this your last shot at maybe you know, finding that somewhere else?

Peter Foley: I don't think there's a last shot, I think we're doing what's a sensible approach at this point and that's to review all the evidence we have and look at the analysis and see if there's anything extra that can be done.

 
I have no doubt that Foley, unlike his miniscule, genuinely believes that given further resources the ATSB search effort will discover the wreck of MH370 somewhere North of the current priority search zone. Unfortunately for Foley he is dependent on a miniscule who has no interest, understanding or inclination to sell the concept of a prolonged search heading further North of the current search zone.

Nowhere is this more clear when our NFI miniscule says:

...in July this year between the three nations involved to focus on and complete a 120,000 square kilometre search area, and in the absence of any further credible evidence leading to any specific location, the search would be suspended at that time. So that is the process we've undertaken...

    
In other words the latest ATSB MH370 report outlining the latest findings, including the most recent forensic analysis of the MH370 debris and the further drift analysis etc..etc. doesn't meet the required agreed threshold of 'further credible evidence' - WTD??


MTF...P2

[Gobbledock]

Bad bad naughty P2;

"Worth a 1000 words, Hoody does it again - The pic from the Oz deserves another caption comp but where would you start??
The look on Hoody's face is a classic.." Is this miniscule for real??"
The gent looking under the flap..."what's he got under there??"
The Hoody extended hand...hmm maybe I'll leave that alone...  

I'll have a crack at it;

Chester; "Boys, this here book says that hair dye is bad for the scalp, an aloe Vera poultice will remove my unexpected pimple overnight, and there will be free male manicures at 1600 in the Parliament House cafeteria, so count me in!"

Hoody; "Hey Darren, so you like taking selfies of Todgers at piss troughs? Well what do you think of this giant beef bayonet?"

Politician peering beneath the wing piece;
"Hey boys, is that a glory hole that I can see in the flap?".

[Kharon]

Foley and the Choc frog.

If you can get the through the ‘official’ waffle, without reaching for the bucket; you find Peter Foley. He never fails to impress, and shines especially brightly when in company with the likes of DDDD. I reckon Foley would be out in the SIO in a row boat – if he thought it would help. The radio interview with RNZ and today's little media adventure leave an impression of sane, sound competence and a reluctance to ‘spin’.

Peter Foley: I have personal views, which I don't care to share but I don't think anyone, anyone who's been involved in this search wants to walk away without finding that aircraft, that's just human nature.

Course he does; same as everyone else who follows the search; no ‘heroics’ just the words of a man who cares, doing a tough job. He is AMSA quality. Second the motion for a choc frog. Bravo master Foley, nicely played.

Conversely, the only value the DDDD added to the ‘interview’ was to contrast the very stark difference between professional and puppet. Best he kept his mouth firmly shut; alas….

Toot toot.

[Peetwo]

The end of the line in Ministerial competency -

If I hear another NFI miniscule utter weasel words to the effect...

"..But the process in Australia for managing the safety of the travelling public is world class and one that we should be very proud of..."

or "..aviation safety is our No.1 priority.."

...it would be way, way, to soon. This is nothing more than a politically self-aggrandising, cynical attempt to perpetuate a myth to the silent majority and does nothing to 'promote or foster' the industry, that in reality are the true proponents & practitioners of excellent aviation safety standards.  

It never ceases to amaze me how such an important industry like aviation always seems to get lumbered with the most ignorant, incompetent, inept and narcissistic individuals for Minister. Why is this so..

Why couldn't we end up with a Minister like Marise Payne, who quietly and efficiently gets on with making good reform policies?

Reference Binger's article two days ago, imagine this as a headline when you woke up Monday morning: Government makes 30% savings thru harmonising aviation regulations

All kudos to Minister Payne...

Taking this a step further, over on the Alphabets thread Thorny highlighted another article from Binger: TB post #88 & the Oz

Airlines batten down the hatches
12:00amMITCHELL BINGEMANN
The soft belly of Australia’s aviation sector has been laid bare.

TB said "..Interesting little piece in the weekend Australian by our mate Mitch Bingemann regarding the downturn in Domestic traffic allegedly showing Australians have been spooked from flying thus causing a reduction in profits for our two airline crew. John Borgetti blames it on " a combination of reasons that include housing prices, election uncertainty both here and the in the US and global economic jitters"...

...What has this to do with enquiries? probably nothing, but the end game is approaching for General Aviation in Australia. Its being priced out of existence by regulatory burden. Those same burdens exist for the Airline fraternity but economy of scale and a virtual duopoly makes those burdens easy to absorb, a few bucks on the ticket price is neither here nor there, but a downturn in domestic travel? Shock horror!!! could it be people have reached their limit as I have?...

...Think of the increase in foreign travellers who would visit Australia. Think of the Howls that would be heard from our Airline duopoly of unfair competition because international airlines are not saddled with the bureaucratic bullshit they have to deal with.

One can dream, but I wonder how long do nothing Darren would do nothing if that was the case...

 
Okay if we took the question to VA & Qantas domestic, Alliance, Rex, Cobham..etc.

Q/ "What would be your response (from the above) if on Monday the Government set forth a program of cutting your regulatory burden by a predicted 30% would you be in agreement with that? - A/ "..Nah bugger off mate our shareholders will be pissed if we suddenly increase their dividends by 30%..." - Yeah right!

But in reality what do we get? A NFI miniscule offering us another peace meal bloody review - reference Ferryman Reality Check:

"..Now this idiot who has managed to escape his village – or lost it; wants to pull on another ‘inquiry’ or a ‘review’ as he calls it. It is a calculated, cynical insult to a fine Senate Standing Committee, David Forsyth, the industry and the long suffering over taxed public. The announcement insults the intelligence, demeans industry and put’s a final confirmation to the notion that Chester and his trough buddy are taking the Mickey Bliss (and the money)

..Chester needs to get his advice right – it is not just industry having the piss taken out of them; he is the final victim, because who ever is advising him is definitely taking the piss from him. He who laugh’s last is Chester’s advisor. Chester is as dumb as dog pooh, NFI and relies heavily, pathetically on ‘advice’.  The last thing his ‘advisors’ must do before going to sleep is have a good laugh at his expense. Me, if I thought about it that way, I’d laugh too...

 ..Pathetic response from a pathetic individual, the man should be making advertorials and flogging off the latest in ‘product’ on the morning TV shows; not be responsible for a huge, important portfolio.  When he can find a hole in a whorehouse, with a spotlight, I may even spare a thought for his ‘advised’ mouthing’s; ‘till then, I shall continue to regard him as a fool. The village idiot at large.

& what about investment in future aviation concepts & innovation?

On that score Dick Smith vents his frustration with the governments repeated handballing of his 2019 Electric aircraft race proposal:  

Spirit of 1919 may soar again
12:00amEAN HIGGINS
An electric air race could mark a key centenary.

---

DS - "As for Smith, he wants the federal government to come on board, not necessarily with money but with vocal support. “This would only work, like the original race, if you had the Prime Minister behind it,” Smith tells Inquirer. So far, he has been unimpressed with the government’s response. In a letter last month, Industry, Innovation and Science Minister Greg Hunt wrote to Smith, saying: “My department is unable to support the proposed race from England to Australia which is designed to spur innovation in electric powered aeroplanes.”

Malcolm Turnbull flick-passed an inquiry from Inquirer to Transport Minister Darren Chester, whose spokeswoman says: “The minister’s office has received correspondence from Mr Smith in relation to the proposed air race and the minister would be happy to have further discussions regarding the support he requires, if any, from the government.”

Smith tells Inquirer he’s been having discussions with ministers for 20 years and they very rarely actually do anything about aviation, particularly if they are, like Chester, from the Nationals. “That reflects the whole government at the moment, there is no innovation, no nothing,” Smith says. “It’s reflective of the complete lack of leadership now.”

Finally for summation purposes, on my Sundy rant - , I can't go past Ted's comment in response to that man's Oz Weekly Review article:

Ted

Australia is a vast nation that benefits from a vibrant aviation industry due to its long distances and sparse population centres.

The aviation industry has been in the doldrums for decades with the Federal Government treating the aviation portfolio with disdain.

The breakup of the regulator into CASA, ATSB and ASA, the revolving number of ministerial changes, the endless restructuring of the regulations and the flogging of airports and infrastructures into privatised cash cows has had an almost terminal effect on the industry .

Aircraft manufacturing has been allowed to atrophy .

Airport security is ineffective and costly, only making it difficult for aspiring new pilots to access aviation facilities.

So anything to kickstart public perception of the importance of aviation in this country is to be assisted.

Full marks to Nigel Daw and Dick Smith to put forward such a wonderful idea to promote the aviation pioneering spirit, public awareness and engineering boundaries capable of placing Australia in the forefront of new aviation technology..

so the present aviation minister must get the Federal Government, and the Libs, onboard of their excellent cause - P2: Good luck with that Ted

   
MTF...P2

[Peetwo]

Dear miniscule Chester - "The pin is pulled, incoming!!"

In reference to the PFOS issue:

More from the Sir An(g)us and Electric Blue PFOS diaries as reported today.

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-08...rt/8006952

Another day, another PFOS issue.

"Katherine landholders have been offered alternate drinking water by the Department of Defence as investigations into possible water contamination from firefighting foam at Territory military bases continue".

http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern-t...b09657f973

TICK TOCK Defence, TICK TOCK Sir Anus and Harfwit

Tick..tick..tick..tick goes 4D Chester's PFOS clock -   

For our bureaucratic footstool (see HERE or HERE)..



 ..& NFI miniscule responsible for aviation Dazzling Dazza the following headline (courtesy of Fairfax media via the Liverpool Champion) yesterday, ordinarily should be cause for much alarm...

'National crisis': Toxins detected at 300 times the safe level in Defence sites

Michael Koziol
9 Nov 2016, 8:20 a.m.
[/url][url=http://twitter.com/share?url=http://www.liverpoolchampion.com.au/story/4281250/toxins-300-times-above-safe-levels-at-defence-sites/&text=Toxins 300 times above safe levels at Defence]
Toxins have been detected at more than 300 times the maximum safe levels in ground and surface water at numerous defence sites around Australia.

Perth's HMAS Stirling navy base. 

The story Toxins 300 times above safe levels at Defence sites first appeared on The Sydney Morning Herald.

This reference to Townsville is truly troubling...

..Mariann Lloyd-Smith, senior adviser at the National Toxics Network, said the levels detected at Townsville were "incredibly high". She called on Defence to return to the sites "instantaneously" and conduct off-site water monitoring.

"I'm delighted I'm not living anywhere near the Townsville base, because those levels are shocking," she said...

It is my understanding that, much like Williamtown, Townsville is a joint Civil-Defence airport and as such also falls under a 'joint responsibility' agreement of Defence & Airservices Australia.

This would appear to be confirmed in the ASA Senate Inquiry (Part B) submission at page 24 of Appendix D. (NB: Appendix D lists the 36 identified contaminated sites/airports that the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development & Transport are supposedly liable for)

Ps Meanwhile back in Can'tberra 'Malcolm in the middle', Barnbaby & 4D Chester are showing all the symptoms of AIOS ("acquired institutionalised ostrichitis syndrome"): 

Being a consummate polly-waffle, maybe the following (courtesy of HofR Hansard), will be what really rattles the cage of M&M hand-puppet 4D Chester...

Ms MADELEINE KING  (Brand) (13:36): Tomorrow on Remembrance Day the Rockingham community will welcome home the 192 service women and men who have spent the last months on deployment aboard HMAS Perth in the Middle East. On Sunday I will stand with the families and work mates of the personnel of HMAS Arunta who will be departing Fleet Base West at Garden Island on their long deployment. We extend our gratitude for their service.  

These service men and women do their duty to our country. It is shameful that the government, in its decision to keep the results of the preliminary sampling program of the impact of legacy firefighting foam contaminants under wraps, has not treated them with the same respect. It is shameful that, instead of informing people about potential contaminants in their workplace, the government has chosen to keep them in the dark. It is shameful that, instead of making the community aware of the positive test results on HMAS Stirling, which has recorded one of the highest levels in the country, the government has chosen to keep quiet. It is especially shameful that, even now with the results known, the government is still keeping quiet on when exactly it will get around to starting the detailed environmental testing at defence sites around the country.

There are 2,300 service women and men, 600 defence civilian employees and 500 long-term contractors stationed at HMAS Stirling on Garden Island in Rockingham. With three government defence ministers surely one could have taken the time to talk with the community about what is happening on Garden Island. Surely one government defence minister could tell the truth to our dedicated service personnel.

---

Ms O'TOOLE (Herbert) (13:39): I rise in this place today to talk to an incredibly serious issue that the Turnbull government is silent about but which I will not be. This week we saw the PFAS investigation and management report released and it raises some huge concerns for the Townsville community. In Townsville, some of our drinking and recreational water has levels of PFAS that are more than 30 times the safe limit.

For any government authority, these numbers would raise alarms—but not the Turnbull government. This government has been sitting on this report since September and only decided to make the report public this week. I received a letter from the Minister for Defence, Marise Payne, on 7 November, which states:

… investigations will commence in 2017 and will take approximately 12 months to complete.

I ask: when in 2017—31 December? This is not good enough. This is my community's health at risk. The day that the government received this report, I should have had a phone call, an email—even a carrier pigeon would have done—stating these concerns and we should have started working together. I will not allow Townsville to become the next Williamtown or Oakey, where the government's lack of action has created huge and unnecessary anxiety and fear.

It is clear this government has no idea about addressing this issue. Its policy is actually a copy and paste of Labor's. I demand the following immediate action from the government: start the next round of testing, invest in resourcing Defence, communicate and consult with the community, appoint a community liaison officer, and don't add to the already existing uncertainty, stress and anxiety of these communities. (Time expired)

---

Mr GOSLING  (Solomon) (13:45): Tomorrow in Darwin I will be meeting with veterans and their families. Not only is it Remembrance Day, it is also an important opportunity for me to speak with those members of our community about issues that are important to us. One of the things they are going to be asking me about is the contamination coming out of some of our Defence bases. The Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Minister for Defence Personnel, many months ago, way back in May, said there was no interest in having any blood testing for people who are extremely worried about the impact of this on their lives and the lives of their kids and families.

Did he do anything about it? What happened is that it took four months to release the results and to tell the community what happened. And do the families of Darwin and Palmerston now understand what the results mean for them? Do they understand what they can do and whether they can still go fishing in the creeks and rivers that come from RAAF Base Darwin and Robertson Barracks?—no. No explanation has been gone into, and we do really know what the various ministers of defence are doing in relation to this issue.

It is about time that Malcolm Turnbull stood up and got these defence ministers to start doing their day jobs and to inform our communities of what is happening with this contamination issue.

---

Ms SWANSON  (Paterson) (13:54): Today I advise that I have submitted notice of a motion to be debated in this House calling on the Turnbull government to immediately address the toxic PFAS contamination around RAAF bases in Australia. This week it was revealed that firefighting chemicals that have contaminated my community in Williamtown, New South Wales, and the Oakey community in Queensland have also contaminated 12 other bases throughout Australia.

The government has said investigations to determine the full extent of contamination in these communities will take 12 months. That is too long. Has this government learnt nothing from my community in Williamtown who have been living under this cloud for 14 months? My community is stressed and stranded. They are worried for their health, their families, their businesses and their futures. Their idyllic rural properties are devalued, not usable and not saleable. Blood testing is only just beginning after we have fought so hard for it. One farmer has told me that his PFOS blood level is sky-high at 150 parts per billion. That blood level, he explained, is what you might see in firefighters who use these chemicals every day and at least 10 times what you might see in the general population. What is he to do? What are these communities—my community, the communities around Australia—to do? This government must step up. This Prime Minister must not put my community and others through another Christmas of hell.

---

Mr SNOWDON  (Lingiari) (13:57): Mr Speaker, this afternoon you have heard from the members for Herbert, Brand, Solomon, Paterson and now me, the member for Lingiari, about the contamination from the legacy of aqueous film forming foam contamination, PFAS. What we know in this place is that the government has failed to respond to legitimate inquiries and expectations of communities to have their concerns addressed properly and appropriately by the Minister for Defence. This is an issue which goes beyond the politics of this place. This is an issue about people's quality of life, where they are living, how they live, the places they live on, the values of their property and the health of their children and their communities, yet we are hearing nothing from the government. There is no process for consultation, no process for engagement, no process for liaison and no process for answering the responsible questions of these communities.

In my own electorate of Lingiari, Tindal is affected by this. There is one property already where contamination has been identified and the drinking water has been so contaminated that it cannot be used. There has been no discussion about what the future holds for the person who owns that property in terms of how any costs incurred will be addressed, if the property can be rehabilitated, what science is going to be used in future testing, and when the future testing will start. When will the legitimate answers to the questions from these communities be given by you the government? Prime Minister, could you request and direct your Minister for Defence to do the right thing by these communities? (Time expired)

Hmm...and if you think it is going to stop there, imagine when they discover that the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development is responsible for at least 3 times as many identified contaminated sites as the DoD...


MTF...P2  

[Gobbledock]

That's the hypocrisy of governments, they love the rememberance day celebrations, ANZAC Day, all sorts of supposed support of humans who sacrifice by service, yet they coverup, obsfucate, deceive and let other Australians down, such as with the contaminated airport issues. Loyalty until a dollar is at risk.

Learn from America Mr Turnbull, social media is here to stay and people are sick of Government bullshit and hypocrisy. Your PFOS clock is ticking old mate..

TICK TOCK

[Peetwo]

Of making airports great again

This one sort of snuck in below the ILS so to speak, back in September. Australian Airports Association release.

They have completed a study which indicates that regional airports are underfunded by around $180m per year. That has a flow-down affect on a stifled aviation economy, loss of productivity, strangulation of businesses and increase in safety risks.
Release;

MEDIA RELEASE
30 September 2016

AAA CALLS FOR ACTION ON REGIONAL AIRPORT INFRASTRUCTURE

Many regional airports around Australia are facing the prospect of no longer being able to provide critical aviation services for their local region and communities without immediate government assistance, according to landmark research study commissioned by the Australian Airports Association (AAA).

ACIL Allen has completed the first ever quantitative assessment of the economic contribution of regional airports across Australia and the financial challenges they face in operating and maintaining these facilities.

CEO of the AAA, Caroline Wilkie, welcomed the recognition of the economic and social contribution made to regional Australia by its airports, but warned that inadequate government funding could threaten their viability.

‘The findings of this study confirm what the industry has known anecdotally for many years,’ said Ms Wilkie.

‘Regional airports play a crucial role in connecting our regional and remote communities with the rest of the country whether it is for the provision of essential and emergency services, business, or education.’

‘However, over the next decade, many regional airports will simply not be able to generate sufficient revenue to fund critical maintenance and infrastructure works to enable them to continue to meet the needs of the communities they serve,’ Ms Wilkie said.

The Regional Airport Infrastructure Study found that:

• Regional airports across Australia invested $185 million in the 2015 financial year to maintain and improve airport operations and employed 1720 FTEs. This induced another $83.4 million in spending in the rest of the Australian economy and created an additional 2750 jobs;
• Due to the high cost, low revenue nature of many regional airports, the local councils that own and operate them often face significant financial stress from simply maintaining the airport to a satisfactory and safe condition. This stress is compounded when upgrades are needed to meet future aviation needs;
• On average, 61% of regional airports had budget deficits in the 2015 financial year, with non-RPT airports suffering the most with their costs exceeding their revenues by an average of 45.6%;
• To compound these financial difficulties, expenditures at regional airports are expected to rise by 38% over the next decade;
• Nearly 40% of regional airports expect persistent budget deficits over the next decade; and
• Across Australia’s network of approximately 400 regional airports, it is expected that the annual budget deficit will be $17 million per year, equating to a $170 million shortfall in essential infrastructure and maintenance funding at regional airports over the next decade.

In response to the study, AAA is calling on Government to address the funding shortfall facing many essential regional airports across Australia.

The AAA action plan proposes:

1) The Commonwealth Government amend the scope and funding allocated to the existing Regional Aviation Access Program (RAAP) and Remote Airstrip Upgrade (RAU) program to:

a) be accessible to a wider range of regional airports, including those with RPT services up to 400,000 annual passengers;
b) be used for critical maintenance works, as well as essential aeronautical infrastructure projects;
c) review the requirement for Commonwealth funding being contingent on an equal funding contribution from the applicant; and
d) increase the funding from $33.7 million over the next three years, to $70 million over the next four years in the 2017-18 Budget.

2) The Commonwealth Government consider the development of a National Regional Airport Infrastructure Loan Facility (open to all regional airports) that provides concessional loans and affordable financing for essential aeronautical infrastructure and maintenance works.

(This facility could operate in a similar manner to the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility but on a smaller scale and administered by the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development)

3) State and Territory Governments to review current airport financial assistance programmes, with a focus on creating or expanding existing airport funding and financing opportunities.

‘Now is the time to take a long-term, strategic view of regional airport infrastructure investment to ensure Australia’s regions remain competitive, livable and sustainable,’ Ms Wilkie said.

Article by Herr Bingers;

Regional airports under strain: ACIL Aallen report for AAA

• MITCHELL BINGEMANN
  
• The Australian
  
• 12:00AM September 30, 2016
  

Projected increase in expenditure.

The nation’s peak airport association has called on state and federal governments to increase funding to Australia’s regional airports after a new report found that three in five are under serious ­financial strain.

The Australian Airports Association enlisted ACIL Allen Consulting to conduct a study into the economic contribution of the nation’s 400 regional airports and found that on average there was a 6 per cent funding gap between the costs and revenues they brought in each year.

The report opened the accounting books on 36 airports across Australia to understand the challenges and economic contributions they made to regional communities.

In doing so, it found that many regional airports in Australia were operating at a loss each year and were heavily dependent upon cross-subsidisation by their local government owners.

Some 61 per cent of Australia’s regional airports had budget deficits in 2014-15, with about 40 per cent expecting to have those ­deficits continue over the next 10 years.
The funding deficits facing many regional airports come from requirements to continually invest in infrastructure, including lighting and runways that must ­always be in good condition to ­ensure safety.

The report found that the cost of complying with regulations was also proportionately greater in the overall budget of regional airports than for capital city airports — often by a factor of three (12 per cent versus 4 per cent, on average).

“Some of the regional airports experiencing persistent funding gaps will find themselves under increasing financial pressure that might ultimately result in their closure and cessation of operations and service provision,” the report said.

Caroline Wilkie, the chief executive of the Australian Airports Association, said the findings of the report confirmed what the industry has known for many years — that many regional airports across Australia do not have adequate funding to maintain or improve infrastructure.

While state governments and the commonwealth already have active funding programs in place for regional airports, the AAA says more needs to be done.
According to the report, across Australia’s regional airport network, the annual budget deficit has been tallied at $17 million a year, meaning the airports will need some $170m over the next decade to break even.

“The AAA believes it is critical for the federal government to continue to provide, and increase, fin­ancial assistance for regional airports.

“This assistance is vital for ­regional airports to ensure they can continue facilitating essential air transport services for their communities,” Ms Wilkie said.

“Without this assistance, the consequences for regional airports of continual financial deficits over the coming decade will be severe. The impacts could range from substantial reductions in ­aviation services through to ­closures of airports, which for a ­regional community would be a devastating loss, from both an economic and social connectivity perspective.”

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Darren Chester welcomed the report, saying it would help to shape the government’s plans for the aviation sector.

“Airports are critical pieces of infrastructure for the economic and social life of the one-third of Australians who live outside our capital cities,” he said.

“I’ve previously met with the AAA and had very positive discussions about the issues raised in its Regional Airport Infrastructure report. As a regionally based MP, I well appreciate the issues faced by airports in regional areas and look forward to working with the AAA on a range of issues.”

So it's no real surprise when you see that;

- The big airports are a monopoly, a rort, a gouge, and been flogged off by government.
- The smaller regionals are being strangled by compliance, old infrastructure, many are Council owned (and local Government couldn't fix a pothole properly let alone manage an airport), and they simply don't have enough coin rolling in through the door.
- While tools like Malcolm 'Goldman Sachs' Turnbull look after big business and award $50b submarine contracts, our airports are turning to shit. Government has priorities you say? Yeah right.

Shit airports. Shit roads. Shit highways. Shit schools. Everything infrastructure wise in this country is becoming antiquated, buggered, use and abused, suffers from piss-poor future planning, and on top of that ends up in a ministerial portfolio in which the people with oversight are normally nothing more than trough dwellers who have sucked and bribed their way into Government, or spent years knifing, plotting and destroying and manipulating others so they can get their own ringside seat at the trough. Neither they nor their minions know SFA about the portfolio, have no technical or industry skill in that particular area of business, and then people wonder why everything has turned to shit!

Tick Tock

This bit from miniscule NFI Dazzling Dazza...

“Airports are critical pieces of infrastructure for the economic and social life of the one-third of Australians who live outside our capital cities,” he said.

“I’ve previously met with the AAA and had very positive discussions about the issues raised in its Regional Airport Infrastructure report. As a regionally based MP, I well appreciate the issues faced by airports in regional areas and look forward to working with the AAA on a range of issues.”

...makes you want to vomit because it is pure unadulterated bollocks...

If 4D was actually sincere about the above statement then you would think that he would have responded by accompanying the AAA MR with a presser from his own office?? But for some reason that didn't occur, see HERE.


MTF...P2

[Gobbledock]

P2;

"If 4D was actually sincere about the above statement then you would think that he would have responded by accompanying the AAA MR with a presser from his own office?? But for some reason that didn't occur".

Very good pick up P2. Well done. Pollies love positive Pressers. Perhaps he saw that there was a risk he may have to shelve out money, hence his forgoing some PR? Or maybe he was busy at the hair salon that day getting his todger trimmed and primed for another men's urinal selfie shot? And that's about the truth of it isn't it? This der-brain Politician hasn't got a clue. He accepts a report, shakes someone's hand, twerps it out on Twatter (probably along with a photo of his perfect hair and manscaped body), files the report on Barmyboys top shelf under the heading 'More IOS Complaints' and leaves it there to gather dust for the next half a century.

[thorn bird]

“Airports are critical pieces of infrastructure for the economic and social life of the one-third of Australians who live outside our capital cities,” he said.

So regional airports are "Critical" pieces of infrastructure but secondary capital city ones are not.

Hmmm...could it be that regionals do not present a viable target, unlike our secondaries, for the development sharks to corrupt their way into massive short term profits at the expense of industry and the public in general??

Wonder how long before Hyde Park, the botanical gardens and centennial Park are declared "Surplice" land? same principle as used on the airports, the user must pay or lose the asset. Money talks unfortunately, national public good will always be trampled by the avarice of corruption.

Nice to see Bankstown made a 47 Million profit for the year, wonder how much tax they will pay on that? probably about as much as McBank's little rort at the primaries pays....Zilch.

Back in the old days when the aviation industry was "Valued" when our airports were vital public infrastructure those profits were retained by government to reinvest in the airports.
In the modern age, where the public good has been replaced with to hell with the public, political donation good and securing my future after government good, thus those profits disappear siphoned to offshore tax havens. Neither the public nor the industry derives any benefit.

[Kharon]

The big book of none answers.

P2 ...”makes you want to vomit because it is pure unadulterated bollocks...”

Not just wanted to – bloody well near did.  New rule – I ain’t going to read any more ministerial responses to serious reports. Not worth the time, effort or aggravation.  So ducking predictable; there must be a big book, tucked away somewhere for idiot Polly’s. The big book of PC none answers. Published as ‘How to tell lies, do nothing and get away with it’.

Minion – “Minister, Sir; sorry to interrupt your stylist, but the peasants are revolting”.

Minister - (languid like) “Yes, they are; (yawn) what is it this time?

Minion – “That airport crowd have produced another report; it is factual and it seems the aerodrome infrastructure is collapsing around the aviation industries ears; its serious I’m afraid”.

Minister – “Look here Minion, I can’t have my stylist disturbed every time there is another aviation crisis; this is a very expensive, sensitive artist here, making sure that every single hair is immaculate, and the tailor is going to be late; I may get photographed later (or do it myself); this is important stuff, my image must be preserved”. (Sigh).

Minion – “ I am aware of that Sir; but, this does seem to require a response; in fact it seems quite urgent, there’s a fair few of ‘em in the lobby and they seem a little irate”.

Minister – (snaps irritated) “Just look in the ducking big book; the airports page is just before assholes; look down the index, find the nearest listed complaint to the latest; go to that page and print out the ‘official’ response; get that to the media people and make sure they use the picture of me looking appropriately concerned; then distribute it”.  Got that?. Good, now bugger off – I am really busy here.

Minion – “Yes Sir; Oh, I love it when you get all decisive, may I take your picture for my children?”

Minister – (bored) I suppose so, but make sure you get my best side.

How many more of these say nothing, time buying, trite, work-shopped answers do we have to read through? FFS these clowns are just doing a little as possible, ensuring they rock no boats; biding their time until the next election, making sure that the indecent pension and perks increase. It is absolutely ducking disgusting.

Toot, toot – bloody toot.

[Peetwo]

P2;

"If 4D was actually sincere about the above statement then you would think that he would have responded by accompanying the AAA MR with a presser from his own office?? But for some reason that didn't occur".

Very good pick up P2. Well done. Pollies love positive Pressers. Perhaps he saw that there was a risk he may have to shelve out money, hence his forgoing some PR? Or maybe he was busy at the hair salon that day getting his todger trimmed and primed for another men's urinal selfie shot? And that's about the truth of it isn't it? This der-brain Politician hasn't got a clue. He accepts a report, shakes someone's hand, twerps it out on Twatter (probably along with a photo of his perfect hair and manscaped body), files the report on Barmyboys top shelf under the heading 'More IOS Complaints' and leaves it there to gather dust for the next half a century.

The big book of none answers.

P2 ...”makes you want to vomit because it is pure unadulterated bollocks...”

Not just wanted to – bloody well near did.  New rule – I ain’t going to read any more ministerial responses to serious reports. Not worth the time, effort or aggravation.  So ducking predictable; there must be a big book, tucked away somewhere for idiot Polly’s. The big book of PC none answers. Published as ‘How to tell lies, do nothing and get away with it’.

Minion – “Minister, Sir; sorry to interrupt your stylist, but the peasants are revolting”.

Minister - (languid like) “Yes, they are; (yawn) what is it this time?

Minion – “That airport crowd have produced another report; it is factual and it seems the aerodrome infrastructure is collapsing around the aviation industries ears; its serious I’m afraid”.

Minister – “Look here Minion, I can’t have my stylist disturbed every time there is another aviation crisis; this is a very expensive, sensitive artist here, making sure that every single hair is immaculate, and the tailor is going to be late; I may get photographed later (or do it myself); this is important stuff, my image must be preserved”. (Sigh).

Minion – “ I am aware of that Sir; but, this does seem to require a response; in fact it seems quite urgent, there’s a fair few of ‘em in the lobby and they seem a little irate”.

Minister – (snaps irritated) “Just look in the ducking big book; the airports page is just before assholes; look down the index, find the nearest listed complaint to the latest; go to that page and print out the ‘official’ response; get that to the media people and make sure they use the picture of me looking appropriately concerned; then distribute it”.  Got that?. Good, now bugger off – I am really busy here.

Minion – “Yes Sir; Oh, I love it when you get all decisive, may I take your picture for my children?”

Minister – (bored) I suppose so, but make sure you get my best side.

How many more of these say nothing, time buying, trite, work-shopped answers do we have to read through? FFS these clowns are just doing a little as possible, ensuring they rock no boats; biding their time until the next election, making sure that the indecent pension and perks increase. It is absolutely ducking disgusting.

Toot, toot – bloody toot.

Absolutely spot on GD, TB & Ferryman, except I'd expand on the title somewhat...

  ...none answers for morally & financially bankrupt governments...

While on airports compare the above word weaselled response from WOFTAM 4D, to his response to a good news story that the government does not have to shell out for - :

Wellcamp venture is takeoff ready
12:00amMITCHELL BINGEMANN
Brisbane West Wellcamp Airport got a boost to its ­aspirations yesterday, winning approval for more overseas flights.

Brisbane West Wellcamp Airport got a boost to its international ­aspirations yesterday with the federal government granting ­approvals allowing overseas airlines to operate with unrestricted frequency out of the fast-growing hub near Toowoomba.

The change in classification to a regional international gateway, announced by Transport Minister Darren Chester, means the airport is no longer bound by ­restrictions governing inter­national passenger services.

“This is great for us because it removes the red tape and uncertainty about what international airlines can do out of Wellcamp,” airport chairman John Wagner said. “It means we will be able to pursue some international business ... both freight and passenger services. It’s also a big step in telling international and domestic airlines we are open for business.”

Mr Wagner, of Toowoomba-based construction and logistics company Wagners, said it would probably be at least a year before international passenger services operated, but they would definitely happen.

He suggested the first links would be to China and Vietnam.

The official designation comes less than a month after the privately funded airport launched its first international passenger flight, carrying about 200 passengers on a trade mission to China.

The airport, built by the Wagner family on an old quarry, opened in 2014 with a QantasLink service to Sydney. Since then, flights to Cairns, Melbourne and Townsville have been added by Airnorth.

Cathay Pacific will begin weekly international freight flights on November 22.

Wellcamp Airport granted regional international gateway status
November 11, 2016 by australianaviation.com.au 6 Comments

Brisbane West Wellcamp Airport has officially been designated as an international airport ahead of regular freighter services beginning later in November. The official designation as a regional international gateway was made on Friday, paving the way for more overseas flights from the airport located just … [Read more...]

..Being a regional international airport means foreign carriers are able to operate to and from Wellcamp without any capacity restrictions under Australia’s bilateral air services agreements, Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester said in a statement on Friday...

Meanwhile down the road at Oakey and coming to a run-down airport near you,
reference AAA's full & frank submission (in particular pages 7-9 for Govt obfuscation trail) to PFOS Part B Senate Inquiry  :

5 February

Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee

Senate Inquiry into Contamination of Commonwealth, State and Territory sites in Australia (Part B)

..Over the following seven months (July 2014 – February 2015) the AAA continued to consult closely with our members on their discussions with Airservices and Commonwealth agencies in relation to how this issue would be resolved. Over this period it became apparent that there was another significant obstacle that was impeding progress – a lack of Commonwealth Departmental leadership or ownership for developing a solution...

Then compare that to the management of the trough feeding government monopoly Airservices Australia and you get a real impression of how little regard the political elite and bureaucracy have for the silent majority of citizens in this country;

Or reference the yet to be completed CASA 30+ year, $300+million, isolationist regulatory reform program that is still crippling the sustainability & growth of large sectors of the industry;

Or reference the 89.9 million pot of money the ATSB was given to fund and manage a far too narrowly scoped MH370 SIO search, yet Hoodlum begs poor in the recent ATSB AR:

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau will scale back its non-fatal accident investigations. (AAP)

The chief commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau has outlined plans to constrain the scope of non-fatal air investigations.
Source:
AAP
20 Oct 2016 - 11:10 AM  UPDATED 20 Oct 2016 - 11:10 AM

The government agency overseeing air safety in Australia says it will have to scale back the number of non-fatal accidents it investigates because of limited resources.

Australian Transport Safety Bureau chief commissioner Greg Hood says his organisation will continue to investigate most accidents and serious incidents involving the travelling public.

But he wants to be more efficient, by becoming more "data-driven".

In so doing, the bureau will be able to more selectively allocate its limited resources to investigating those accidents and incidents that have the greatest potential for improving safety, Mr Hood writes in the ATSB's annual report.

"If there is no obvious public safety benefit to investigating an accident, the ATSB is less likely to conduct a complex, resource-intensive investigation."

Mr Hood says the bureau endeavours to investigate all fatal accidents involving VH-registered powered aircraft in Australia subject to the resources available and what can be learnt from the incident.

"But we will need to carefully consider the resources we allocate to investigations into general aviation fatal accidents and constrain the scope of investigations into non-fatal accidents in this sector," he writes.

There were not many safety benefits in investigating incidents which have obvious contributing factors, such as unauthorised low-level flying or visibly flying into poor weather.

"Instead, educating pilots on the dangers of high-risk activity is where we will refocus our efforts, with an emphasis on using social media."

Mr Hood says technology is already having an influence on his bureau's work, especially given the use of drones.

He notes pizza delivery using the technology is reportedly imminent

However there is a solution to all this that would top up the aviation coffers and do away with the trough feeding parasites. Reference a comment by 'a snivelling, miserable coward' from UK online publication 'the Register':

50 tech jobs to go at AirServices Australia

AirServices Australia is set to axe around 50 jobs across its IT department as part of sweeping cuts that could see 900 positions cut. The cuts are part of the Accelerate program, the ABC reports, and have raised concerns of safety from pilots and AirServices air traffic controllers. AirServices was not immediately available …

Something's not right.


According to an ASA PR droid, "...would only affect back office and technical staff."
Umm, clerical types aside (and they're no less important) but the 'technical staff' are those that keep the stuff running so the controllers can do their jobs.

They say that they're about to pull the plug on 22%
of their existing staff, so either:-

a) ASA management were asleep at the wheel and allowed the staffing to get totally out of hand over the last x years so they are presently severely overstaffed and need to be cut, or
b) There's going to be a significant reduction in service and system reliability if you pull that number of 'support' / tech staff.

Given that of the 4000 employees, 1000 are controllers who are supposedly 'quarantined' from the cuts, this really means that they're cutting 900 from the remaining 3000 employees, or 30% of the remaining staff.

With a great amount of regret, I can foresee services, and therefore safety, being impacted by radar / radio / IT / etc failures which will be put down to "lack of support staff" when it happens (and I suspect it will happen).

Either way, ASA management have some explaining to do.

AC for much the same reason as the previous poster.

---

Re: Something's not right.
Perhaps they're getting the whole thing ready to be privatized?

ASA and quite a few of its previous incarnations at least as far back as the early '90s have looked at Canada as a similar ATC situation to the one we have here - turn Oz 90° clockwise and you'll see the similarity. Melbourne/Cairns is quite a lot like Vancouver/Ottawa. Most of the high density traffic runs along one rather long edge with lots of nothing elsewhere (sorry, Perth).

Canada turned private in 1996 as Nav Canada, a privately run, not-for-profit corporation. They have gained a great reputation for themselves. This quote is from Forbes.com in Feb this year:-

Nav Canada runs one of the safest systems in the world, and it has won three International Air Transport Association (IATA) Eagle Awards as the world’s best ATC provider. Nav Canada is a “global leader in delivering top-class performance,” says the IATA. Nav Canada has developed new technologies that it exports around the world.
Remember when Australia was a leader in world aviation circles?

The UK turned private in 2000 as NATS, a public-private partnership involving the government (49%) and others. My spies tell me that they don't think much has changed there, despite the privatisation.

If we did go private, we could do worse than look at the Canadian system.

AC as seems to be the tradition here...

 
But that won't happen too much political risk for poor old Dazzling Dazza & Barnbaby in such ridiculous proposals - FDS...


MTF...P2

[Sandy Reith]

Wellcamp is to be congratulated, there would be more privately owned airports if the so called planners would allow it and GA had not been hammered.

This Sunday you won't be flying into Warrnanbool airport because it's given over to drag racing. I hear the same is happening to Albany WA. Why stop there? Airports would make great recreation areas, cricket pitches, tennis courts, footy ovals etc. Aircraft could still use portions of the facility, say between 5 am and 2 pm weekdays.

[Gobbledock]

Well done Wellcamp, well done.

Excellent news regarding Wellcamp expanding its scope of operations. The Wagners are savvy businessmen, ask anyone who knows them. They had the foresight to see that Brisbane was becoming a bottleneck both in the air and on land years ago, so, unlike our retarded Governments, they planned ahead, way ahead, and the dividends are and will continue to pay off. They also have the intellectual ability to do such a thing. You won see Chester, ex tabloid reporter, ever being capable of such a thing! Wagners are also finding rid projects and more. Soon they will rename Toowoomba (once nicknamed Poowoomba due to their recycling pooh water during the drought), an they may rename Toowoomba to something more appropriate such as 'Wagner'!!

Now of course 4D Chester has sniffed out a media and selfie opportunity and jumped on Wellcamps skirt tails, and the Wagners being diplomatic and knowing how to play the bureaucrat game welcomed a free plug from the Minister for Selfies, fair enough, Gobbles would have done the same. But it must be remembered that all the Government did was tick some inevitable boxes. Full marks go to the Wagners and not to any Politician parasite for the airports success.

Perhaps the Wagner lads can take over Murkys position, as well as DDDDarrens, Barmyboys and Goldman Sachs Turnbull, and 'make Australian airports great again'?

#wagners'understand'infrastructure

[Kharon]

Who said "forget the three legged entry?"

Three furlongs left in the ADSB classic - the ‘Revolution Cup’. And; it is neck and neck as they round the last turn: 2021 perhaps a nose in front. What a shock if the 12/1 outside chance won. The beast has a good pedigree; great training and lots of sentimental support; however, the ASA fielded 10 runners, all instructed to run as much interference as possible.

Well, it is close to the last furlongs now, seems the interference runners have been beaten out of the by a first class team effort by Perseverance, Common or Garden, and the perennial champion “Nopewontdoit’. What a race, what a finish; do not tear up your tickets just yet, looks like 2021 has got a clear run to the post.

Not over, not yet, but it’s looking good. Imagine if the Miniscule with the trembling hands and funny hairdo was obliged to award ‘2021’ as the winner of this long, tiring, frustrating race. Dick will be chuffed to bits. Bravo industry; etc.

MTF –: watch this space; or, the ‘Oz’ tomorrow.

Toot – toot.

[Peetwo]

Who said "forget the three legged entry?"

Three furlongs left in the ADSB classic - the ‘Revolution Cup’. And; it is neck and neck as they round the last turn: 2021 perhaps a nose in front. What a shock if the 12/1 outside chance won. The beast has a good pedigree; great training and lots of sentimental support; however, the ASA fielded 10 runners, all instructed to run as much interference as possible.

Well, it is close to the last furlongs now, seems the interference runners have been beaten out of the by a first class team effort by Perseverance, Common or Garden, and the perennial champion “Nopewontdoit’. What a race, what a finish; do not tear up your tickets just yet, looks like 2021 has got a clear run to the post.

Not over, not yet, but it’s looking good. Imagine if the Miniscule with the trembling hands and funny hairdo was obliged to award ‘2021’ as the winner of this long, tiring, frustrating race. Dick will be chuffed to bits. Bravo industry; etc.

MTF –: watch this space; or, the ‘Oz’ tomorrow.

Toot – toot.

Here you go Ferryman...

 &.. CASA QON 143-145 - ADS-B:

Senator XENOPHON: I am. I am very close. Can I just say that if aircraft fly below cloud cover, visually—if aircraft do not have ADS-B, they have to fly visually—correct?

Mr Carmody: Yes, they have to fly visually. That is correct.

Senator XENOPHON: The point that Dick Smith has made to me just again today is that that poses a risk to pilots. There has never been a case of a mid-air collision in this country involving aircraft in clouds—is that right?

Mr Carmody: I did see a quote to that effect. I assume it is correct; I have heard that.

Senator XENOPHON: He has expressed a concern previously and again today that requiring pilots who cannot afford to install ADS-B to fly visually below clouds itself is problematic from a safety point of view. Is that something you have assessed?

Mr Carmody: Not to my knowledge. I can take that on notice and see whether we have. I do not know the answer to that, I am sorry.

---

Senator XENOPHON: My final question is a follow-up. The base of your assertion is that it might be more expensive in a few years time, and that did not work for flat screen TVs or other technology.

Mr Carmody: Different technology. But that is just an assertion in the same way as it is an assertion that it will get cheaper, if I may, by AOPA.

Senator XENOPHON: And that generally happens with new technology?
Mr Carmody: It might.

Senator XENOPHON: Could you get back to me on that. Thank you, Chair, for your patience.

---

NX Written - 28/10/16: What empirical or other data does CASA have to ground the claim that that ADS-B prices will go up as a function of time? Please table this data.

ASA QON 159 - ADS-B:

Senator XENOPHON: How many general aviation aircraft have complied with the ADS-B to date?

Mr Harfield: I cannot tell you exactly. What I can give you is the statistic that for all IFR flights 87 per cent have been equipped and, for those that are operating below 10,000 feet, 60 per cent or 6 out of 10 aircraft have already equipped. VFR aircraft do not have to comply with the mandate—380 of those have actually self-equipped because of the benefits associated with it. As we approach the mandate, we have talked to the 70 top GA fleet that have not equipped and by that stage we are expecting to have 92 per cent equipped. Out of 931 airframes that are yet to equipped with ADS-B 50 per cent of those airframes do less than two IFR flights per month. If the 200 most active of those equip we will have 99 per cent of all flights ADS-B equipped by February.

Senator XENOPHON: That does not take into account all of the GA IFR aircraft at all, does it?

Mr Harfield: No, it is not saying that is all of them. I am saying they are the statistics that include GA IFR aircraft.

Senator XENOPHON: We do not know at this stage what percentage of GA aircraft have got ADS-B?

Mr Harfield: We do. I can provide that to you.

Via Binger & 'that man' off the Oz:

CASA backflip on navigation system
12:00amMITCHELL BINGEMANN, EAN HIGGINS
CASA will push back the deadline for implementing new air navigation systems in private aircraft by three years.

The aviation regulator is set to announce a massive backdown on the mandate to implement cripplingly expensive new air navigation systems in private aircraft, pushing the deadline back three years to 2020.

The Australian has learned that the Civil Aviation Safety Authority will soon announce that the ­implementation of Automatic ­Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) for private aircraft operators will be delayed from 2017 to 2020, in line with US regulations. Charter services and commercial, regular passenger aircraft will still be required to comply with the February 2017 deadline.

It is understood the CASA board has approved the deadline delay but is awaiting government sign-off before publicly announcing the changes. A spokesman for CASA said the regulator continued to “closely monitor the fitment rates for ADS-B” but that “no decisions have been made”.

ADS-B is an advanced air navigation system that uses sophisticated satellite GPS to determine the position, direction, speed and altitude of aircraft, with that information relayed in real time to air traffic controllers via ground ­stations.

Airservices and CASA had mandated that all required aircraft carry the new system by February 2017, three years before its full introduction in the US.

But private aircraft operators represented by industry groups such as the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association had passionately argued against its introduction, saying the costly system would destroy Australia’s already struggling general aviation sector.

They had argued that any implementation should wait until 2020 when similar regulations come into force in the US. Synching the regulations with US would result in economies of scale and reduce the costs of installing the expensive equipment. The high cost of installing the new equipment made businessman and aviator Dick Smith urge operators and pilots to leave general aviation before they lost large amounts of money trying to comply with the sector’s red tape.

Yesterday, Mr Smith welcomed the deadline delay saying it would be a reprieve for the nation’s general aviation sector which was suffocating under red tape and the cost of compliance.

“It looks like someone has ­finally made a sensible decision about this. ADS-B was offering no safety improvement for general aviation. It was just sheer bastardry,” Mr Smith told The Australian.

“It’s just a pity for all the aircraft owners out there who have had to take second mortgages on their homes to buy this useless equipment.”

CASA’s acting director of aviation safety, Shane Carmody, told a Senate estimates hearing last month that there were no plans to delay implementation and that there was no evidence to suggest prices for the equipment would decrease as installations increased in the US and elsewhere.

“In fact there might be more competition for equipment and the prices may not decrease, making it more difficult to get equipment closer to the time,” he said.

Mr Carmody said he did not favour delaying the mandate as “many, many operators, individuals and organisations, had over the last five years made a commitment to fit ADS-B — and they fitted it on the basis that the mandate was in place and coming in.

“There are a number of operators that would therefore not thank me, and would come back at us as a regulator and say, ‘You are making it less safe by deferring fitment when we’ve already made our investment in accordance with your direction,” he said.

The backdown on ADS-B follows a campaign by The Australian last year exposing the disproportionately high cost being imposed by government regulators on Australian aircraft owners as early adopters of the technology.

While many owners could see an eventual benefit in ADS-B, they wanted it delayed until after its compulsory adoption in the US.

Australian aircraft owners were sometimes put in the position of having to pay huge sums for “first installs” on their particular make of aircraft, which involved engineering costs of up to $120,000 per plane.

One of the champions of ADS-B who pushed for its early adoption is Airservices Australia chairman Angus Houston.

“Australia is a world leader in the implementation of satellite-based technology because it provides enormous safety and service benefit,” Sir Angus said in June. He and Mr Smith engaged in a public war of words over regulation.

Bravo Boyd, the Board, Dick Smith & AOPA... And hats off to the Oz, Binger & that man but a special note of thanks must go to one of the few pollies left with true honour & integrity for his constituents & the silent majority - Senator Xenophon....

MTF...P2

[Kharon]

Press two - for Ministerial Refunds.

Will we ever reach the giddy limit of spin, cover up, deceit, faery tales, obfuscation and dissolute, disinterested politicians mouthing platitudes? Serious question. Aviation is the world in microcosm; all there, every facet of life. It is a small world and easily studied, unlike some of the ‘big ticket’ items which haunt this small planet, it is a manageable size study; but IMO, it reflects many of the woes which haunt mankind. It also provides a perfect viewing platform of the ‘political’ machinery running the country.  Aye, ‘tis a ramble, one that has been working it’s weary way to the surface and; despite my best efforts to put it aside, has reached the point where I must pay it some mind. In short: what a ducking ministerial mess- we want a refund.

Pel-Air is about to resurface; corpses, they say, always rise, eventually and shite definitely floats. Lets take a long, hard realistic look at this tale of ministerial woe and ‘departmental’ intransience which the ditching of patient transfer jet off Norfolk island, seven long years ago has become. Put the ‘operational’ mess to one side for a moment; lets look at the ministerial/ departmental side of the debacle.

We allow government an extraordinary sum of tax payer money to provide the travelling public a world class aviation accident investigation service, to the aviation industry, so that we might (a) understand ‘why’ a crash occurred and; (b) so that the lessons may be learned and thus, prevent, as far as possible, a repeat performance. The Australian Air Transport Safety Board (ATSB) is requested and required, by government mandate to fulfil these tasks. The agency was set in place with good intentions, a plentiful supply of resources and, in the beginning did a stellar job: world best as a matter of fact. Slowly, but with certainty, this ‘ethos’ and standard diminished. Why this is so, is a question that government, in the form of ‘the minister’ needs to answer. The Senate has done it’s absolute best to provoke a meaningful response. The industry began that quest before the Senate became involved. The net result? Well that is an easy question to answer. Despite a massive body of evidence, proving, beyond any reasonable doubt that ATSB is simply a lip service to maintain the impression that Australia actually has a functioning safety over-sight system. The ministers (all of ‘em) who have been responsible for allowing this disgraceful decline to continue need to be tarred, feathered and run out of Dodge – on a rail. The present incumbent will, like his predecessors, fail, dismally, to emphatically tackle the problem, head on.  Bit like weeds in the garden; let ‘em get established and it’s not just a short clean up once a fortnight – it becomes a huge task. The longer the problem is allowed to grow, the harder it is to shift. We pay an extraordinary amount of money to ministers; those who are requested, required and bound, by law, to look after the best interests of the Australian people. Do we get value for that money? Are the problem areas fixed? Is there any hope of a future fix?  

We allow government an extraordinary sum of tax payer money to provide a world class aviation administrative and regulatory service, to the aviation industry, so that we might (a) regulate and manage aviation business and; (b) as far as possible, prevent any systematic lowering of standards; © to ensure that the system keeps pace with industry developments. This department, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is, in reality little more than an administrative service and an audit department; with delusions of grandeur.  It is estimated that some AUD$ 300,000,000 have been ‘invested’ in a thing called ‘Regulatory Reform’; the time this ‘reform’ has taken is about 30 years. The benefit to the Australian public and the aviation industry has been strictly negative, in the extreme. This out of control juggernaut is beyond the reach of the law; has been built into an untouchable edifice - which even feels it can, with impunity, take the Mickey out of contractual obligations to the ICAO. It is an organisation which tells ministers, Senators and the industry to go away while it continues to ignore protest after protest; report after report, recommendation after recommendation; inquiry after inquiry. The spent amount alone on ‘inquiry’ into the failings of this empire would significantly reduce the national debt. Nothing seems to affect this mouldering pile of incompetence; it just grows larger, costs more every year and achieves absolutely nothing of practical or intrinsic value for the country or industry.

Industry pays an impressive amount to Air Services Australia (ASA) to provide, in the main, air traffic control. From a business perspective, this is a monopoly that Fortune 500 companies would kill for – a government sanctioned licence to print money. You would be forgiven for thinking that ASA was rolling in it; and, contributing, significantly, to the government coffers. You would be dead wrong – they are broke. IMO, if the public ever got wind of the tales of corruption and greed which emanate from this monumentally buggered up department, there would be hell to pay. If the general population were ever made aware of how badly this inefficient, costly aberration is poorly managed and the huge sums paid out for this to continue, there would be just a little more than a few questions ‘in the house’. Of the three ‘government’ agencies; this one has the greatest potential to kill. Were it not for the skill and dedication of the ATCO’s running the ‘business’ end; the management of this top heavy organization would create havoc in the air – as they most certainly have on the ground, mostly in the nations bank account.

These departments all fall under the minister’s portfolio; they are, one and all, screaming basket cases. The minister will be (is?) failing his oath of office to allow serious safety and fiscal matters to continue unabated. There are seven deadly sins; each of the departments under the minister’s control is infected with these. A Lust for influence; Gluttony an insatiable appetite for power; Greed for more and more money to pay the inflated salaries; Sloth an endemic, transmittable disease which affects all; Wrath transmogrified to vengeance inflicted on any who dare speak out; Envy translated into denigration of industry skills and recommendations; and, they are ‘Proud’ of this; they brag about this, they even get the minister to support the fantasy. That’s seven – ain’t it?

Minister – we have paid top dollar for these goods and services, they have not been delivered. Now, either deliver the service or refund the countless millions they have cost us.

Toot – on deaf ears – toot.

[Gobbledock]

"One of the champions of ADS-B who pushed for its early adoption is Airservices Australia chairman Angus Houston".

And here layeth your problem. WTF would this arseclown know about ADSB in relation to safety enhancement, and WTF would he known about dealing with the financial implications of trying to comply with a rule that is expensive, could possibly drive your business to bankruptcy, and at the same time not adding one scrap of safety improvement.

Who, what and why has someone, multiple people, decided that Houston is some kind of aviation Messiah? Horseshit I say. He is a dweeb, a nothing, just someone who has spent decades with his lips pressed against successive Politicians rectums.

[thorn bird]

"And here layeth your problem. WTF would this arseclown know about ADSB"

Other than calculating the bonus received for saving the government cost by shifting it on to Industry.