[thorn bird]

Aint it grand K. It would be interesting just how much money has been spent on "Enquiries" and other gab fests over the past thirty years examining regulation, all ignoring the blindingly obvious.
The total I imagine would be staggering adding in the costs of producing Australia's unique miasma of over regulation plus the resultant loss of business revenue, taxes and employment.
To what end? this mythical indefinable thing called "Safety"
Is Australia any safer than the US? Statistics would suggest we are not, yet the Americans enjoy simple plain english regulations, very easy to understand and comply with, against Australia's incomprehensible gobbledygook where you are never sure if you are or not in compliance. More often than not every time you commit aviation you are in breech of something, which lends some truth to CASA's opinion that all pilots are criminals.
In the USA the vast majority of pilots are trained by independent flying instructors, no hugely expensive AOC, no fixed syllabus, just outcomes assessed by rigorous independent testing. Flying training is way way cheaper than in Australia, as is the overall cost of flying, which leads to participation, encouraging upgraded qualifications and currency, which drives improved safety outcomes and a healthy GA industry.
Blindingly Obvious??? Our reform project started out adopting US reg's, why did we opt out for European reg's? then opted out of them for home grown ones. Who made that decision within CASA and why? New Zealand went for US reg's, their GA industry is thriving, Australia went it alone, our GA industry is on its knee's. Our "Safety" outcomes? No better than any other developed nation really.