[Peetwo]

Another win for Murky & who's who at the zoo -

Haven't heard much on this?? Apparently last week the AAT decision on the contested former Minister Truss's decision to approve the Jandakot Airport Holdings 2014 Master Plan, was handed down in the affirmative for the Minister and Murky's motley crew - Bugger :

Jandakot Airport Chamber of Commerce Inc and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development [2016] AATA 705 (12 September 2016)

(From Administrative Appeals Tribunal of Australia; 12 September 2016; 345 KB)  

Oh well I guess it was always a long shot and it certainly wasn't due to lack of effort or apathy from the industry when look at some of the well known IOS identities who provided witness testimony/evidence on behalf of the applicant JACC...

Here is a small cross-section example:

Paul Phelan

47.Mr Phelan’s witness statement went into evidence without objection and he was not required for cross-examination.
48.Mr Phelan’s resume to his witness statement included information that he was born in 1935, had an aviation background between 1960 and 1990 that included progression in commercial flying through charter flying, corporate and regional airline flying; then in journalism from 1990 to 1993.
49.Mr Phelan’s witness statement comprised a document that was prepared by or for him in July 2010 and was given to Mr Anthony Albanese, when he was the responsible Minister administering the Act. Mr Phelan’s historical document provided an introduction, dealt with what were called “unregulated monopolies”, gave background to aerodrome ownership and development since 1992 and dealt with “[o]bligations of local governments participating in the Aerodrome Local Ownership Plan (ALOP)”, gave Caloundra and Casino as examples of ALOP aerodromes, referred to what he described as “[i]ssues related to capital city general aviation airports ... (GAAP)”, gave Archerfield as an example of issues related to GAAPs, and detailed the Australian Transport and Safety Bureau’s (“ATSB”) response. He also referred to Bankstown, Camden and Hoxton Park aerodromes, as well as Jandakot, Moorabbin and Parafield airports.
50.Having suggested various remedies for “abuses” suffered by tenants, Mr Phelan addressed the role of the Commonwealth Government, the role of CASA, the role of the ATSB, and the role of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, all under their relevant legislation, as well as government interventions.
51.He then made a summary of what had preceded. The summary may relevantly be set out, as follows:

Clearly, the airports cannot be trusted to be their own regulators. Dumping the quasigovernment powers that the FAC held straight over to the managements of the privatised airports was a ludicrously incompetent act, and allowing, as ever, worsening situation to continue further demonstrates the ineptitude of successive responsible administrations.

The Commonwealth has clearly failed adequately and effectively to monitor the activities of organisations who control both GAAP and ALOP airports. This failure extends over the present and previous two governments and to the relevant Ministers and their departments throughout that period.

The Roofing Insulation debacle and the educational building program have nothing on this series of failures. The current Minister and his department now have a duty to restore the nation’s airports to a status which meets the requirements set out in the legislation, published policies and lease documents already in place.

They also have the tools to do so, and ongoing neglect of their obligations would represent a grave breach of the respective obligations of the public officials involved.
52.As the applicant recognised in its closing submissions, Mr Phelan’s evidence was both historical and of a “political” nature. The Tribunal finds the statement provides some useful historical and policy background to the Act, but that otherwise the opinions expressed in it are of limited usefulness in determining the primary and secondary issues.

Benjamin Morgan

53.Mr Morgan was called by the applicant and his witness statement was tendered and went into evidence without objection. He was not required for crossexamination.
54.Mr Morgan is the Chief Executive for the Aviation Advertiser in Tamworth, New South Wales. He said he had been involved in general aviation for the past 20 years and runs a company, that he said is the largest aircraft sales and marketing business in Australia.
55.He is currently a board member of Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (“AOPA”).
56.He said he has been concerned about the privatisation of airports for the past 10 years and aviation safety throughout Australia “as a result of the greed of airport-lessee at the expense of the airport tenants, airport users and the communities surrounding airports”.
57.He said that recently, on 6 May 2016, he organised and conducted a meeting at Tamworth Airport, which was attended by the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and the current Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, the Hon Darren Chester.
58.Noting that he was aware of the need to be impartial, Mr Morgan expressed the view that in order to achieve satisfactory growth of the aviation industry in Western Australia, Precincts 6 and 6A contained in the 2014 final master plan should remain free of nonaviation commercial development. He stated that: “Anything short of that will compromise the operations at the airport”.
59.In his opinion, the proposed change in land use within the 2014 final master plan fails to provide for the future of aviation and does not meet the present and future requirements of civil aviation for users of the airport, or for services and facilities relating to airport concerns. He said it fails to provide for the future requirements of civil aviation by locking in the airport to its present configuration, and completely eliminating any space that may be required in the future to meet the ever changing aviation industry and its community.
60.While generally relevant, it must be said that Mr Morgan’s statements are at such a level of generality that the opinions expressed in them are only of passing relevance to the key issues.

Kenneth Cannane

61.Mr Cannane provided a witness statement on behalf of the applicant which was also tendered and went into evidence without objection. Mr Cannane was not required for crossexamination.
62.He is employed as the Executive Director of the Aviation Maintenance Repair and Overhaul Business Association and has been for the past 11 years. He is based in New South Wales.
63.He is also a licensed aircraft maintenance engineer and has been for 57 years.
64.He was employed by CASA for 20 years. His last position with CASA was as Head of Airworthiness and Maintenance, at the time he retired in 2002. He was Regional Manager for New South Wales and Victoria with CASA.
65.Mr Cannane stated that during his time with CASA he was deployed to Jandakot Airport in an official capacity prior to the privatisation of the airport, in his role as General Manager of the regulatory framework program office.
66.Mr Cannane indicated an understanding of the need to provide impartial views. He also stated he is an industry representative on the Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Aviation Industry Consultative Committee. He made it clear he is already on record as having expressed the opinion that the proposed commercial development at general aviation airports compromises the operation of these airports.
67.Mr Cannane stated that he had reviewed the 2014 final master plan and had formed the opinion that the proposed commercial development of the airport on Precincts 6 and 6A would compromise its operations.
68.He said that based on his experience, the type of commercial development contemplated will have an effect on the operations of certain aircraft and that will have an effect on certain maintenance organisations at the airport.
69.In his opinion, implementation of the 2014 final master plan does not provide for the future requirements of civil aviation users of the airport by locking in the airport to its present configuration and completely eliminating any space that may be required in the future to meet the ever changing aviation industry and its community.
70.He expressed the opinion, as the Executive Director of an organisation with members conducting business at Jandakot Airport daily, that an increase of non-aviation commercial uses will adversely affect the airport and prevent the expansion of its use as a major training facility for the Asia Pacific area as a whole.
71.Mr Cannane expressed these opinions as of 16 May 2016.
72.Mr Cannane’s statements are of general relevance to a number of the issues, however the weight to be accorded his opinion is dealt with below.

When you consider the Honourable Justice ML Barker (Deputy President) review and final decision stretched to 743 recorded paragraphs, this case was always going to be a massive undertaking for the JACC to get overturned -  


Yet another stab in the heart for industry and another identified safety issue consummately ignored by the miniscule & Murky's department all in the name of commercial expediency...


Tick..tock miniscule Dazzling Dazza...


MTF...P2