[Kharon]

Results v Rhetoric.

Fawcett and Xenophon have been; are, and I hope will continue to be great advocates for aviation sanity.  There are a couple of important qualifiers in the argument presented on the CAO 48.1 debate which, IMO, hindsight demonstrates the importance of real industry consultation before a ‘thing’ becomes law.  Having ‘poor’ law foisted on industry without industry putting up a fight is a large part of the current day problem.  But consultation has become a standing joke; how many really read, study and comprehend the edicts CASA send out, thinly disguised as consultation?  Not too many I’d hazard; and how many of those who read those offerings make considered, meaningful contribution to the discussion?  Again the same answer emerges.  Why is it so?  Fawcett sums it up neatly, even if in slightly ministerial gilded syntax:-  

Fawcett - “[On] many occasions it appears to have been a one-way process where they might have listened but did not take due regard or, in some cases, they just transmitted what they were planning to do and called it consultation.” Etc.

NX has a slightly different take, and bounces neatly off the Fawcett springboard, teamwork:-

Xenophon – “[He] says, in his usual diplomatic way, that 'the track record of engagement with industry from CASA has not been a wholesome one'. That is an incredibly polite way of putting a situation where industry is incredibly frustrated and concerned, and the pilots are gobsmacked that we are left with these regulations that do not address fundamental issues of fatigue.’ Etc.

This takes us directly to the nub of one part of the problem.  Some of the ‘good’ changes to legislation were made through an open, honest dialogue and supported by the minister of the day.  But the moment that minister was removed, the termites set to work and real, meaningful, open consultation was essentially abandoned. Disillusion and disappointment leading to a resentful apathy, which simply allowed CASA to walk any new law they liked through due process.  Once the minister becomes enmeshed in the mystique things like parts 61, 145 and 48.1 are almost ‘automatically’ passed into law.  There have been two ‘tests’ of system; one thrown out the other allowed into law.  The results could not provide a more perfect example of how a captive government can influence the outcome.  It starts here when an intelligent man toes the party line:-

Fawcett - “[..The] government will not be supporting the disallowance. I maintain the same position I have had since I was in opposition: in net terms we would do better to adopt the new 48.1. But there is a need to have that independent panel to work with industry and the regulator to review the points of concern and come up with an agreed position so that we can quickly amend that part of the regulation that needs changing.

This was, IMO a bad call by the minister; the notion of trying to patch up and emolliate an existing law is the reason the regulatory reform, now into it’s third decade is a complete waste of time, money and effort.  Meanwhile everyone suffers through the inherent flaws, over an extended period of time, dealing with a continuous stream of tweeks and amendments.  

Had the minister followed the Xenophon lead (or Fawcett instinct), things would be different.

Xenophon – “[Senator] Fawcett is right when he says that the consultation process for these regulations has been long and almost dysfunctional. We simply cannot go through this process again. We cannot sit and wait for improvements to be made—because will it be another five years or six years or will it be 60 years before this process is revisited? We need to take a proactive stance and push for something better, and now is the time and the opportunity to do so.

Xenophon – “[I] hope that the government will not let CASA wipe this task off its books. I hope, from Senator Fawcett's comments, that the government will be pushing for a continual consultation and a review process and not leave these issues at a dead end. And I hope that this instrument will not become another regulatory dead end, with all the implications it has for airline safety and passenger safety in this country. I urge my colleagues to support this disallowance motion.

You need look no further than the stark, very real differences in result created by the two disallowance motions. Through the ‘big boys’ maintenance unions and Ken Cannane’s (legend) unflagging efforts the disallowance motion on parts of the maintenance regulations have fostered ‘real’ hope for meaningful changes; done properly which should assist the ‘lighter’ end of town deal with compliance and resolve confusion.  Meanwhile, the CAO 48.1 reform farce limping it’s sad, sorry, band-aid covered way to more years of endless discussion against a regulator who no intention of changing anything, let alone listening to the proposed industry argument for change.  Window dressing consultation on fatigue versus hard, no nonsense logic on aircraft maintenance; no contest.   CAO 48.1 should have been stopped, dead in it’s tracks before it was made ‘law’ by industry apathy and acceptance of any old thing the regulator served up, without making complaint before hand. QED, refer Einstein on insanity.  

I would like to think, after re reading the Fawcett effort, that his heart was not fully committed to the make do and mend approach to regulation.  We may safely forgive this small blip on an otherwise pristine track record, there is after all a 30 year history of this method being the accepted norm; only in Australia and perhaps third world dictatorships.

It leaves me to wonder how the government will fare in the wash up of MH 370.  The same ‘heads’ that advise the minister on domestic matters aeronautical hold sway with international events.  This leaves any minister enmeshed in snares of bureaucratic power games; seduced by the siren song of political survival and completely captured within the fear and mystique of the mystique of ‘safety’.

Aye well, another twiddle wasted on deaf ears; no matter, the day is my own to do with as best pleases.  I may yet pop off and watch P2’s blue whales distributing spare parts about the coast of Madagascar.

Selah.