[Peetwo]

On a slightly different tack but IMO still very much Senate related, if for no other reason but for national pride, I came across an excellent and inspirational article from the Bangkok Post:

Up in the air  - The mess that Thailand's aviation regulator finds itself in is symptomatic of a bigger region-wide problem that needs creative solutions. 11 May 2015 at 03:30

 Now even if only partly true, that the interviewees are as engaged in addressing the many issues/deficiencies of aviation safety in the region, then sadly very soon we could see the Australian isolationism policy in aviation safety come to full fruition...   Ultimately we could see our nation locked out from our own region and going backwards in an aviation free trade world..

Quote from article:

...In the EU, for example, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is in charge of safety in the region. This helps the region to attract qualified personnel and achieve standards that truly meet international levels.

Asean has no regional agencies overseeing aviation safety or coordinating air traffic control, unlike in the European market.

That issue came to the fore after AirAsia flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore, carrying 162 people, crashed in the Java Sea on Dec 28, shortly after the pilot requested to change altitude to avoid bad weather.

Though the cause of the crash is still unknown, aviation experts have seized on the incident to point to the dangers of congested skies and a patchwork of differing safety standards in Southeast Asia.

"Hopefully, the QZ8501 crash will galvanise the states to make technical harmonisation a priority," Alan Khee-Jin Tan, a professor of aviation law at the National University of Singapore, told Reuters recently.

Experts point to Europe as the model to follow, where EASA oversees safety standards and crew training, while Eurocontrol coordinates air traffic control.

While Eurocontrol was established in the 1960s, EASA was only set up in 2002 when the EU was already a much more unified and better-funded bloc than Asean is today.

"There's a lot of work to be done to address, identify deficiencies and to strengthen regulatory oversight. That's true in Indonesia and it's true in a number of other markets," said Andrew Herdman, director-general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines.

"There will be a lot of struggles and debates about it as each country may have to give up jobs or give up something, but all things can be worked out in a logical fashion," said another aviation expert. "With the apparent growth and potential growth in this region, it's worth it to start seriously engaging in discussion."

     
Hmm...wonder what they would call a SE Asian NAA - SEAASA perhaps??

MTF..P2