[Peetwo]

Another top post Ziggy...

I still reckon my analogy with my Emperor's New Clothes post & Thorny's statement (see below) sums up the Safeskies gobfest quite nicely:

Safeskies - What a joke!


You only have to read some of the recent AP forum posts ( Senate Estimates & Skimore corner) & in particular Ziggy's post this AM - see here - to realise how out of 'touch with reality' these silver-tailed, numb-nuts attending the next two days of aviation safety back-slapping and frivolity truly are. The ironical parallels with Hans Christian Anderson's tale the 'Emperor's New Clothes' would be quite amusing if it wasn't for the facts succinctly put in the Thornbird pic & post...  :

..Got news for you idiots, there is no future for aerospace in Australia without reform, you can sit and Yakkety Yak all you like, very soon you'll be yakkety Yaking to an empty room, without an Industry there's nothing to Yakkety Yak about, you will become irrelevant along with all the other parasites who feed off the industry...

  
Also not to mention that these gob-fests are masking serious deficiencies within the Australian State aviation safety program (A19 SSP):

3.1 State safety programme (SSP)


3.1.1 Each State shall establish an SSP for the management of safety in the State, in order to achieve an acceptable level of safety performance in civil aviation. The SSP shall include the following components:

a) State safety policy and objectives;

b) State safety risk management;

c) State safety assurance; and

d) State safety promotion.

However if ever you needed more proof that these so called 'luminaries' of aviation safety are so out of touch with any sense of reality, go no further than Dougy's weekly wrap - FCOL

CASA has published 10 key principles (some have already unfairly dubbed them the Ten Commandments) underlying its new approach to the regulation of Australian aviation. The principles include building trust and respect, taking a risk-based approach, being consultative and collaborative, balancing consistency with flexibility, embracing a just culture approach, taking actions that are appropriate and in proportion to the circumstances, exercising discretion fairly and limiting CASA’s role in support of punitive action where action may be necessary.

1.CASA is committed to maintaining the trust and respect of the aviation community
2. Mindful of the primacy of air safety, CASA takes account of all relevant considerations, including cost
3. CASA takes risk-based approaches to regulatory action and decision-making
4. CASA performs its functions consistently with Australia's international obligations
5. CASA approaches its regulatory functions consultatively and collaboratively
6. CASA communicates fully and meaningfully with all relevant stakeholders
7. CASA fairly balances the need for consistency with the need for flexibility
8. CASA embraces and employs rational 'just culture' principles in its regulatory and related actions
9. CASA demonstrates proportionality and discretion in regulatory decision-making and exercises its powers in accordance with the principles of procedural fairness and natural justice
10. CASA has a legitimate, but limited, role in pursuing punitive action for breaches
of the civil aviation legislation

This is very encouraging stuff indeed and congratulations must go to the DAS Mark Skidmore and his deputy Jonathan Aleck. But much of the good intention of previous CASA heads has been neutralised by entrenched elements within the organisation resistant to change. So the real work to put substance to the words is still to be done. (puke.. )

....I’m still at Safeskies in Canberra and it’s been an encouraging and rewarding experience so far. I keep saying that the unique advantage of Safeskies is the range and calibre of the people it attracts into the one room. There were 400 people at the opening dinner in Parliament House and that included the Chief of the Defence Force, the Chief of Air Force, the Secretary of the Department of Infrastructure, the Chairman of the CASA board, The DAS of CASA, the CEO of Virgin Australia, the acting CEO of Airservices and senior people from AMDA, Airbus, Qantas, Emirates, Etihad, the ATSB, Thales Australia, Boeing Australia, Aviation Australia, Border Force, the Federal and State police forces - and many more. They all heard guest lecturer Sir Angus Houston speak at length about his flying career with the RAAF, including an engine failure in a helicopter above 10,000 ft in the New Guinea highlands that resulted in a hard landing with the tail rotor sticking out over an abyss.

On the Wednesday morning the conference was opened by the Deputy Prime Minister, who then stayed through the whole first session while the four members of the Aviation Policy Group spoke and interacted with the packed room. 
More of the same today and I’ll share some of it with you when the whole thing is over...(puke.. ..hack.. ...puke )

MTF...P2