Gan aft agley.
Patiently, I finished reading the last ‘Hitch’ for this year. Now, don’t get me wrong – I like his stuff – he’s no Sandilands; but he tries hard and stays balanced, a glass half full man. Bravo. But, where there is light, there must be shadow. Herewith the ‘Dark side’ and you will need ‘the force’ to be with you to beat it.
Hitch – “Unlike the Aviation Safety Regulation Review (ASRR) of five years ago, this one is not sanctioned by the minister, which means after all the works is done and the report tabled, the government is under no obligation to respond to it.”
Oh ye of short memory; the ASRR and the Pel Air pantomime both clearly and unequivocally define the response we may expect. History and two compelling reasons back up this forecast – no crystal ball required. In primus, there is no way known in Hell that CASA will ever admit they are a shambles and responsible for the most expensive, ludicrous farce of a ‘regulatory reform process. That would make public a fact the entire aviation world knows. CASA owning the epic cock-up would bring the government into derision; once again. Whilst not publicly admitted, the world and it’s wife, behind closed doors ruthlessly take the Mickey out of the pathetic charade Australian politics have descended into. Not only is the government not under any obligation to respond – they will go to extreme lengths to avoid doing so and defend CASA against any and all criticism.
Hitch – “When the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) released an investigation report into an Angel Flight crash that focused on Angel Flight's management more so than the cause of the crash, the issue went feral. A disallowance motion against the CASA legislation was introduced into the senate, but was ultimately defeated by bipartisan opposition. A senate inquiry into the ATSB's handling of the investigation resulted in no recommendations against the ATSB, but two against CASA, raising questions about what was happening behind the closed doors of Canberra.”
For a long time now, ATSB has been an international joke; Dolan set that particular wheel in motion and Hood has kept it spinning. Catamite to CASA through the infamous MoU, slave to the DoIT and desperate to avoid illuminating their feeble investigative efforts. ATSB have become a supporting crutch rather than a fearless, independent investigator capable of discerning the nuances and below the bleeding obvious reasons for accident. One day this will come back to haunt; heads will roll – but the status quo will remain; deeply entrenched in covering ministerial arse, rather than promoting the tough love aviation needs. Look no further than the series of VARA ATR incidents to watch Pilate washing his hands of blood.
“According to the Gospel of Matthew, Pilate washed his hands in front of the crowd before announcing, “I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves.”
Hitch – “But there are more changes sticking their heads around corners; we just can't get a good sighting of them at the moment.”
The smoke and mirrors make it difficult to see mate; which is bad enough but the steaming piles of manure between you and a clear sighting make it nigh on impossible. Rose coloured glasses have no effect – no amount of Alphabet soup will heal the sick. A reform DAS, backed by the minister is the only solution; without anything other than an ‘internal’ attitude change and clearing out of paranoid delusions, we only face more of the same rubbish.
But Mousie, thou art no thy-lane,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men
Gang aft agley,
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
For promis’d joy!
Patiently, I finished reading the last ‘Hitch’ for this year. Now, don’t get me wrong – I like his stuff – he’s no Sandilands; but he tries hard and stays balanced, a glass half full man. Bravo. But, where there is light, there must be shadow. Herewith the ‘Dark side’ and you will need ‘the force’ to be with you to beat it.
Hitch – “Unlike the Aviation Safety Regulation Review (ASRR) of five years ago, this one is not sanctioned by the minister, which means after all the works is done and the report tabled, the government is under no obligation to respond to it.”
Oh ye of short memory; the ASRR and the Pel Air pantomime both clearly and unequivocally define the response we may expect. History and two compelling reasons back up this forecast – no crystal ball required. In primus, there is no way known in Hell that CASA will ever admit they are a shambles and responsible for the most expensive, ludicrous farce of a ‘regulatory reform process. That would make public a fact the entire aviation world knows. CASA owning the epic cock-up would bring the government into derision; once again. Whilst not publicly admitted, the world and it’s wife, behind closed doors ruthlessly take the Mickey out of the pathetic charade Australian politics have descended into. Not only is the government not under any obligation to respond – they will go to extreme lengths to avoid doing so and defend CASA against any and all criticism.
Hitch – “When the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) released an investigation report into an Angel Flight crash that focused on Angel Flight's management more so than the cause of the crash, the issue went feral. A disallowance motion against the CASA legislation was introduced into the senate, but was ultimately defeated by bipartisan opposition. A senate inquiry into the ATSB's handling of the investigation resulted in no recommendations against the ATSB, but two against CASA, raising questions about what was happening behind the closed doors of Canberra.”
For a long time now, ATSB has been an international joke; Dolan set that particular wheel in motion and Hood has kept it spinning. Catamite to CASA through the infamous MoU, slave to the DoIT and desperate to avoid illuminating their feeble investigative efforts. ATSB have become a supporting crutch rather than a fearless, independent investigator capable of discerning the nuances and below the bleeding obvious reasons for accident. One day this will come back to haunt; heads will roll – but the status quo will remain; deeply entrenched in covering ministerial arse, rather than promoting the tough love aviation needs. Look no further than the series of VARA ATR incidents to watch Pilate washing his hands of blood.
“According to the Gospel of Matthew, Pilate washed his hands in front of the crowd before announcing, “I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves.”
Hitch – “But there are more changes sticking their heads around corners; we just can't get a good sighting of them at the moment.”
The smoke and mirrors make it difficult to see mate; which is bad enough but the steaming piles of manure between you and a clear sighting make it nigh on impossible. Rose coloured glasses have no effect – no amount of Alphabet soup will heal the sick. A reform DAS, backed by the minister is the only solution; without anything other than an ‘internal’ attitude change and clearing out of paranoid delusions, we only face more of the same rubbish.
But Mousie, thou art no thy-lane,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men
Gang aft agley,
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
For promis’d joy!