Frank, you asked :
He is on the Board-ex officio. Why? .... and what is the Board's function?
Who, ... in the first instance exactly, reports to The Minister?
Who does one direct their complaints/bile/suggestions/voodoo doll pins to other than the "in house"
ombudsman? and where does "the buck" stop?
Jeez Frank. "Bile and voodoo dolls" ?? Remind me never to upset you ! You dont fly planes full of passengers around do you ??
You ask some valid questions as quoted mate. Sorry, I dont have those sort of answers for you.
In relation to the exact details 'the Boards function','who reports directly to the Minister','Ombudsmen' etc , these are questions I guess you could raise with JMac , Minister Alabanese,The Ombudsmen or your local member of parliament. I am not privvy to any top secret info, I am just a humble taxpayer much like yourself. In fact, the CASA website most likely contains the answers to some of those questions.