Dick Smith is a private pilot. He is no more an expert on aviation than Geoffrey Thomas.
But if he wants to put his money where his mouth is then perhaps some of the money he made from importing electronic components from a certain part of the world could be used to set up scholarships for Australian students. How many generations back do you have to go to be Australian enough for him.
His perceived Yellow Peril isn't the problem. Chinese students have created jobs and career opportunities for pilots to gain that valuable command time as well as provided employment in regional areas. It took Smith 20+ years to discover they had been operating at Merredin and still not a single tank in sight...not a student in sight either as it's been a year since they operated.
The problem is the behaviour and price gouging of the federal airport leaseholders, CASA creating an uneven playing field by allowing RA-Aus to compete directly with GA flying schools and the Fee Help debacles, mind boggling incompetence and witch hunting by CASA; these are some of the things that have made so many schools have to close their doors.