Originally Posted by
busdriver007
Albanese, The Minister for Doing Nothing!
Busdriver, certainly Albo did nothing to arrest the severe decline of GA, you could argue that he hastened the process by being talked (by CASA) into a one off, four years only, increase in the fuel levy. This levy was expected to raise $89.9 million for special safety studies or, my take,‘some such’. ‘Some such’ probably to fund (consultants?) a bunch of remedies to sort the CASA messups that the FAA had uncovered which was threatening to downgrade our international aviation status and burst onto the public consciousness. Wiki- Leaks for info on that one.
Then what? Trust Troglodyte Truss, rolled it over after the four years and its still there in general revenue, one count a couple of years ago upwards of $127 million and counting.
Mid 2009 Albo shoved off the ATSB out of his responsibility to be yet another ‘independent’ statutory Commonwealth corporate body to operate willy nilly like CASA, AirServices and many others outside aviation. ATSB CASA personnel interchange, Rex’s PelAir ditching late that year, Rex’s mighty political donations; all for consideration by timelines and probity.
Regarding the Dick Smith article, Quote:-
“The spokeswoman noted that CASA already had a requirement that its regulatory approach must consider the economic and cost impacts on individuals, businesses and the community.”
This comment as reported from the new Minister in charge of aviation, Mr. McCormack, does not bode well, the drawbridge is up already.
The facts are there for all to see; the ruination of General Aviation, not only because the Act needs to be rewritten with safety as an outcome of a healthy industry, but because the present model of governance, some 30 years on, has patently failed.
Without a return in some form to Ministerial responsibility the present independent corporate structure cannot deliver rational or efficient management of civil aviation in Australia. Virtually the only political input from us the public, through our elected representatives, is an occasional Ministerial Statement of Expectations.
This farcical excuse for Ministerial control has proven to be totally useless and the regulator CASA continues to waste a perfectly good industry while feathering it’s own nest. A make work salary factory that has made rewriting the rules, for 30 years and umpteen hundreds of $millions still not finished, into an art form. Inventing new permissions requiring enormous fees being one method to bolster it’s budget.
Every time a Minister abrogates his responsibility by hiving off part of his portfolio by creating a new Commonwealth corporate, to administer and regulate, the excuse is that an independent umpire is desirable. Unfortunately government is not a sport and the corporate naturally looks after itself and salaries reflect ‘commercial’ rates.
Goodbye responsible government, hello waste, mismanagement, hubris, ego and internal power plays unchecked.
Accountability is lost in a sea of independent bureaucrats, Can’tberra of 403,000 people on salaries much higher than the national average, home to 1200 Commonwealth instrumentalities. The APS, if you can call it a ‘service’ because it is now regarded as the Public Sector, is 157,000 and includes an Ombudsman for just about everything in place of your Parliamentary Representative.
The only hope for Australian aviation is continuous publicity adverse to government. Thanks to the Oz; being the only media outlet that can at least see the tip of the iceberg.