Sled, you're going to push me over my 0.03 posts / day average.
Instead of Australian VH-xxx v. United States Nxxxx comparisons, lets compare accident stats for regulated VH-xxx aircraft versus not so regulated Australian ultralight etc aircraft; the latter do not fare so well. How about CPL v PPL on the same types ? Yes, CASA is an over-regulator however I suggest it's a bit like the advertising industry adage of
'we know we are wasting half of our advertising budget but we don't know which half'. At least half of it is useful and as you are an ex-CASA man you probably do know which half is wasted.
the actual and future potential of aviation in Australia
The potential to do what ? The tourism industry is not bitching about expensive air fares, technology is allowing other forms of communication besides air, UAV's are providing unmanned aviation solutions to new problems, we have a massive overnight road freight system, and thanks to crap like J Howard we need not worry much about providing air services for our non-existent manufacturing industry.
AB, stop looking for extremes and start looking for spectrums, ie, the stuff in between. I suggest I was a lucky pilot and others might not have been so lucky, and that I was mostly above water and kept my CPL dry while using every bit of it. While I agree with the principle of turning someone loose to allow them to learn decision making ( floridly but incorrectly described as 'get a 1000 in the bush scaring the crap out of yourself' ), as an instructor you'd probably agree with giving them every tool to aid that process before they head off.