Why did, allegedly, APTA got "the treatment"?
There is a concept in business called 'critical mass" - where business becomes self sustaining and ceases to require seed capital as it generates enough revenue to sustain itself and more importantly grow because it generates further capital that can be invested in the business.
Consider APTA's likely future, assuming it was economically successful under Glens management.
1. It offers a cost effective pathway for flying schools to comply with CASA's strict and voluminous requirements. That is the incentive to the schools.
2. Soon APTA grows nationally and builds a clientele of say 50 schools, assuming that Glens APTA model is scaleable as I expect it was.
3. As time marches , APTA invests in refining its model to achieve further efficiencies and to comply with the natural increase in CASA regulation, amendments, etc.
Pretty soon APTA is the ONLY way for a school to comply with CASA part 141/142 requirements UNLESS the school wants to duplicate APTAs investment in both money and time. The APTA knowledge base is now voluminous and constitutes a huge barrier to entry for new players.
We would call this business a raging success and it would deserve the title because its key success factor is the provision of regulatory compliance at a reasonable costs. APTA fights the battles (sorry, I mean negotiates) with CASA on behalf of everyone. ALL you have to do to run your school is to comply with APTA manuals and you are GUARANTEED to meet regulatory requirements.
Now loook at it from the perspective perhaps of a lower level CASA employee charged with regulating APTA.
1. You are now dealing not with one school but an organisation employing perhaps 2500 people directly and indirectly that teaches perhaps 5000 pupils per year.
2. Considering CASA staffing changes, APTA management now knows more about part 141 / 142 than you do because it has negotiated over every word of regulation written on the subject for the last five years.
3. This isn't a little tin pot business that you can push around any more, assuming you wanted to. APTA is now a major, perhaps THE major, provider of flying school services in the country. You cannot shut them down any more that CASA could shut Qantas or REX. They cannot be bullied. APTA has achieved critical mass.
The result? CASA has lost power and control of the training agenda because it can't change regulations at will without APTAs acquiescence. CASA has lost job opportunities because one negotiation with APTA replaces fifty or more individual negotiations with schools.
For CASA this adds up to loss of control, loss of power, loss of job opportunities. Furthermore APTA paves the way for AMPA (Australian maintenance providers alliance), AGAA (Australian GA Allliance) and ACPA ( Australian charter providers alliance).
As Sir Humphrey would have said: "Minister! This cannot be allowed to happen!".