Originally Posted by
Paragraph377
Glen B; “It’s a cunning use of phraseology they use, that leads people to believe that we did not have full operational control. CASA never state which rule was breached or what we did to raise concerns, because there is nothing”.
The misuse and/or personal interpretation of rule and law is what CASA is famous for. Over many decades they have made up their own minds as to what certain rules and regulations mean and they written them in a way that gives them an ace up their sleeve because when it suits them they like to apply whatever ‘intent’ or ‘meaning’ they see fit. And usually that is to suit their own nefarious agenda. Glen, they used this ‘ace’ to nail you to the wall, and others before you.
Lead balloon; “The only person whose opinion counts is that of a judge. Unfortunately, as you and many others have found out, first-hand, the costs and risks of taking on a scare-mongering 'safety authority' are prohibitive. The practical 'standard' is whatever someone in CASA wakes up each day and decides it is”.
Again, so very true. CASA are like a ‘woman choosing which shoes to wear each day’. On any given morning it will normally be a different pair of shoes to the previous day. And some days there will be multiple changes throughout the day, all depending on each wearers personal taste and the days agenda. To try and follow this process or the methodology/thought pattern behind it is next to impossible.
The overarching Civil Aviation Act is ****. It is a convoluted dogs breakfast and the starting point for reform is rewriting the Act. And what a dream come true that would be. By contrast, as a retired pilot and businessman I have also dealt with The Marine Safety National Law Act 2013 (may have been updated more recently, not sure) under which AMSA regulate. And also the Biosecurity Act 2015 under which the Department of Agriculture regulate. Both Acts have both been rewritten and updated in the past 8 years. They aren’t perfect but they are much more clear and precise (maybe lacking some teeth) compared to what they used to be. The 1988 Civil Aviation Act is an outdated load of cobblers and remains that way so that certain CASA legal folk can use it as a weapon when it suits them. It may be fun and games to them (you know who you are) but it negatively impacts and costs Australia’s economy many many millions of dollars in revenue each year. Since 1988, that figure is probably in the billions. If Australia wanted to get serious, the Government would follow the example of my beloved New Zealand who took only 4 years to rewrite the rule set into a more manageable and sensible suite of regulations which sit under a more succinct Civil Aviation Act. CASA is a pathetic joke.
Bravo. Bravo.
I remember the late eighties/early nineties and 'harmonisation' being discussed in NZ and AU - the difference was, as you say, NZ had it done in 4 years (Civil Aviation Act 1990).
To be fair (well, to give some hope), CASR Parts 91, 119, 121, 125, et al come into force on December 2nd this year, effectively wiping out nearly all of the previous CARs and CAOs and getting somewhere approximating what NZ took 4 years, to our 35 years and still not complete.......
As an interesting aside, there is actually no 'head of power' that enables the Commonwealth to Regulate Aviation and Aerospace under the Constitution. Section 51 ("Parliament shall have power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to:.......) mentions nothing about aviation.
An attempt was made in the Post War Reconstruction and Democratic Rights Bill (a Bill to Amend the Constitution) to, among other things, grant the Commonwealth power to regulate aviation and navigation. This followed a similar Referendum in 1937 to do the same, both failed to achieve the required majority of voters in a majority of States and a majority overall.
The ONLY reason the Commonwealth is able to regulate aviation is because Parliament DOES have a 'Treaty Power'. The Chicago Convention 1944 is effectively a 'Treaty' so the Federal Government uses it's 'foreign affairs power' as the font from which it is able to make laws to give effect to the Articles of the Convention.
Just shows how out of date the Constitution is in many ways and perhaps the overly onerous method of amendment should be eased somewhat.
Anyway, may be telling everyone something they already knew but I just thought that was an interesting aside.