Minister without power?
I agree with Mr. Approach, he could have issued detailed Statements of Expectations for one, and at least tried to resume proper Departmental and hence Ministerial control with an amended Act. The CASA Board and CEO, not to say much of the Can’tberra bureaucracy, would have sniffed the wind and come to heal. This would have meant Thatcher type leadership where policy was pursued in spite of risk and in full understanding of accountability and responsibility. It’s called democracy. The 34 year debacle of CASA, the independent Commonwealth sponsored monopoly flies in the face of the Westminster system that relies on Ministerial responsibility. Not one Transport Aviation Minister has had the mind to see what is wrong and at least attempt to rectify this disastrous CASA induced decline of our once busy General Aviation sector.
The 1988 idea of the Government Business Enterprise, a farcical piece of muddle headed policy if ever there was, is still there with the CASA make work salary factory and fee for everything including numerous unnecessary permissions.
The system gives lie to the argument for yet more independent commissions or bodies like your IBACS and ombudsman thus removing our elected representatives even further from responsibility and the power to make improvements.
Back in the 1960s the Ombudsman concept was enthusiastically taken up by the Victorian Liberal Party. I was one supporter of this new idea. Yes marvellous independence, like a footy umpire. The Premier Henry Bolte was dead against the whole idea.
He was so right, take away responsibility from your elected representatives and you will only spoil your democracy.
Take just one Ombudsman office, the Commonwealth Ombudsman, it spends $40 million every year. If that money was spent by our MPs looking after their constituents we would have far better governance.
If all of the money spent by wasteful CASA and take into account $billions generated by increased private enterprise GA, plus money from deleting your IBACs and put a proportion of that into making our courts more available you will get a much better and equable outcome.