This announcement gives me no joy or hope.
Jason was a deadman walking after Senate Estimates S***Show when Senator McKenzie ripped into him.
Originally Posted by
cbradio
Airservices has today announced that there shall be a new CEO after Minister Catherine King declined the Board’s recommendation to re-appoint Jason Harfield.
Is that the same as "stepping down"?
No, but given the Board recommended his re-appointment then this announcement places the Board on notice. Surely this is a vote of no Confidence in the Board of Airservices, a vote of no confidence in John Weber, Greg Hood, Eileen Doyle, Marlene Kanga, Anne Brown, Nicolle Connelly and Mel Hupfield. The tenures of Weber, Hood and Kanga expire this year, it is hard to see how Minister King could reappoint any of them.
Originally Posted by
konstantin
Hoody would have street cred re background certainly.
There would be many who would disagree.
Airservices Australia has lost its way, there is no service excellence. Widespread change is required, cultural change and leading by example.
There are a number of hand grenades that an incoming CEO will need to deal with. Pending ATC Industrial Action (PIA), TIBA and Operational Restrictions, OneSky delays and cost blow-outs ($5 billion and counting), Mangalore Coroners Inquest, Pricing negotiations with Industry, Western Sydney Airport, Sydney TCU relocation.
Jason previously held a number of EGM roles - Service Delivery (OneSky), Air Traffic Control Group and Safety Management Group. Unlike Morrison he didn't hold these roles simultaneously.
The
Greens have added a very different perspective. Basically claiming a scalp as part of the Brisbane Airport Noise Issues.
Airservices Australia CEO change vindicates community concerns, but more must be done to address systemic problems
Transport Minister Catherine King has today announced that Airservices Australia CEO Jason Harfield will not be reappointed despite the Airservices Australia Board recommending his renewal.
The decision comes after Airservices Australia (ASA) has received record complaints about aircraft noise following the opening of Brisbane Airport's second runway.
A Greens-secured Senate inquiry into aircraft noise heard just weeks ago from multiple witnesses about the repeated failures of ASA in community engagement, flight path design around Brisbane’s second runway, and a severe shortage of air traffic controllers.
Lines attributable to Elizabeth Watson-Brown MP, Greens spokesperson for Transport, Infrastructure and Sustainable Cities:
“Today’s announcement that Airservices Australia CEO Jason Harfield’s contract won’t be renewed by the Minister is clear result of pressure from the Brisbane community and the Greens who have highlighted ASA’s repeated failures, particularly in dealing with aircraft noise issues.
“Minister King’s decision, overturning the board of ASA who recommended Mr Harfield’s reappointment, is clear recognition of ASA’s failures and the need for change. But this isn’t a
PR crisis, it’s a real one affecting residents all across this country.
“More than just a CEO replacement is required for real change at ASA. While ASA continues to rely on fees from airlines for their funding, they can never be a truly independent body that makes decisions based on the safety and health of the community.
“ASA’s funding structure must be reconsidered to remove the inherent conflict of interest at the heart of their organisation.
“Now that the Minister has acknowledged the problems at ASA, she should work with the Brisbane community and the Greens to address the noise issues at Brisbane Airport, including introducing flight caps and a curfew.”
At least the Greens called a spade a spade. Straight and clear - "will not be reappointed despite the Airservices Australia Board recommending his renewal".
Whilst I disagree that the announcement is a "clear result of pressure from the Brisbane community and the Greens", I do agree that ASA's funding structure must be reconsidered.
If the Brisbane community is expecting the incoming acting CEO to be part of the solution then I feel they will be very disappointed. Brisbane Airport's new runway and the associated flight paths commenced operations on 12 July 2020, and the incoming acting CEO was EGM Air Navigation Services from May 2019 until October 2020 and then Chief Strategy and Customer Experience Officer from October 2020. Arguably oversaw the introduction of parallel runway operations and then with a change of roles, responsible for fixing the mess.
When is the next Senate Estimates?
Expect a lot of.
Mr Curran: I'll have to take that on notice.