Amos2 that is exactly the point. In good old ANAL RETENTIVE Australia a pilot dare not exercise any command judgement as there is no room for common sense. They would have been reported before they got to the terminal. In many other parts of the world, this incident would not have happened as the guys would have just gone ahead and landed (as I have done). Rules are rules and we obviously obey them but lets not lose some sense of perspective.
I remember landing in Florence during the European league soccer on a Sat afternoon a few years ago. We called the tower numerous times with no response. The rwy was clear so we landed. After landing we called the tower again and the guy said callsign "cleared to land" with the soccer blaring in the background. We told him we had already landed so he said thank you and proceed to your bay. I must admit some Australian procedurally anal types would have gone around, all in the name of correctness???yeah right!!! Some times a little bit of lateral thinking can go a long way, thus negating the need for Mr Katter and his ilk to get his dial on national television mis-representing the facts.
I also understand trying to win this type of argument in this country is pretty much a waste of time, hence our reputation in other parts of the world.