The generally poor standard of flight training is the single largest hazard to safety standards over the past decade and it is pleasing to see CASA under it's new boss waking up to that fact. New CPL holders these days are not as good as PPLs of twenty years ago.
Clearly there are some flight schools that should not be there
Too many old aircraft (perhaps there should be an age limit on training aircraft?)
Instructors that are poorly trained and not well supervised (if at all). Junior instructors with no career path. Senior instructors bogged down with paperwork
Poor salary
Auditing of instructing standards not carried out
CFI's that are not trained or experienced in supervision
Extreme commercial pressure to produce a product, regardless of the standard (so long as they pay)
An ATO system that does not work and is open to abuse
FOIs that spend more time in the office and dealing with emails than out in the field. The whole system went downhill when they stopped testing.
BFR (AFR's) are a joke - a good instructor does not get the work because he is too "hard" - if he is an ATO he does not get the work. $$ again! "Just a circuit or two will do"
The list goes on and on. It is up to CASA to raise the bar well above it present level. But lets not see it go the way of the 1995 review of insturctors/training which died because of commercial pressure and conflict within the industry.
So what if some schools go by the wayside? If the standard rises along with the safety levels (accident rate) then we should accept that gladly. Yes it will cost more, but can we afford not to go down that path?