Old Heli....
It is not the amount of rules and regulations that generate safety. That has a role to play for sure but is only one leg of that stool. Despite being "from over the pond", I am bi-lingual and have done the CAA Calypso for years...until I decided the Renewal's just flat were not worth it.
Don't tell me with all the experience the British military and other jurisdictions have with NVG's....the CAA study group could not have arrived at a more timely answer. If the situation as described....12 years or more in the doing....is true, I would suggest someone is dragging their feet and trying to make a career out of it.
The simple and quick response to your single pilot in the hills situation could be fixed with a stroke of the pen....write yet another of one HM's Crats most common solution to any question..."Write a Rule" that requires "two pilots for remote area NVG Ops." It would be a bit OTT maybe, but that would have solved that bar to progress in about 15 seconds of penmanship. The NVG's could still be in use today industry wide even if in a restricted manner and thus we would all benefit. One has to question what the mindset is....from my perspective it certainly is not ...."How can we make this work?" "How do we accomplish this?" But rather more the opposite it would seem.
Our own FAA got struck by lightning one day....and overnight the NVG thing turned right around and once someone from on high dictated it would happen...it did happen in a most expeditious manner. That was not the case for years however. You guys just don't have enough serious convective activity over there.
As to incorporating our rules vice your rules....why not compromise and use what works and contributes to maintaining a healthy standard of safety and efficiency. Neither the CAA or the FAA have the exact right answer to all of this despite what some folks think over there. (....or in Oklahoma City).