Dick Smith, you said-
Chimbu chuckles, yes, I know – you want me as a wealthy Australian to campaign for a system where general taxpayers (many PAYG workers) subsidise my flying. No, I won’t be doing that. You will need others to be involved.
That is not what he said. A tax on airline tickets pays for the use of the airspace. If you stopped flying your aircraft tomorrow, and I stopped flying tomorrow would ATC know any different. If the airlines stopped flying tomorrow, it would be a ghost town up there. ATC from the beginning from Flight Services right up to ATC with full SSR facilities and TAAATS is soley for the safety of its biggest user. THE AIRLINES! GA in the states also still use a tax on fuel which we used to have until someone lobbied hard that bush flying pilots unfairly paid for a service they didn't use....but they did , until FSUs became history. If a fuel tax was administered and EVERY LAST CENT went back onto services for ALL aircraft, like the upkeep of the Nation's GA airport infrastructure before developers manage to steal it all away. I for one would be for that. AS a professional user of the Nation's highway system who pays a considerable amount of fuel tax and GST to the States I am more than welcome to allow you to share the road with me. Provided you obey the rules and play nice with my trucks. Afer all you pay for the same road with what little tax you pay through your fuel usage, I consider that fair.