A pre-election aviation policy issued by Martin Ferguson said Labor will:
appoint a small management board and provide it with full delegation to manage the safety regulator. It will be a competent, professional board with the respect of government, the community, business and the aviation community.
Note that CASA now also has some airspace powers that used to be exercised by Airservices.
The CASA Board was abolished in 2002. On 19 November 2002, Mr Ferguson said on the ABC AM program:
For too long, in terms of CASA, we had a board in place which was a bureaucratic layer that contributed nothing. In many ways we had a lot of do-gooders without a lot of aviation experience.
Abolishing the CASA board effectively means that CASA is more accountable for aviation safety, so we all appreciate that the buck stops and starts with the Minister.
Assuming that ‘do-gooders without a lot of aviation experience’ need not apply, I’m wondering who the potential candidates for ‘a competent, professional board with the respect of government, the community, business and the aviation community’ might be.
I’m also wondering with whom the buck will start and stop if CASA has a Board (again) ‘with full delegation to manage the safety regulator’, comprising people with lots of aviation experience. Will the buck stop with the Minister, the CEO or the Board?
Thoughts?