So what next?
As a pilot who's been flying in and out of Gove for some 14 years, I can only reinforce all that ITCZ has said. And add, that whilst PAPI might be the international standard, I believe T-VASIS to be far superior (I think T-VASIS as an Australian invention pre dates the International Standard PAPI too!).
I never doubted him for a moment. After all, four times a month, I place my life in his hands (or yours!). That's not the issue.
The issue is: "How do we persuade Alcan to spend shareholders' money on this?"
There are only two levers we can pull: Safety, or Cost. We have to be able to show that better lights will make the airport either safer, or cheaper to operate.
And we have to be able to prove it. We need substantiated research.
The first place they are going to turn is CASA. If CASA says we should have new lights, they'll be installed next month!
Cheers