I had a chat with a pilot last night at a dinner who looked at importing an English kit built Two seat ultralight that was a pusher, something like a drifter. He found that Two were already flying in Australia.
At the time CASA was paranoid about Two seat ultralights, out of apparent concern for the hapless passenger. They were happy to see the pilot kill himself, but the legal implications of a grieving passengers family were upsetting for CASA.
Their solution to the "safety problem" created by the second seat was to require it be removed and the empty space placarded accordingly. He didn't bother continuing.
I told him what one of the former owners of Gippsland Aeronautics told me about the certification process for the GA8 Airvan; CASA did everything it possibly could to kill that project, and I expect that CASA's attitude was most probably one of the reasons the company has since been sold to Mahindra.
As for CASA having the slightest effect on Qantas,
VB, et al, forget it. Ever since at least as early as the 1970's, CASA gets
told what it will accept by the big boys, who have to pay for the education of CASA staff into the mysteries of Airbus, Boeing, etc.
That leaves CASA with nothing to do but make the lives of regional airline owners and GA operations as hellish as possible in order to justify their existence. The Benalla and Lockhart river accidents make it obvious that they can't even do that.
After my conversation last night, the chances of myself building an aircraft from a kit (The American CH750) have now diminished accordingly.....and the day before yesterday as the Australian dollar rose, I was itching to do something.
I think CASA must secretly be in league with property developers. I can't think of another reason they would try and kill Aviation.
Is it an RAAF thing? Has employing former RAAF staff done it to CASA? I had Two former RAAF bosses in my career, both of them were complete pricks.