I wonder where ASA is going to spend this $120M that they are going to save? Surely not on grants for owners to fit TSO 146 GPS. How are we going to get a position fix every 2 hours in the future?
Fair enough ground aids are expensive but they are a vital part of navigation. Just have a think about Alternate requirments.... in the NT and Far north QLD you'd have to nominate an alternate maybe 200 Nm away, destroying your uplift.
As far as I'm concerned airways charges for IFR flights are cheap for the service you get (for GA). If ASA cant afford to keep nav aids running they might need to consider raising the charges, without ripping owners off.
Here is a link to ASA showing how to calculate En route charges and landing fees. $0.92 per kilometer X aircraft weight (tonnes) isn't allot of money.
http://www.airservices.gov.au/pilotc...ct_oct2010.pdf