From www.ninemsn.com.au
CASA culture must change: pilots
The federal government must change the culture as well as the structure of the air transport regulator, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) said.
Federal Transport Minister John Anderson yesterday said he planned to sack the entire board of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) as part of sweeping moves to restore direct ministerial control over air safety.
With the CASA board abolished, the regulator's director Mick Toller will fill the new position of chief executive officer, reporting directly to Mr Anderson.
The minister would also be given power to set policy and performance standards, but leave day-to-day safety decisions with CASA staff.
But AOPA president Bill Pike said the government needed to change CASA's entire approach.
"You've got to remember that CASA has been known as the department of changing letterheads," he told the Ten network.
"It's had about six different names in recent memory and so it's a matter of changing the culture, not changing the name or even the structure."
Mr Pike said added bureaucracy did not equal increased safety and CASA needed to look at major problems, rather than grounding pilots for minor infringements.
"I would like to see the authority moving somewhere else, moving towards the grassroots, rather than just looking for symptoms and driving people out of the industry," he said.
"It must be remembered that the usage of aviation gasoline in this country is down 40 per cent in the last 10 years, so although safety is very important, just grounding the industry to achieve that safety doesn't get us anywhere."
Mr Toller earlier said the changes, aimed at ending a turbulent period in air safety, would help deliver greater accountability while ensuring safety in the skies.
But Australian Democrats transport spokeswoman Lyn Allison said the government's actions could make the skies more dangerous.
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Anyone got Miss Allisons email or po box?
Dog