Geez, I hope our "bureaucrats back in Canberra' do really care, because if they do not, then the whole point of regulating for SMS is a waste of time. Admittedly, there are operators out there who think they can get by just by doing enough to 'tick the boxes'. If that is enough to satisfy the regulator, then we are all stuffed.
In an ideal situation, the regulator should be changing hats (from regulator to educator) and trying to help, educate, or assist, the operator to implement a SMS that works. I thought the whole point of introducing a SMS into an operation was to make it safer (and more profitable) and that would have benefits to the operator and other users of the same airspace?
Anyone who thinks that all they need to do is 'tick boxes' is fooling themselves and letting everyone else down. Does anyone think that making the effort to design and implement a proper SMS is a waste of time? If the SMS ticks the boxes and something still goes wrong; is it the regulator or the operator, who comes off second best?