Frank me old,
Too true, but lighten up oa bit, I doubt that anyone here is no less passionate than yourself.
And I go back to what I would now fondly call the good old DCA days, although that might have been argued at the time. At least we had some certainty and highly qualified and dedicated "professional" public servants.
Ridiculed at the time but now seen to be veritable saints after a certain adventurer came to save us all and they all buggered off to other jurisdictions who actually appreciated their knowledge experience and skills.
What does being an ex Cathay pilot bring to the Australian story? furthermore the ex RAAF brigade albeit highly trained pilots work daily in an entirely different universe so they bring what to the table???
There are some very dedicated, highly experienced and skilled people within CASA but because they have to operate inside a for profit regulator with the current leadership, its a bit hard to get their light to shine.
So how do we find our way back to actually being "world class".
God forbid, but like the events to which you refer now getting critical mass with the public, it may just take a high capacity airline "seaview/monarch/whayalla/Norfolk..." accident to get it properly and foursquare on the agenda.