Gauntly, I'm sure your opinion is correct, there are good people in CASA. It is possible to work with them and arrive at a good outcome.
However it would appear that this is not everyone's experience.
The question then becomes: are the complainants simply malcontents with an axe to grind, or is there actually room for improvement?
Twenty years of a regulatory reform process and an excess of legal action as reported in Pprune would suggest that there are gaps in CASA performance in my opinion, but what would I know?
In my own situation as a PPL, the slightest threat of action by CASA in my direction will result in the burning of the licence and the logbook and a chainsaw through the aircraft. My mate has just picked up about a $1million yacht for $300,000 and I am tempted to do the same anyway.