I have to concur with the views of BLUE-HAULER. AXIOM friend you need to take a broader view, you might find CASA are not as bad as you think.
Two issues here Mr AXIOM, CASA's exercise of it's formal powers and the views of Mr Dick and Mr Boyd on CASA's excercise of it's formal powers.
For others of similar views you do not appear to understand the law.
Parliament, the peoples representatives, determined that people who wished to own, operate and or fly aircraft should be subject to legal and regulatory oversight, it is after all a major economic transport system. So the powers of oversight are exercised by several bodies.
One, Parliament, considers all matters excepting those in the province of the Courts. Parliament drafts and passes the laws and by Government decisions sets policy guidelines for portfolio administration. Parliament decided eighty years ago that a person to exercise the privileges of flying an aircraft has to have a license, has to comply with the Rules of the Air, and respective legislated requirements for the operation and maintenance of aircraft. That is a community accepted and sound proposition. That the State via CASA requires you to be licensed means that the authority for you to fly is regulated by the State, therefore it is a privilege, not a right. Your continuation of the exercise of that privilege is conditional upon your compliance with all relevant laws of the land.
The other major form of oversight, the Courts, exercise oversight by adjudicating on matters brought before them. The broader Common Law has over time determined that you exercise the privileges of your license with a duty of care and with the actions of a reasonable man or woman.
The ATSB/BASI have the powers of oversight and report with respect to aircraft accidents and incidents. They exercise an oversight of aeronautical safety on behalf of the Australian public.
Your insurers also require that you comply with the law of the land and exercise your duty of care responsibly. That is the condition upon which insurance risk is covered.
The State (i.e. CASA) can bring an action or a person (business or individual) can bring an action before the Courts. CASA has no discretionary power accepting in those matters where alternative remedies are allowed for in the Act and Regulations. So a CASA officer as an officer of the law cannot ignore a breach of the law, its called perverting the cause of justice if you do.
Judicial power means the power to decide whether or not the claims of one party are true beyond a reasonable doubt (criminal matters) or true on the balance of probabilities (civil matters). They are also able to rule if the exercise of power is excessive, that is 'ultra-vires'.
The fact that the hypothetical bankrunner is being visited regularly by CASA and the said employee is being summonsed as a result is proper exercise of authority. How would your employers company stack up against say any of the majors or regionals ?
The Courts not finding for CASA but for you, shows the proper exercise of their authority. The State makes the allegation, you defend, the Courts makes a finding. That is the way the system works.
If you worked for a proper company you would soon realise that regulatory compliance is a big deal, you spend the time to do it legally, it costs, but thats the way to do it. CASA's happy, the Insurers are happy and the Board is happy. The travelling public is happy and so the Politicians are happy. See the picture ?
If you choose to fly, without a valid medical then you are choosing to fly without a valid license, simple. You do so in the full knowledge that it is summonsable offence, that is you can be made to answer for your actions in a criminal court. Your also choosing to fly knowing you will now be uninsured and liable for any torts that may result from a accident or other injury claim - brave pilot thats all I'll say.
There is no point in griping about it or being too busy with everything else. It's simply a matter of personal organisation. So why attack CASA for simply doing there job.
Now such a person whose license was out of medical currency could have also rung CASA and sought an extension on the medical, that may have been possible too. There's a thought!
Finally, there are a lot of rich and noisy galahs who think they are eagles.
