Creamie,
You'll be pleased to know that the essence of your advice has already been given
One interesting sidebar to the discussion emerges - politicians of all persusasions are very sensitive about the risks inherent in political interference in safety matters when there are executive agencies specifically in place to advise on those matters. The chances of getting a Ministerial Directive to an agency that completely overrides that agency's advice are gusting well south of zero!
To even get close, the Minister would have to be in receipt of advice that he/she could reasonably defend as being better informed, more accurate and more reliable than that provided by (generally) one of their own portfolio agencies. That could not be contemplated in the Westminster tradition without shooting the agency head (and obvious disciples) first. The replacement then finds him/herself restrained by a Ministerial Directive that may not result in the required outcome - and must face the Minister in the 'painted-in corner' and inform the Minister that he/she has actually screwed the system by their directive and now cannot blame anyone else but themselves!
So, even if they still felt so driven as to directly interfere, where do they get decent advice?
The Australian aviation world is awash with semi-hysterical single issue 'squeaky wheels', towing baggage carts a mile long that any sane person would keep at a very long arms-length. The Miller Report demonstrates to me the dangers of examining an aviation issue from solely one institutionalised background - the blame-allocation/punishment-seeking legal profession - without sufficient balance provided by the 'grey letter' issues of acceptable human responses within policy boundaries, some of which may be prescribed in law. So it requires a collegiate solution. - do we have any organisations that are widely recognised as non-partisan bodies that are fearless and world standard in their advice, as well as being prepared to get their hands dirty in an area that is not well-suited to judicial processes of examination?
I don't have the answer and certainly to this point it doesn't appear that the politicians do either. It would be very helpful to get some suggestions as to how we might practically move to the political outcome you so strongly suggest
Stay Alive,