Creampuff, personally I don't think it's funny that ANYTHING flying at whatever level in the j curve doesn't have a transponder or radio. It's stupidity of the highest order.
Jack, I have been pondering this all day and think it is plain wrong thinking. Correct me if I am wrong but up until about 5 years ago you could not see these events happening, did they happen then? In all likelihood, 5 years ago we had more aircraft in the skies than we do now. Pilots have been missing other pilots since the dawn of aviation. Hits are a rare event.
I clearly remember a recent trip up north when a controller was becoming increasingly concerned about a possible airprox which turned out to be me and another unidentified. The problem was, the description of where it was going to happen made no sense to me because the locations were not on my plan. It was very tempting to get out the map and study the location but I kept looking outside, saw the traffic, avoided them and flew on. No doubt the poor controller had a nervous moment.
Had I got out the map, or even replied to ATC, my lookout would have been impaired. Where the transmissions beneficial? In this instance not at all.
Advocating that we all need transponders and radios in an area as vast and unpopulated as Australia will get the attention of some nodwell, increase further the cost of flying and further diminish the number of aircraft in the sky. There is no substitute for a good lookout.