As an aside to the passing strange FF hiring practices, pings
& mystery black boxes, I noticed that Phearless Phelan is catching up...
:
Agricultural operators dump on the regulator
Peace at last?Well, not quite:
It is worthwhile noting that the AAAA SOM is almost universally disliked by CASA FOIs and AWIs – not because they disagree with the content (they recently had the opportunity to make criticisms and input and very little was received) but because the SOM enforces a standardised approach on all CASA staff as the manual cannot be amended by individual FOIs or AWIs. It can only be amended at a higher level in consultations between CASA and AAAA.
By removing the power of CASA field staff to intimidate and obfuscate in accordance with personal preferences, the manual has delivered a significant cost saving to CASA, quicker turnaround and approval times for industry, and far greater certainty in the process.
But AAAA says this success had now been reversed by CASA’s lack of understanding of either the SOM concept or how it works within the regulator’s organisation. The resulting waste of time and human resources has not resulted in quicker handling of CASA “approvals” and the joint initiative has failed to deliver on its goals, complain the operators.
A prevalent theme common to many of these issues is CASA’s spectacular failure to deliver regulatory reform that is compliant with the project’s founding principles, and (in one example) then to blame industry for the fact that they are simply not workable because implementation required a manual of standards which had yet to be developed.
Well summarised by PP..
One thing new that PP brings to IOS attention is the fact that the
other Phil & the Aerial Ag mob had made a supplementary submission (must of missed that in the mystery of MH370 & VH-NGA's missing black boxes):
A supplementary submission
Delivered to the Panel on 20 January, AAAA’s submission may have taken the ASRR Panel by surprise, although it is carefully constructed to fit with the review’s terms of reference and clearly identifies problems, their impact, their background, and viable solutions.
Perhaps at the Panel’s request, the Association later filed a supplementary submission that has identified what AAAA believes to be four key areas that need attention and amendment, and a way forward to achieve them.
The supplementary submission sets out:
- 12 recommended amendments to the Civil Aviation Act 1988.
- Replacement of the current Board with a reformed structure; or
- Bringing CASA back under the Department of Infrastructure as a responsible departmental agency of the Department in a similar manner to other Department of Infrastructure agencies;
- Regulatory reform moved to the Department of Infrastructure;
- Safety promotion moved to ATSB; and
- An ongoing economic and efficiency review to reduce the “waste, inefficiency and increasing costs imposed on industry [which] are tolerated by CASA because it has no incentive to reform itself.”
The AAAA submission has peered into several dark corners and identified numerous reasons for long-standing industry frustration and near-despair. It is recommended reading for everybody in the industry who hopes for reform. It is also recommended reading for CASA’s entire Board, its senior managers, the Department’s bureaucrats, and in particular the current Minister, whose apparent inertia on these matters is matched only by that of his predecessor, Anthony Albanese.
Click
here for the entire detailed 40-page AAAA submission,
and here for the supplementary submission.
IOS choccy frog award for PP(PA) & a further bonus choccy frog for PH(AAAA)...
