LL - this is why I like Mrdak where I can see the blighter; it's always easier to track a known quantity if you can follow a well defined trail. You can see from the Sarcs post above, neither Cannane, Tyrell or Phelan are fooled by the false trail. You can most easily imagine the conversation between the murky Machiavellian (MM) and Minuscule (M). A fairy tale, to be spun and woven into a Willyleaks form guide commentary.
M: "Erm, do we really need a horse race then?, must we have one? it's such a fuss"
MM: "Yers Minister, unfortunately we do".
M: "Oh dear, what's to be done, what's the procedure?"
MM: "Don't worry Sir, I have done this sort of thing before and if you allow, I'll take care of the whole dangerous event. The thing is fraught with political peril and the mob of punters at the gates will be howling for your blood if we don't; why don't you just relax and let me handle it".
M: "Oh, thank you. You have been a good and faithful servant and I would be most obliged if you could manage this insignificant, annoying detail for me. Now, where's my Ovaltine and Tim Tams?
MM scampers off to the kitchen to make the Ovaltine and while waiting for the kettle to boil. whips out the trusty mobile and rings one of his mates – a handicapper. "Meet me for lunch, usual place, we have a race to organise".
From lunch time onwards the betting selection is under the Machiavellian thumb. Above the surface to the punters, it looks ordered, open and transparent and so it is; in fact the whole thing, this faux race is flawlessly stage managed. MM whistles while he works knowing that his handpicked handicappers will knobble the rest of the field, before the off. Weighed down by loaded saddles, the runners will all slow down, allowing the lightweight MM fancy to win, by a length, ridden hands and heels. The punters loose their shirts, but then that's the nature of gambling; the only winners are the man who arranged the thing, the men who fixed the thing and those "in the know" who bet on the result.
The Jockey Club would not be impressed if they knew; but, as this was a private event, they don't signify.
Selah._.
Phil Hurst, Executive Director of the Agricultural Aviation Association of Australia (AAAA), says: “The process that we support is the one that is been outlined any number of times. It is that there should be a clean sweep of the CASA board. There should then be widespread consultation with industry for the appointments to that board. I understand that Jeff Boyd has already been appointed to the board as Deputy Chairman and we fully support his appointment because he is coming from industry and that’s exactly the sort of appointment that we welcome.
“I think that whoever takes the reins at CASA, they must have the trust of industry. That’s the critical issue and with the best will in the world, it’s very difficult for industry to trust people that have never operated in a commercial environment.
“My concern with the lack of transparency in all this is that anything that happens in the current environment is likely to be tainted. If the powers that be don’t understand the importance of transparency in this process, which will set the direction for CASA for the next however many years, then clearly we’ve got more work to do.”