There is a question or two scheduled for the upcoming BRB - AGM (which believe it or not is quite a serious affair).
5) What criteria and selection process has been used to select the new CASA board members?
6) Who was involved in that selection process?
These are important questions, to which accurate answers must be provided – if Truss is to maintain credibility. Because even a hint of 'cronyism' or board stacking will blow the few remaining shreds of the Abbott government credibility on red and green tape reduction and regulatory reform -a la Truss - anyway. For example
GFA AGM – "The big news is the resignation of our President Anita Taylor."
That statement can be read two ways;
Eyrie "To get back to the discussion at hand I'll re-iterate that the GFA operates under a self ADMINISTRATION not self regulation model. While the GFA may make the rules CASA reserves the right to approve them or otherwise. To make the relationship quite clear the GFA receives currently about $150,000 per year from CASA to administer gliding on CASA's behalf. The GFA is a bought and paid for sub-contractor."
Eyrie "Over the last 10 years or so the GFA and CASA have colluded to make flying gliders or motorgliders on a PPL, impossible. It helps to know that some of the CASA people involved in this were enthusiastic GFA supporters.
IF; for example, the appointment of Ms. Taylor to the board had been a 'sponsored' event, a Murky Machiavellian Masterstroke, designed to load the board with those who had 'worked harmoniously' with CASA before coming to the board, it throws a big spanner into the industry works.
Now, no one is saying, as yet, that Taylor is a complete Casaphile. BUT a look through the GFA 'paper-work', performance and track record suggests a 'good' working relationship with the regulator. There is a fairly disgruntled, disunited organisation, heaving a sigh of relief and struggling to deal with the daemons left behind; such as licensing issues, reduced safety culture, and a disillusioned, diminishing membership. Enough smoke to legitimately ask, is there a fire?.
The board appointment is not as yet, seen to be another "Libby-gate" but, it does go someway toward making mugs of the IOS. If, that is, we sit back and naively, without questioning the appointment process, allow the Murky Machiavellian team to hand pick, within a closed process, a bored which will not rock the boat, rattle the tea cups or ask embarrassing questions. If this is so, then Boyd is indeed isolated and rendered nugatory. We know his history, credentials and attitudes toward the reform of CASA: but what is known of the others? Not much just yet, more by the BRB AGM.
Acquiring the answers should provide an 'interesting' debate; there are only six slots on the bored, the MM crew have at least two, solidly covered - Hawke and Danos, if either Taylor, Cox or Smith are 'hand picked' then the voting is at least tied. A best result of MM 3 – IOS 3, of course essentially neuters the democratic process. Have we been gulled - again; I rather think so. It's a very wicked world we live in. Mugs – the lot of us.
For example, would the coppers investigating a crime send their case against a known villain to that villain and say – "Have a look at this mate; then tell us the bits you don't agree with and we'll take them out, OK". No, of course they wouldn't. So why is it that our 'independent' tax payer funded report into the ATSB has been sent 'for technical' editing to the ATSB – before being eventually published??.
Aside - Have you noticed the mutt running the Canuck TSB never uses a 'date'; not ever. It's always "early Spring" or "late Autumn" or "mid Winter". It's fast becoming a Midsummer Nights Dream, which is of course, a fantasy comedy...
Toot toot