While the miniscule is busy promoting the government's infrastructure programs, promising billions to all other modes of transport..
..and apparently inspecting the government funded Tennis Alice Springs new facilities -
New tennis club house served up for Masters Games...
Meanwhile in a land far removed from the Red Centre the RAAA are convening a large assembly of aviation stalwarts - some of whom actually give a toss about our industry...
From
AA online today:
New CASA board members to come soon
Further appointments to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) board will be made soon, parliamentary secretary to the minister for industry Bob Baldwin says.
Baldwin says the federal government is committed to increasing the breadth of aviation knowledge and experience on the CASA board “to better equip it to set and implement the strategic direction of the organisation”.
“I understand the deputy prime minister hopes to make further appointments to the CASA board very shorty,” Baldwin told delegates at the Regional Aviation Association of Australia (RAAA) national conference on Thursday.
It was understood the government had chosen three new CASA directors – Anita Taylor, Ian Smith and David Cox.
Taylor was most recently was president of Gliding Australia, Smith is the Australian Maritime and Defence Foundation of Australia president, while Cox is chief operating officer of the faculty of engineering and information technologies at Sydney University and formerly head of engineering at Qantas.
CASA’s three current board members were chair Allan Hawke, as well as the recently-appointed deputy chair Jeff Boyd plus Trevor Danos.
A fully formed CASA board needed to be in place before a new CASA director of aviation safety could be named.
Meanwhile, Baldwin reiterated the government’s commitment to respond to the Aviation Safety Regulatory Review (ASRR) report before the end of 2014.
“I am aware of the significant level of interest in the independent aviation safety regulation review report,” Baldwin said.
“The government is now carefully considering all of the 37 recommendations and other matters arising from the report and we intend to provide a comprehensive response before this year is out.”
Deputy Prime Minister and minister for infrastructure and regional development Warren Truss made a similar commitment at the Airservices Waypoint conference in September.
The head of the ASRR, David Forsyth, was due to speak at the RAAA conference on Friday.
The report, published in June, highlighted the sometimes “adversarial” relationship between CASA and the industry and called for substantial structural and culture change at the regulator, among other matters.
RAAA chairman and Regional Express director Jim Davis said the reform of CASA had a “long way to go”.
David said a new director of aviation safety and new CASA board members needed to be named without any further delay.
“Every day that CASA is without a permanent head and a fully constituted board is a day’s delay in taking the important decisions that will make CASA a more responsive and effective organisation,” Davis told delegates at the conference, held in the NSW Hunter Valley.
“I’ve always firmly believed that the industry working in partnership with CASA is by far the best approach and achieves the best safety outcomes.”
“Sadly this has not been the case in recent years.”
Also from Dougy, who is now back from his 3 weeks of international jet setting...
:
...I was somewhat surprised to return to no news of a new director of safety for CASA. But I understand that we will not have to wait much longer.
Getting the new CASA board members names off the Cabinet table and out to industry has taken an understandably lower profile than some of the issues that the Federal Government has had to deal with lately. Though one might also have thought that it is still of considerable importance to the Australian industry and that ways could have been found to deal with it outside the Cabinet process. The delay in the announcement of the new DAS has been more complicated and some of it has been associated with a determination to deliver the right outcome. But it is believed that that ‘right’ outcome has been arrived at and that an announcement is imminent.
That outcome is likely to include a team approach rather than the appointment of a single individual, to take full advantage of some considerable talent that has been unearthed by the process.
I’m at the RAAA Conference today and tomorrow. The Hunter Valley (NSW) venue was perhaps a bit of a risk given accessibility issues, but the turnout has been strong in both quality and quantity. And there’s not a dinosaur in sight! And the program is also something of an experiment, with ‘marquee’ speakers alongside the usual. Paul Tyrell and his team have scored heavyweights such as Terry Farquharson (CASA), Greg Hood (Airservices), ACM Mark Binskin (ADF), Martin Dolan (ATSB) and David Forsyth (ASRR plus). Highlights will follow.
Careful Terry..
..better watch your intake of Chardy, that excellent Hunter stuff has a habit of creeping up on you mate...
Hmmm...on second thoughts Teza have a couple more...
CASA hopes for improved relationship with industry
TF -
“Safety is an element of what the industry does, it is the reason for CASA being there and the government have made no suggestions they are going to rehash the Civil Aviation Act in any fundamental way.”
Farquarson said CASA, in its role as aviation safety regulator, had to make tough, sometimes unpopular decisions. He also acknowledged it was currently a period of change with “a lot of stuff coming through” as they moved to new systems and regulations.
“Most importantly, we need to move into the future with a mutually respectful understanding of each other’s roles,” Farquarson said.
“Chucking bricks, going into the trenches is unhelpful in the extreme.
“I hope this gives us a platform to work conjointly for a better safety future.”
From the man who brought to the Senate this insipid performance -
And just like back then by the Heff..
..I'm calling it now Teza -
"BOLLOCKS absolute BOLLOCKS!"
MTF...
