Being the Geoff whose post to Ben Sandilands was quoted at the start of this thread I want to refute everything posted by anonymous persons about the quality or otherwise of the RAAF ATCs at Darwin. (or Townsville)
They will be (I do not know any of them) fine young Australians doing a great job for their country. The problem has nothing to do with them and everything to do with organizational issues. (See James Reason about latent conditions/systemic weaknesses)
It is my view:
1. That Australian bureaucracy is currently complacent about aviation safety because we have long history of success. (Evidence - almost any Government document you read about aviation safety will start with self-congratulation. Try reading the State Safety Plan and the Forsyth Report)
2. Airspace policy is non-existent in Australia. (if it exists somewhere then it is difficult to determine from observation.)
3. Because of this, the conflicting needs of the ADF and civil flyers are not determined logically. (That is - commonsense and the needs of the nation)
4. The ADF will always win the battle against civilian users for airspace because there is effectively no civilian voice. (Evidence - if there was this Darwin problem would have been fixed and this thread not exist)
5. Airservices does not exist to fulfill the above function although one of it's aims is to "identify potential cost savings". It is however simply a service provider. (ANSP)
6. CASA could be that agency but it is by definition a "safety" agency unlike the US FAA and UK CAA who are aviation administrators. (The closest we get to a civilian administrator is the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Affairs which has dropped any mention of Aviation and Transport from it's title)
7. The Forsyth Report has not grasped the nettle firmly because it only recommends (13) that Canberra bureaucrats "establish an agreed policy position on safety oversight of civil operations into joint-user airports". (Please see my points 1 and 2)
8. The ADF is not an appropriate agency to be providing ATC to civilian airliners for organizational and cultural reasons.
9. It would be a good idea if the Minister appoints someone to the CASA Board who knows about airspace and safety from the ATC point of view and who will have the job of championing the views of civilian airspace users.
Sorry to be so long winded but I hate to highlight problems without at least having a punt at solving them.
I have given my name because I believe in an exchange of ideas and if I am wrong I will be the first to admit it so please try and avoid personal insults
