CASA Chief Executive

[Kharon]

Before we get moved or merged.

I think we need to be very, very clear from the outset that none of the comment made on Pprune is against Skidmore – the bloke. Obviously, the man is respected, liked, of proven intelligence and capable; AVM qualifications do not come off the top of a cornflake box (not in Australia at least). It must be understood that what comes down the pipeline is not personal – it goes with the job.

Sunny is simply pointing out that part of the job which stultifies a normal, rational human being into a 'nodding donkey'; your man needs to grasp this simple fact. Mountains of memo's, reports, meetings, approvals, whispers, advice, fluttering eyelashes and free ice-cream to wade through before morning tea. Chat's with the MM crew for "guidance and advice" before lunch: afternoon tea with the minuscule which leaves a whole 15 minutes to actually do something useful. By day two there will a pile of industry requests a mile high – which need to be subject to the endless machinations of corporate affairs and that's all before the LSD begin their rice bowl protection campaign. Then there's the 'management wabbits' to listen to, followed by the frontal lobotomy first team, followed by the spanner twisters 'administrative' putsch.

AOTW – your 'man' will be doing a lot of nodding and he is, already THE donkey on which everyone tries to pin the tail.

On the plus side, even the smallest scrap of cheer for industry will win hearts and minds; any sign of reform will provide instant, tangible support; the slightest inkling of fair play will be met with a rousing cheer and more beer than the man can possibly drink. All to play for.

At present it's a little hard to define his motives for accepting 'the job' (unless Fawcett has a cunning plan, which would not surprise many) and apart from a fairly limited group no one knows 'what's in the sack'. What is known is how his opposition (not the MaM, as yet) will act; his early response to the opposition will tell the tale and set the tone for the next five years – which is a life sentence if another McComic style regime allowed to flourish and grow.

The stakes are high, the result uncertain and if 'the man' can't take the heat and he or his 'mates' are going to be upset by a 'nodding donkey' analogy, then perhaps he should take the hint from the three first preferred candidates who turned down the job and depart the fix.

Working to play the ball, examine the data available and watch carefully the results: thus far it is known that the original race – to find a 'nodding donkey' was fixed; that got tipped out. The second round was almost a straight race, with the stewards obligingly looking the other way when 'nodding donkey' was assisted in the running. The lengthy, 'diligent', world wide search by the MM crew for a 'suitable' candidate could, by a cynic, be translated in two ways. Finally, and after leaving the current Sleepy Hollow outfit time to reinforce the barriers, and grease the exit chutes - we get Skidmore.

So, lets remember it's the job, not the man we play. Actions and achievements will mark his tenure; not what his mates think.

"Nothing personal, dude. Just business."