Sunny, I would ordinarily agree with the bulk of your construct; I can agree without a seconds hesitation that Mrdak has a lot to answer for, none of which will never be 'publicly' sheeted home to him. The acquisition of wriggle room, flack jackets, bomb proof shelters, escape hatches and golden parachutes are second nature; as is gathering in 'the wood' as useful leverage.
There is, in this iteration one small difference; that is this Senate committee. Fawcett has written some peerless articles which are worth reading, they provide an insight. That he is fully aware of CASA machinations and 'modus operandi' is a given; study the Night Vision (NVG) case for a further insight. There is more, a lot more, but you get my drift.
You do not need to delve deeply into the past to pick out a trend; start with the pilot training inquiry, work forward to the last little brouhaha with the ASA – (a.k.a. the Slicks and Ficks club). I'd say that since the pilot training thing; there has been a steadily increasing flow of data, facts, evidence and complaint onto the desks of the Senate committee members. Happily, and for all the right reasons, the heavy weight forward pack, Heffernan and Sterle have found a way to express their long standing frustration with the 'governance' of aviation. They may have suspected, but were beaten back by tricky technical details, bluff, spin and fairy stories; swamped in 'the mystique'. Their finely tuned BS meters running on high alert but unable to scratch the itch. Until a Pel Air medivac ran out of noise and options over Norfolk, one dark and stormy. Even then the issue was not on their primary radar, but when it did appear they set work, with the gloves on, until it became apparent someone was taking the Mickey. Gloves off, game on, industry supporting and fetching the drinks.
None of the progress made through the inquiries, leading up to the recommendations made by the committee and the resultant Forsyth review (even the ATSB motherhood review, if it ever gets published) would have been gained without (a) United industry stepping up to the marks and (b) a committee who read, understood, knew how to use the information provided, had the wit and faith to use it; and, the courage to see the job done.
Now I read here a lot of negative comment, stating that the Senate is variously a side show; essentially ineffectual window dressing, neutered and simply wasting time. Time will tell, but IMO that is an incorrect assessment. They have identified the road block to airport issues, pilot training, ATSB reporting (or lack thereof), CASA perfidious bastardry and have a very clear picture of where the skeletons are buried. Industry provided information, the Senate acted. QED.
Why should the administratively crippled ASA be overlooked. Blind Freddy can see it's a basket case above the coal face layers. Bloated, smug, self satisfied, disingenuous, confused and seriously rorted. Without facts, 'evidence' and a briefing it is impossible for the Senate committee to do much more than the sterling job we have so far witnessed. They provide real value and a stellar service to industry for money we invest in them. They have ASA management down, but not quite out. Want things changed, get off your arses, draft a confidential report, claim privilege and watch the result. Remember, it may be possible to isolate and punish one ATCO, it would be a hell of a job to nail the whole crew. It is difficult, but not impossible to eliminate one senior public servant who manages the circus we call aviation in Australia. But it's not a hydra, kill the head the rest dies, or is shrivelled up in the bright light of exposure. The money saved would just about feed the third world.
Question - who hired the Three Stooges comedy act: McComic, Dolan and Staib, and why??
There now, AUD $00.20 spent as best pleased me...
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