They have a double edged sword then don't they. It is them who has the most to lose.
Trust me when I say that. Bad behaviour will not be tolerated by CASA or anyone else for that matter. The public fallout with the DAS, the minister and many others would or will be so horrific if they step over the lines of decency that I can't begin to fathom the results. And yes if you are proven right, I expect no I told you so's I expect rolling up the sleeves and getting the job done.
GA in Australia is so fragile that over-zealous stupidity by the regulator could as you suggest kill off such events. This is my last one, so what happens next is not up to me, but I have the humble position of having considerable quantity and quality of media friends. Let alone the prune network, so to have things unravel that far in front of an audience of not just thousands but the DAS and the minister could be career limiting for those involved.
Like I said, I know now 2 quite well, and just yesterday met a third of the 4 person team. They are all good pro GA folk, and with another secret weapon against any regulatory stupidity in my back pocket
I really do doubt there will be trouble.
The next thing to consider is this, historically we have had good numbers with damned near 100% compliance and it had been noted the good job attendees had done. Perhaps an audience of a different calibre? Less cowboys.
Besides we do not want cowboys at such a big event. We don't need them or the supposed numbers they represent. This is about quality not quantity, and if they are a complete lunatic cowboy, I bet they were not coming anyway.
Fly in, do the right thing, everyone is happy
