What a coincidence
This is the letter I sent to my local member today, as well as a couple of other MPs and senators based in the area:
Dear [Local Member],
We have previously spoken about the CASA legislative changes which are creating large and burdensome administrative requirements for small business. I have previously stated to you that this will slowly kill small aviation businesses.
It gives me no pleasure now to tell you the Civil Aviation Safety Authority is rapidly killing the General Aviation industry through inaction and their OWN internal administrative burden.
Our businesses are grinding to a halt because:
- Our CEOs (who are also usually the Chief Pilot, Chief Flying Instructor, Chief Engineer and all the other roles) are tied up trying to learn the new regulatory requirements and the raft of new acronyms;
- Our CEOs must spend countless hours re-writing our (previously, perfectly useable) company manuals to satisfy CASA edict, instead of developing our business or training our staff;
- Our staff are paralysed by indecision because the new rules are unclear and in many cases self-contradicting;
- Our testing officers have been granted new priveleges they never previously held, or denied long-standing priveleges that they previously lived by;
- Our businesses are forced to wait THREE MONTHS before CASA staff can even LOOK at an application to allocate resources, denying us the ability to respond with agility to market opportunities;
- Our flying students are forced to wait for MONTHS for basic administrative regulatory functions, such as the issue of an Aviation Reference Number, which allows them to start their training. THEY ARE LOSING INTEREST AND WE ARE LOSING OUR BUSINESSES.
This is beyond a joke, this is beyond a tragedy, this is the government killing small business through indifference.
As you know, Leafblower Aviation is one of the most highly safety- accredited Air Charter organisations of its kind in the world yet we are STILL being held up by petty beauracracy.
We have been forced to wait for over 5 months for permission to do in [Location C] and [Location D] something we are ALREADY permitted to do in [Location A] and [location B].
For our Airline application we are forced by CASA to employ key staff on retainers and lease aeroplanes before they will issue a certificate - then while they prevaricate for months on minor issues the approved staff member finds alternate employment and the carousel goes around again.
Although I must now expect the spiteful vengance of CASA management, I beg you, please make this an issue in Parliament.
Feel free to ring me for more information
Yours in desperation