Clearly "Old Akro" has an obvious bee in his bonnet with Airservices.
He's not criticised CASA (Airservices a softer target?),
Fair call. I think some of my rants attack AsA when its a CASA issue. But, the closures are done under AsA's name and they are responsible for the network.
Its also AsA (by my half informed speculation) that created the need for cost cutting via aid closure because its costs to maintain & certify ground based aids are I suspect 7 to 10 TIMES higher that equivalent overseas bodies, namely the CAA & FAA.
Also a lot of my beef goes back a couple of years when these closures were first mooted and there was robust discussion at the Victorian RAPAC. The issue of training aids in the Melbourne basin was brought up way back then. Its also when Yarrowee first went out of commission and AsA were supposed to fix it, but for over a year came up with new excuses not to do it. If you go back and read the RAPAC minutes it frankly clear that AsA consciously misled RAPAC in pursuit of its own agenda. There are minutes noting pledges by AsA that a training procedure would be created for the Cowes beacon after the Phillip Island airport refused to pay the extortionist amount of money AsA wanted to re-certify the VOR & NDB approaches. In retrospect this was an outright lie by AsA.
So, this issue has AsA's fingerprints all over it.
And as for KRviator, I assume you are a VFR pilot? Your comments show a lack of understanding of flying aids for NPA currency. Whats required is an NDB and a VOR beacon within approx 20 min flying of Moorabbin that is not at a primary or secondary airport in airspace suitable for airwork between about 1000 ft agl & 4,000ft agl. Melbourne used to have 4. Now it has none. I believe Sydney is a similar situation.