I doubt DAS wrote the letter. I would say it wasn't even his idea. He is the Director so his name goes on it though.
When an organisation like CASA sends out these letters it's not for our benefit. They know exactly what's wrong, they don't need us to tell them. This is called "stakeholder consultation" which loosely translates to "we have to be seen to be doing something even though we don't give a crap".
The Public Service/Govt never admit mistakes. They never reverse a decision no matter how apparent the screw up is.