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Truss: Aviation Safety Regulation Review

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Truss: Aviation Safety Regulation Review

Old 8th Jul 2014, 23:52
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To find corruption, follow the money, follow the money

I rarely agree with creamie, but he is correct as this is about control, not safety.

Kharon's thoughts bear some careful thought, but the problem is still


casa, casa casa.
We need:

  • The legal section "...gone....";
  • About 250 to 350 staff "....gone...";
  • Senator Fawcett as Minister
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Old 9th Jul 2014, 04:48
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For those who have managed to stay awake during the intermission– Australian Flying – have published a bit of news.

Although rumour has it things may be 'buoyed' up with an announcement.
Conversely there is still a skeleton at the feast – Sandilands - Plane talking remains, as do all, unimpressed with ATSB. Perhaps we could petition the minuscule to give aviation to AMSA, they seem to be a calm, competent crew with their act together. Dolan is just an embarrassment.

Toot toot.

Last edited by Kharon; 9th Jul 2014 at 04:58. Reason: Choccy frog for K
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Old 9th Jul 2014, 21:52
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The DAS handicap. (1.5 miles over fences).

ProAviation - With the departure of the present CEO imminent, surely it would be timely now for the Minister to name without further delay the new CASA board and also the new CEO, who will face a daunting challenge on Monday September 1.
I expect the 'new' board will be part of the interview panel the final candidates ; I just wonder what the 'head-hunter' brief is and who scripted it. Seems to me that 'who' is left in the running at the final furlong marker will have been decided at the starting gate. Lets take a moment to consider how the handicappers decide which horses may run in a particular race. The Jockey club handicappers are obliged to ensure that the entrants are as evenly matched as possible; the ultimate art would be to have a dozen horses so close together at the finish you could throw a blanket over 'em. Honest, scrupulous folk, who make the napsters job tough...

In our little race for the DAS cup, the selection criteria have been published but the handicapper gets the first look in; sets the field as it were. There is no way of knowing how the handicapper is intending to select which pony gets a day out and which is sent back to stables.

Imagine, if you were asked some weighted questions, mixed with the banal; "Could you continue and complete the fine work started by McComic?". How would you answer a question like that; or, "Do you believe the executive team is rock solid?"; or, Do you feel Alan Hawke is an ideal chairman?".

To slow down fast horses, the handicapper "puts the weights up"; a crooked handicapper can, by simply 'weighting' a horse, affect the outcome of a race. No one is the wiser, least of all the mug punter who just lost his shirt, betting on the 'wrong' nag. Tricky business this 'orse racin'. The Jockey club rightly frown on such practice, but I wonder if the murky Machiavellian crowd have such scruples. Time will tell.....But if we get a clone, rather than a reformer, time to start manning the lifeboats.

Phelan - Of course reform is still several giant steps away, because it can only work when the new regulator’s new board and new management all accept that there exist obstructions that will take a cathartic change of corporate mindset to remove. The retraining or removal of the obstructionists will also be vital and should not be underestimated, because the philosophies that created the present system are still extant.

Last edited by Kharon; 9th Jul 2014 at 21:57. Reason: Some days are diamonds, some not so...
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Old 9th Jul 2014, 23:06
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Squirrels in cages.

DN asks some good questions, what's with all the secret squirrel bull****? It is also interesting that two days before one of the RAAA directors gets appointed (with no fanfare) to the CAsA board that RAAA come out fighting on the fuel excise levy to be made more equitable or be scrapped entirely? RAAA calls for fairer deal for regionals

Need to push the DAS military aspirant to the side as not being acceptable to the industry (i.e. stick to the ASRR CV requirements for DAS), we all know who the other aspirant is and he is our pick!

09 Jul 2014 - Doug Nancarrow

It seemed rather strange to see the name of the new CASA board deputy chairman on the CASA website without any formal announcement drawing attention to such a momentous appointment. And momentous it indeed it, with regional sector professional Jeff Boyd getting the nod for that role.

It’s hard to understand why we’re being drip fed the new CASA board member names, but if they are of the same calibre as Jeff Boyd then we’re off to a very good start.

There’s still no consensus out there about the new Director of Safety, but I know of a couple of people who were invited to be interviewed and either of them would make an excellent DAS.

Could it be that a certain military gentleman is the front runner? How would industry react to yet another ex-military person at the top of the regulatory hierarchy?

Let’s hope we have all the pieces of the ‘new’ CASA in place asap so that industry knows what it’s in for and can get on with the job.
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Old 10th Jul 2014, 01:36
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A matter of privilege.

Senator Xenophon has found one of three who have felt the hot breath of 'revenge' for being a witness or participating in the Truss WLR.

This is serious stuff; anyone who has been 'touched inappropriately' after daring to criticise or bear witness should contact the 'good' Senators a.s.a.p.

A matter of privilege.

Don't be shy....They are interested.
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Old 10th Jul 2014, 14:28
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ex-military?

Sarcs,


The ex-military bit is actually irrelevant - it will always get down to the character of the person.


A person who has the required attributes of honesty, integrity and a total embrace of procedural fairness will make the right decisions on the current facts and issues - not some perception of historical bias.
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Old 10th Jul 2014, 19:19
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IOS: Hawke to butt out of selecting new DAS.

Phearless Phelan article - CASA hiring transparency lost in obfuscation highlights the IOS dismay with the rumour that Hawke & Red (M&M) have stacked the deck in favour of another agreeable Muppet to fill the DAS shoes, coupla quotes:

Ken Cannane Executive Director AMROBA:

“We’ve raised the issue with the Minister of our concerns of the involvement of the current CASA board in the selection of the new people, because we see that the CASA board oversaw the industry and the development of the seriously negative issues that have been raised by the ASRR review. If Mr Hawke is going to be there, the remainder of the board should be involved with the selection as well, not just the Chairman.

“Before selections are made for the CEO, I think the Minister needs to be transparent now and either tell the industry he supports the review and its findings, or that he rejects them. If he supports them, it means that the CASA board should then be selecting a person who can implement the review, not a person who is going to continue on in the direction John McCormick has taken.”
Paul Tyrell CEO RAAA:

“The RAAA would welcome the recommendations of the ASRR being implemented as soon as possible. It is essential that the incoming CASA board members play a leading role in the appointment of the new CASA CEO. To do otherwise would make a mockery of the recent review. The new CEO must display a strong cost reflex in that he should exercise stringent control over CASA costs just as all modern aviation businesses must also do if they are to survive.”
miniscule harden up mate or get off the pot and let Barnaby take it to the Hawke!

TICK..TOCK miniscule.
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Old 10th Jul 2014, 20:20
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The Transparency Cup.

LL - this is why I like Mrdak where I can see the blighter; it's always easier to track a known quantity if you can follow a well defined trail. You can see from the Sarcs post above, neither Cannane, Tyrell or Phelan are fooled by the false trail. You can most easily imagine the conversation between the murky Machiavellian (MM) and Minuscule (M). A fairy tale, to be spun and woven into a Willyleaks form guide commentary.

M: "Erm, do we really need a horse race then?, must we have one? it's such a fuss"

MM: "Yers Minister, unfortunately we do".

M: "Oh dear, what's to be done, what's the procedure?"

MM: "Don't worry Sir, I have done this sort of thing before and if you allow, I'll take care of the whole dangerous event. The thing is fraught with political peril and the mob of punters at the gates will be howling for your blood if we don't; why don't you just relax and let me handle it".

M: "Oh, thank you. You have been a good and faithful servant and I would be most obliged if you could manage this insignificant, annoying detail for me. Now, where's my Ovaltine and Tim Tams?

MM scampers off to the kitchen to make the Ovaltine and while waiting for the kettle to boil. whips out the trusty mobile and rings one of his mates – a handicapper. "Meet me for lunch, usual place, we have a race to organise".

From lunch time onwards the betting selection is under the Machiavellian thumb. Above the surface to the punters, it looks ordered, open and transparent and so it is; in fact the whole thing, this faux race is flawlessly stage managed. MM whistles while he works knowing that his handpicked handicappers will knobble the rest of the field, before the off. Weighed down by loaded saddles, the runners will all slow down, allowing the lightweight MM fancy to win, by a length, ridden hands and heels. The punters loose their shirts, but then that's the nature of gambling; the only winners are the man who arranged the thing, the men who fixed the thing and those "in the know" who bet on the result.

The Jockey Club would not be impressed if they knew; but, as this was a private event, they don't signify.

Selah._.

Phil Hurst, Executive Director of the Agricultural Aviation Association of Australia (AAAA), says: “The process that we support is the one that is been outlined any number of times. It is that there should be a clean sweep of the CASA board. There should then be widespread consultation with industry for the appointments to that board. I understand that Jeff Boyd has already been appointed to the board as Deputy Chairman and we fully support his appointment because he is coming from industry and that’s exactly the sort of appointment that we welcome.

“I think that whoever takes the reins at CASA, they must have the trust of industry. That’s the critical issue and with the best will in the world, it’s very difficult for industry to trust people that have never operated in a commercial environment.

My concern with the lack of transparency in all this is that anything that happens in the current environment is likely to be tainted. If the powers that be don’t understand the importance of transparency in this process, which will set the direction for CASA for the next however many years, then clearly we’ve got more work to do.”

Last edited by Kharon; 10th Jul 2014 at 20:40. Reason: My bolding
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Old 10th Jul 2014, 21:04
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Kharon, I think the race is over and we've lost our shirts.

The new board members are what is known as window dressing - to give the appearance of change. The new DAS, I predict, will be a female, preferably lesbian. That way further industry complaints can be written off as misogynous, sexist homophobic rants.

Ideally she should be what we call in management a "process Queen" - knows nothing about the industry at all, but fervently believes she can manage Aviation regulation by following "process". She will also market herself and be marketed as a "change agent".

Of course she will be ground down and fail in this, but not before the Minister, Mrdak and the Iron ring have secured their retirements.

Last edited by Sunfish; 10th Jul 2014 at 21:21.
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Old 10th Jul 2014, 21:16
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Or, to put that another way; the Fine Cotton affair was a boy scout organised, amateur hour lash up compared to the silken smooth, well rehearsed operation we are witnessing. I wonder who Xenophon has in his gun sight; I hear a whisper that the embattled Hawke has been throwing some weight about, probably a reaction to electricity, or was it water; no matter -I forget which one.

ProAviation has been told that the Dr Hawke wrote to one industry association refuting its submission to the ASRR, and that the organisation rejected what it believed to be “bullying” on his part and brought the matter to Minister Truss’s attention.

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Old 12th Jul 2014, 00:51
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If you are willing to accept Mrdak then you also have to accept Beaker. Both are career bureaucrats who really have no particular interest in the departments they run but are very interested in deflecting criticism and avoiding responsibility. The proof of that is despite the weight of evidence of incompetence, as determined by the Senate report, Beaker is still in the job as head of the ATSB. He only has one boss and that is Mrdak and Mrdak is well pleased with Beaker's performance. The only person to get the boot is McCormick. Probably Mrdak needed to offer one head on a stick and a non-career public servant was the prime candidate.
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Old 12th Jul 2014, 11:05
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Out of office - please leave a message

Herr Skull is off overseas at the moment, enjoying the fruits of the taxpayer trough for one last time prior to his long anticipated, and somewhat overdue departure next month. Perhaps he is being interviewed for an ICAO position while he is abroad? Maybe he is collecting rare species of butterfly, or perhaps he is providing free aviation education to some third world country? (Sorry, I forgot, he already does that here!).

And while the cats away, the mice will play. And play they are. Much jockeying for positions higher up the toilet chain is going on, in fact it is almost frantic! Terry is smugly hobbling around the corridors of Spamberra, ego primed, as he contemplates what he sees as the next most suitable DAS - his good old self! Now how he intends to hold down such a coveted position while dabbling in I.T and maintaining a current A380 endo I really don't know! Forget CVD, will cataracts, incontinence and a pea size heart pass one of Dr Pooshans infallible medical standards?

Oh the internal shenanigans are well under way. Flyingfiend is aligning himself behind the bearded Philosopher, Messrs Boyd, Campbell, Peter a-ferret-a-day, and others are trying to shore up votes and support. Even the wascaly wabbit Wodger believes he is in for a sturdy promotion when the organisational deck chairs are rearranged over the coming months!

I've been stocking up on beer and popcorn for a few weeks now, waiting for the show to really begin. It's time to take my seat as the starters bell is about to be rung. C'mon Minister Truss, we have saved you a front row seat on the top deck of the Styx Houseboat, to watch the game unfold. Please come join us

'Tick Tock as the house of cards begins to rock'
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Old 12th Jul 2014, 20:40
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004 , sounds like fun. For giggles it'd be nice to see Byron return and see some of those frantically trying to hide under rocks in the more remote locations.

I don't understand why the DAS has not been announced by now though. Byron stayed on a couple of months to handover.

Sen X and Fawcett continue to stir things up too.

It's good entertainment.
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Old 12th Jul 2014, 22:21
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Hobson's choice.

LL - If you are willing to accept Mrdak then you also have to accept Beaker.
"If in this Case there be no other (as the Proverb is) then -Hobson's - choice ... which is, chuse whether you will have this or none."
Lefty – "willing and accepting" imply a choice; and mate, like Hobson's, we have little to none. No options and fewer choices, we are stuck with it. The only glimmer of hope for meaningful change comes from the Forsyth report. The really clever folk, like Boyd, Cannane, Fawcett, Hurst, Xenophon et al, read between the WLR lines 'properly'; it recommends changes which imply the top three layers of CASA management must go, the board be changed and the MM department lift it's game.

As much as I'd love to see all that happen, I know it's politically and practically impossible. We can only work with the tools we've got. I do feel time will take care of Mrdak, there are some difficult questions for him to answer on many subjects. Pragmatically though, his performances during estimates questioning define a master of the game and so long as he has the reigns any small changes will be hard won; especially with only limp wrist support from a minuscule who is not oriented toward matters aeronautical.

That only leaves hope the 'new' board can influence real reform; but the facts so far reveal that Hawke is staying put and that the other 'new' board members will be selected from rejected DAS applicants. Which leaves us Jeff Boyd, David Fawcett and Nick Xenophon to drive the changes; of those, only Boyd is a known reformer with a board seat.

So old son, it's not a matter of being willing to accept – but taking the best we can from a long way behind. I personally think the industry has become so used to the 'way we are' they have forgotten the 'way we were' and that's a very long road to return along.

I would fire Beaker from a cannon, in a heart beat with malice, tar and feathers, the works. I would without a seconds hesitation publicly decimate the three top layers of CASA management. But if the MM leopard could see the benefits of changing it's spots, I'd think long and hard before I pulled the trigger. On balance, I'd probably pull that trigger too; just for the airports mischief; but only from a distance and not without serious misgivings.

Time for second coffee, reality fix required...

Toot toot...

Last edited by Kharon; 12th Jul 2014 at 22:33.
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Old 13th Jul 2014, 07:50
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I think Jeff's experience dealing with the owners of Canberra Airport will be useful when dealing with other Board members and the senior levels of the bureaucracy he is oversighting. Its a pity they couldn't get a two for one deal and have Lara there as well.
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Old 13th Jul 2014, 09:14
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Got a very welcome invite by P7. (AKA Tom) to the Bar room Barristers darts night on Friday, if your ever lucky enough to get an invite don't miss it, its a real hoot.

Discussion ebbs an flows all night from the esoteric to at times surreal, to positively shocking.

The theme Friday coalesced into fervent argument of the level of corruption within CAsA.

Some said the regulatory reform project was corrupt because the iron ring had deliberately nobbled it thus costing the taxpayers 300 million dollars and the industry 25 years of mayhem and uncertainty.

Others said it wasn't corrupt, just incompetent, abiet 300 mils worth, but incompetence wasn't necessarily corrupt.

Anyway, the night progressed, much argument ensued about Qadrio's pineappling and how his pineappler had left CAsA to a cushy job in GA. ( Wonder who signed their approvals?)

I heard stuff I'd never heard about Polair and our geriatric A380 CAsA persons involvement in it, Airtex and how evidence was manufactured by a rascally rabbit etc etc, but towards the end of the night I just happened to overhear something that disturbed me greatly.

I am firmly convinced CAsA as an organisation is corrupt, there is just too much evidence out there, there is unfortunately, no place where that evidence can be bought for objective analysis, the police police the police where CAsA is concerned, given the rumours surrounding the DAS and the complaints commissioner that statement could very well be true, but if what I overheard friday night is true there is nothing esoteric about it, it is blatant outright corruption.

What I overheard concerns a certain FOI, who tested a certain CFI, and busted him back to acting "blank file".
All his approvals etc, the lot, gone! his whole career down the toilet.

Not unusual these days, I mean think of the RFDS in Melbourne, Hardies in Darwin, plenty of examples, which led to whole companies shutting down, throwing countless people out of work, to considerable financial penalty to others trying to defend themselves, where they are condemned as guilty before they even start.

In this particular case however this FOI, bless him, sacrificed his only begotten son to expunge the sins of the former by putting him into the role of CFI!!

What choice did this company have? without a CFI the company was Kaput.

.....What???

I mean this is way beyond the Adelaide FOI who insisted on an International "Proving flight" so he and his AWI mate could get a free couple of nights in the Darwin Casino, this is getting very close to the friday arvo brown paper bag!!

Minuscule WUSS...tick tock

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Old 13th Jul 2014, 10:57
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the Darwin Casino

I think you will find it was to fine tune the price for his return to his previous job, where the characteristics that led to the failure of his own business in Adelaide many moons ago signal a desirable flexibility in Territory RPT, coupled with an insider connection with CASA in the centre region
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Old 13th Jul 2014, 12:09
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The games bureaucrats play......

I am in agreement with the majority of CAsA's critics - the ridiculous Board must also go. These individuals have also presided over the past 5 years of aviation decline, CAsA cronyism and systematic buggery of all things aviation.
It is ironic that Hawke is clinging on so tightly? Why? A life long bureaucrat who knows how to play the system would have no problems slipping into some other government agency where he can write glossy brochures, spin up a few pithy letters and meet 3 times per year for his $150k! The whole lot of them are a bad joke. Unless there is a clean sweep from the top, nothing will change. And to date the Miniscule has silently sat on his thumbs, Pumpkin Head has been reappointed and Hawke is meant to be staying.....that is not a good start folks, not by a long shot.

Thorny - that is a nauseating story mate. However it is just another example of the level of secret men's business that goes on behind Fort Fumbles closed doors. Although not familiar with that travesty, there are myriads of other cases where the level of malfeasance is nothing short of breathtaking.

Halfmanhalfbiscuit - yes it would be interesting if Byron came back. However the Iron Ring had him shackled once before and they would do it again. They've been puppeteering CEO's/DAS's/Big Kahuna's or whatever you want to call them for years. Mr Smith also tried to implement some positive changes during his tenure but was also sideswiped, and very covertly might I add, by the Iron Ring.

As I said in an earlier post, the beer is on ice and popcorn in the microwave. Lots more chess moves to come yet. No real change will eventuate, I am a realist, but it is still fun watching the deck chairs being arranged, watching the rats scrambling around looking for a safe hiding place, watching individuals as they play the political game inside Sleepy Hollows musky walls, and watching Xenophon and Fawcett eagerly trying to take the field in umpiring positions! Oh boy I would like to see that, the Senators with whistles and striped shirts with the power to sin bin Fort Fumbles most slippery snakes

"Game on"
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Old 13th Jul 2014, 22:37
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This article from Ben Sandilands – Plane Talking – is worth the read; and it's very nice to have men in government who keep their word.. – Xenophon -.

The abuse of bureaucratic power is arguably, part of life. However the unwillingness of Government to do anything about it, other than to regurgitate statements by the same authorities that are accused of the original wrong doing, is something that ought to be of concern.
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Old 13th Jul 2014, 22:44
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Smokin' guns and cannon fodder.

Lefty is going to get the blame for this post – I have been much taken with the notion of shooting Muppets, tarred and feathered from cannons toward parliament house, since our last conversation. It provoked much hilarity at the Friday BRB QLD. (Quiet Little Drink). Thorny in attendance:– glad you enjoyed the evening. I will make no mention of the lampshade, nor false moustache episode (that's not where you wear 'em by the by) – promise. Heh, heh, heh. Neither will I post a picture of a dignified old school Captain being hauled home on the back of the Gobbledock' s beloved elephant. It will however be carefully kept in the 'family' photo album; for future reference and reunions.

One of the best bits (IMO) of the evening was the discussion on ways and means to get the ATSB some real teeth, horse and fire power. The argument that the NTSB, TSBC, AAIB etc do not go cap in hand to the 'regulator' and slobber about tactfully suggesting that 'perhaps' some minor adjustments could be made. They simply tell the regulator what's up, sometimes there is a negotiation or discussion but when, say the NTSB for example, 'crack the whip' and say jump; the regulator simply asks "how high".

The analogy of a 'Uriah Heep' style, begging and grovelling approach seems to fit. But why is it this way ?– it can't just be 'money'. The old BASI was fiercely independent and would, when the need arose go toe to toe with the 'regulator'. I keep coming back to the Miller review and the endless manipulation of the ubiquitous MoU. Anyway – it does not need an act of parliament to sort that little mess out. Just some gumption and old fashioned honesty. I and many others agreed; this wussy PC approach is uniquely different to that of other democratic countries. I'd like to see what the NTSB would do with the Pel Air incident; I'd bet a round of beers they would not be dancing about the daisies, wringing their hands and assisting in a solely pilot error load of old bollocks.

One of the really serious safety issues is fear of reporting; we all agreed on that at least. This invasive CASA generated 'sub-culture' where what's in book, don't happen on line and the lengths people must go to, to cover their arses is extreme. Then there's the shortage of valid 'educational' material; just risible reports so artfully nugatory as to provide little in the way 'useful' information. Not to mention that the ATSB spokesperson at a recent press conference could not explain why straight line tracks on a Mercator projection appeared curved; and, then proceeded to generally make a goose of it'self in front of the international aviation media. Some of the comments from 'aviation savvy' commentators were hilarious. In the end, I think they all went for a rehash of old material, rather than risk being seen as foolish enough to print the guff they were given.

While everyone is watching the CASA snakes and ladders show, the ATSB must not be allowed to slink off into anonymity, keeping their heads down and believing they have managed to slither, unnoticed out of the back door.

Minuscule – in very real terms, the ATSB is an essential part of air safety much more so than the 'regulator'; but don't rely on the BRB, ask the Americans, the Brits or the Canadians how they would feel about a toothless, irrelevant Transport Safety Board. Make the ATSB independent, free of obligation and funding wrangles: Oh, and please, lend me a cannon from the lawns on parliament hill, for a short ceremony; you can watch.

Toot toot.

The abuse of bureaucratic power is arguably, part of life. However the unwillingness of Government to do anything about it, other than to regurgitate statements by the same authorities that are accused of the original wrong doing, is something that ought to be of concern.
Sandilands - The defective and shameful Pel-Air crash report issued by the ATSB remains in place because of this Ministerial and self protective bureaucratic inertia. And this is unjust, and contrary to the public aviation safety interest.
My bold...

Last edited by Kharon; 15th Jul 2014 at 20:52. Reason: Spokesman just didn't seem to fit...
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