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Glen Buckley and Australian small business -V- CASA

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Glen Buckley and Australian small business -V- CASA

Old 1st Sep 2019, 02:14
  #441 (permalink)  
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If there is any doubt

Under Freedom of Information I requested the Technical Assessor Worksheet. This is the CASA checklist from their own files. Over 600 individual items were each assessed and "ticked off" by CASA in order for APTA to get its Part 141 and 142 Approval. These were CASA stipulated requirements for my business if it was to continue operating after September 2017.

There is no doubt CASA were integral in the design. It cannot be refuted.
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Old 1st Sep 2019, 02:55
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A couple of hopefully brief remarks before I take my seat:

I bring to this thread some 35 years as an employee of a government agency. I started as a labourer; I was in management when I left. I spent ten years as an inspector before they booted me upstairs in 2003.

My specialty was the "difficult" files. The ones nobody wanted to touch. The ones where one wrong move could land you in the newspapers, with all hell breaking loose.

I did it for a long time, and I loved it. So I know a little about what works and what doesn't when it comes to dealing with government agencies.

They key to success is to find a person inside the organisation that wants to help you. I don't mean some drone who will perform his duties by rote, I am talking about someone who WANTS to help you. If you can find that, you have struck gold.

I have gone to bat for ordinary citizens who felt wronged many, many times. I fought my bosses on their behalf, and 100% of the time my bosses acknowledged that I was right. They never once called me on my decisions, not once. I was trusted to make the call.

All this because I WANTED to help the person. I believed in them. And they approached me with respect and dignity.

Glen, if you had found someone like me within CASA at the beginning of this unfortunate saga, you might have trod a very different path.

Please try to learn from this. You have no hope of finding a sympathetic ear inside CASA now. That was your best chance, and it's gone. Now, your only hope is to find someone, somewhere, who believes in your cause, but more importantly, actually LIKES you.

Glen, please, you have got to stop attacking people. They may well deserve every bit of it, but in your situation you just can't do that. You gotta be cool like Fonzie, my man. You need influential people to like you, and they don't dig attack posts full of inuendo. I will say it again... YOU HAVE TO STOP THIS ****!

You need an advocate who has some influence. I used to be such a person. Can you cool your anger enough to find someone like me?
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Old 1st Sep 2019, 03:00
  #443 (permalink)  
 
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"You have no hope of finding a sympathetic ear inside CASA now."
CASA is not a happy place. 20 years ago, in Glen's position, I still found quiet support within CASA.

Glen, with all those "Yes" and "Satisfactory" responses, have CASA advise you that your organization is actually 'not compliant' and if so, with what?
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Old 1st Sep 2019, 03:27
  #444 (permalink)  
 
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Hi again, Glen. Let me reiterate my earnest hope that you will get something positive out of all of this. However, your posts do manifest a dangerous level of naïveté.

At post #440 you said:
I sent the following request under Freedom Of Information request on 20/08/19

Dear Mr Gobbitt, On Saturday 12th January 2019 , Mr XXXXXXXX, attended the Ballarat Aero Club to make his own assessment of APTA. He did this in his senior position as the Executive Manager Regulatory Service and Surveillance. Under FOI, may I request the notes that were made by him related to that site visit. Thanking you in anticipation of your co-operation, respectfully, Glen.

The response from CASA to the Freedom of Information request;

“I am the decision maker for your request. In accordance with subparagraph 24A(1)(b)(ii) of the ACT, I refuse your request for access as I am satisfied the documents you are seeking do not exist

Really?, One of CASA most senior executives travels from Canberra to Melbourne to look first hand at APTA. He then elects to gret a hotel and a rental vehicle and stay an extra day, and travels down to Ballarat Aero Club (1 ½ hour drive), spends a significant amount of time talking to everyone, gains a positive overview, and heads back to Canberra. Surely there would be something. Some kind of a report. Anything.
Your FOI request was not for “some kind of report” or “any” record created about the visit to, the meeting at or observations made about APTA and the Ballarat Aero Club on 12 Jan 2019.

Your FOI request was for “notes that were made by [CASA’s Executive Manager Regulatory Service and Surveillance] related to that site visit”.

If he didn’t make any notes, they do not exist. Even if one of his hapless minions attended as well, and took notes, the notes taken by the hapless minion do not fall within the scope of your request.

You’re in a gunfight, armed with a popgun.

Do your recent woes boil down to the interpretation of the word “employee” and CASA’s judgment of whether the expanding APTA had a sufficient number of suitably qualified and competent “employees”?
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Old 1st Sep 2019, 03:36
  #445 (permalink)  
 
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Can anyone answer AviatorDave question in Rumours and News?

Or a "few of the big pictures" that the numerous CAsA staff have at different locations.
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Old 1st Sep 2019, 04:37
  #446 (permalink)  
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Lead Ballonn and "what is the issue"

This is the crux of my problem.

CASA had approved APTA some 18 months earlier in April 2017 as a Part 141 and 142 Organisation. The business had already been operating for about 12 years prior, but we were required to rewrite our entire manual suite to the new regulatory structure.

6 months after our Transition had been through a Level 1 audit (the highest possible) with a number of CASA personnel over number of days. NO problems were identified.

CASA was actually suggesting APTA to organisations that were struggling. Our membership was growing and I had members wanting to join. I had absolutely no reason to have any concerns at all about the business model.

Important to this case is the change of CMT. The CMT being the oversighting team. I was advised of my new team. Someone on that team "concerned" me. It concerned me enough to request a one on one ON THE RECORD, meeting with my Regional Manager. I expressed my concerns. The CMT change proceeded, and the entire attitude changed.

That notification in October 2018 came with no prior warning at all.

It was on the basis of the Aviation Ruling (later agreed by CASA to be the incorrect document), and the Temporary Locations procedure (which was later found to be CASA own procedure that they suggested we use, and they had approved, and audited).

It then moved to contracts requirements. CASA claimed we didn't have contracts. I proved that we did and they had been provided to CASA on multiple occasions.

It then changed to content of contracts, CASA could not state what they wanted, but only that they were not happy. I explained that I needed to know what "right" looked like if they knew what "wrong" looked like.

They provided suggested text, which I fully adopted, and they then rejected. They then provided further suggested text for the contract which I adopted. They said that is fine, we are good to go. Then they reversed their decision and said hold on. Then CASA still couldn't work out what they want, so went to an external QC at significant cost, and came with third set of guidance material which they advised I could not use word for word, so I didn't. I explained that I was satisfied with my contracts and called on them to make a decision, which they still have not done. Had they made a decision, I would have had something to appeal.

So in summary, there was never any accusation of a safety compromise at all. There was no allegation of regulatory breaches.

The allegations of regulatory breaches only came up many months later when it was identified that we had not been provided with the LTV audit results. In fact CASA supposedly didn't have any results, so undertook to write them up over the weekend which they did. The only problem was that these new audit results now contained new allegations of a number of regulatory breaches that had not been bought up for. Every attempt to resolve these new allegations was completely ignored by CASA.

I also had an allegation of flight and duty breaches at one stage, but CASA were not ever able to name the offending pilot. That is a rough overview, but effectively, it would be fair to say, CASA threw absolutely everything they had at APTA to bring it down, and I really have no idea why.
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Old 1st Sep 2019, 04:52
  #447 (permalink)  
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Smalahove- Finding that person

I actually did find that person within CASA, a name I have tried to avoid publishing in my correspondence. A man of exceptional integrity and ethics. Principled and well intentioned. Fair, and a big thinker. He actually came from outside of CASA from a significant contribution to a number of Government departments. He had my confidence and I trusted him. He was a "decompressor" in that he could take the heat and pressure out of situations. He is the individual that attended the Ballarat location to gain an overview.

In the CASA Organisational Structure he reported directly to Mr Graeme Crawford who is the ultimate decision maker.

I have the highest levels of trust and confidence in the ethics and integrity of Mr Peter White. Sadly, due to a health issue he has left CASA, and I sincerely wish him all the best.

I had him but lost him.


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Old 1st Sep 2019, 04:58
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Torres

That is the worksheet that was used some 18 months earlier. Initially There was never any allegation of a regulatory breach. I am dealing only with a change of opinion, while CASA "think" about it. They have been thinking about it since October 2018. I wouldn't mind them taking so long if they weren't simultaneously placing restrictions on the businesses ability to trade.
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Old 1st Sep 2019, 05:57
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Bouncing on Smalahove's comment above suggesting that Glen finds someone with high moral integrity within the organisation, I start suspecting the opposite. I have the impression that someone there seems to hold a personal grudge against Glen. This sudden 180 deg reversal in their attitude, the relentlessness with the contracts rewrites and obsessive efforts to dismantle APTA after endorsing it in the first place almost has vengeance written all over it. And that's weird because the overwhelming consensus here is that Glen is not the kind of person that has untold numbers of enemies.

So what is it that's driving all this? Do we/does Glen know everything? Who stands to benefit from the dismantling of APTA? Maybe that's an angle to consider
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Old 1st Sep 2019, 06:09
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$21,408

Happy Fathers Day Glen.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/glen-buckley-v-casa
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Old 1st Sep 2019, 07:33
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Originally Posted by glenb
II had him but lost him.
You were on the right track, but as you say, you lost him. I gotta take a break here, being across the Atlantic, but I urge you to rethink things. If you continue... ah, you already know what I'll say..
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Old 1st Sep 2019, 07:43
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Please keep following, its a very emotional environment here in Australia, and impartial, objective and well intentioned advice is always valuable and must be considered. Respectfully, Glen
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Old 1st Sep 2019, 08:10
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What Smalahove is saying is that you have wittingly or unwittingly adopted the Whitlam strategy of crash through or crash. Be very careful not to leave yourself open to a defamation lawsuit. Think very hard if you are offered ann option by CASA to get out of this mess.

my guess is that by now your files are all in the lawyers offices at CASA and no one, well meaning or not, in CASA is going to get a look at them. What that now means is the legal battle will start. As I said before, your only hope now is public opinion or having more money than CASA.
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Old 2nd Sep 2019, 21:08
  #454 (permalink)  
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Coming out of the sin bin

Thanks for all of the well intentioned advice, all much appreciated.

Regarding defamation.

CASA has made it clear in the correspondence from the CASA CEO that those individuals would potentially be able to pursue their own claim against me.

My perspective.
  1. Far more unfair damage has been bought to my reputation, as a result of actions by the named individuals.
  2. It is a matter of aviation safety
  3. It is the truth, I can substantiate it, I am fully prepared to be held accountable in law.
  4. I am truly destitute, so any financial threats, although noted and respected, cannot be addressed.
  5. It is in the public interest.

I fully respect our judicial system, and would welcome the opportunity to defend my reputation. It would cost me little. I wouldn't get a lawyer. I will turn up on the day, neatly dressed and simply "tell the truth". If any of those CASA personnel elect that path. I will respect it.

In the interim, I will continue with my goal of working towards $50,000 on the crowdfunding. Once I achieve $50,000 I will initiate the process myself, if they haven't.
Thankyou once again for your support. It is overwhelming and clearly demonstrates that my concerns are shared by the wider industry

https://www.gofundme.com/f/glen-buckley-v-casa

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Old 3rd Sep 2019, 10:41
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Originally Posted by Smalahove
IANAL, but in my view he is dangerously close to getting sued for libel. The guy from CASA warned him; it's clear they are contemplating this. Knowing the vindictiveness of this organization, would it surprise anyone if they proceeded?
Just what they do not want.. They have to PROVE his statements were false and malicious. They must answer to cross examination.
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Old 3rd Sep 2019, 20:39
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OKIHARA asks,

"So what is it that's driving all this? Do we/does Glen know everything? Who stands to benefit from the dismantling of APTA? Maybe that's an angle to consider".

A very good question, especially when things don't seem to make much sense.
Given the increasing interest in Australia's aviation infrastructure by entities from a certain foreign power and given their propensity for handing out Aldi shopping bags full of cash, one could suspect skulduggery, but that I guess we will never know.
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Old 4th Sep 2019, 04:23
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Originally Posted by Okihara
I have the impression that someone there seems to hold a personal grudge against Glen.
You would kinda expact that, wouldn't you?

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Old 4th Sep 2019, 04:27
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The wounds are self inflicted, and I'm trying to urge a different approach that may be less agressive, but more effective.

The campaign has stalled a bit.... c'mon people, get behind the guy who gambled everything on your behalf and lost.
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Old 4th Sep 2019, 04:35
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Why should anywone care about what some asshole in Canada Says?

Well, i cant think of a reason, but we do have a good reputation for being inclusive.
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Old 4th Sep 2019, 08:34
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is this fair?

If my story is to be believed
  1. CASA helped me design APTA
  2. CASA changed their mind overnight and placed a number of restrictions on my ability to trade
  3. This eventually lead to me losing absolutely everything.
I might add, and no individual in CASA will refute this. My dealings outside of Pprune, and in my role as a Deputy HOO have been uncompromising and professional. I have been warm, open, respectful, safety focussed, and compliance focussed. There can be no question of my conduct. Have I been a vocal critic of elements within CASA. Perhaps. I am simply screaming out to be heard after more than 9 months of this.With all the havoc and destruction that CASA have already wreaked on me, the Regional Manager then elects to become involved in my livelihood, and sends the following email that lead to the cessation of my potential role as the Deputy HOO into the future.

Tuesday 27/08/19, 2.14PM CASA Regional Manager to New Owner of APTA


Hi (new owner of APTA), I understand that Mr Buckley remains as APTA deputy HOO. This is no longer tenable with the comments that Mr Buckley is making publicly.Please confirm APTA’s intentions in relation to Mr Buckley as deputy HOO and whether Mr Buckley is authorised to speak on behalf of APTA. Thanks again Jason.



Really CASA, when is enough enough!
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