[Peetwo]

CASA/ASA Supp Estimates: 14/02/22

After watching the Su_Spence performance last night, I also add my voice to the growing chorus calling for her to resign. Simply staggering that this Senior public servant is earning in the order of 650K pa and yet she presents so ill prepared for Estimates - UDB! 

A call out to Senator Greg Mirabella for an outstanding 1st RRAT Estimates performance. Senator Mirabella brought good common sense and intelligence to the CASA inquisition...  

Watch and weep:

When the Hansard is available I will publish. Also note that apparently there will be a spillover hearing, the date for which is yet to be decided (according to the Secretariat).

Finally for those interested here is the ASA segment:

MTF...P2 

My comment to S McD's FB page:-

"Congratulations Senator McDonald on your articulation of the ills of General Aviation in Estimates and your view that there would be a great deal of Opposition questioning if the CASA CEO ($650k pa) was a Minister.

This is the nub of the 34 yr failure of ‘independent’ CASA corporate body administration, an experiment away from the Westminster system of responsible governance through a regular Department with Minister at it’s head.

Please fight for the GA community, and for the welfare and opportunities for all Australians, by promoting a Department of Aviation.
The Coalition will gain great kudos and we know that only a Coalition Government would make such a change."

Senator McDonald might now. hopefully, make the obvious step, to promote having a Minister in charge through a regular Department of Government. This is the only way to provide any real hope for the regeneration of GA.

Too late for anyone hoping for a smooth pathway for CASA reform. I will explain at the end.

My comment on the committee hearing: the problems of CASA, as demonstrated by the good Senators and Pip Spences valiant efforts to answer the unanswerable are that firstly, her senior executive team set her up to fail and secondly, it is impossible to codify "safety" in a set of legalities. if you try, the regulations you write will just get more and more complex as you try and cater for new eventualities.

For example take the questions raised by the Senators about single engined rescue helicopters in SA and fire fighting Blackhawk passenger carrying; can anyone NOT see that the solution to those matters will be another ten pages of regulations and exemptions? Furthermore those regulations will only be written after direct pressure from the Senators.

Of course what SHOULD happen when an issue like this surfaces is reference back to first principles that should be contained in the preamble and wording of the Aviation Act, but our Aviation Act is rotten and offers no guidance, so instead we rely on pitiful legal bullshit that poor Pip has to try and justify but can't.

....And all of that is without allowing for the personal vendettas and corruption embedded in CASA as exemplified in the opening questions.


As for CASA reform it is now a question of whose metaphorical blood is going to be on the floor in Six months time. It is now too late for any reform before the federal election.

If the coalition win and the Nationals numbers don't collapse then Joyces SoE stands, we then have no choice but to get rid of CASA senior management and start again - this is the "quick and dirty" reform option. The slow and clean option is out as  CASA senior management won't change. They have to go and quickly and with them, the old Aviation Act. That means management metaphorical blood on the floor.


if labor wins, then there will be no reform. GA and recreational flying will be sacrificed as petrol guzzling dinosaurs to the green voters - they hate farmers and regional Australia anyway. Senior Management will remain, take revenge on their critics and  preside over the end of  most GA and recreational flying. Labor has already said as much if you can  read the code.