[Peetwo]

Having been laid up for a couple of months with nothing much to do I’ve had a chance to actually read a newspaper from front to back rather than just skim through, picking out the bits and pieces that caught my eye.

One thing I have noticed the past couple of months, perhaps not necessarily aviation related, but more generally. There appears amongst the commentators to be a growing awareness of what Robin Speed (president of the Rule of Law Association of Australia.)  described as “The rise of the regulators” he warned of the terrible burden regulators were placing on Australia in terms of cost, loss of freedoms, abrogation of the rule of law, and the strangling of growth and ultimately the prosperity and wellbeing of every Australian citizen.

Aviation is perhaps a striking example of what occurs when Murky Mandarins, given unfetted power, can do to a whole industry.
Our political elite, so self absorbed with their own survival, are no match for the Mandarins and acquiesce to their “Sir Humphry’s” manipulations without the slightest attempt to garner the facts , consult their constituents or seek advice from the true “Experts” the industry, not CAsA where the level of incompetence is truly staggering.
Our current crop of politicians are ill informed and to be frank bloody lazy. They are not doing their elected job, they are leaving it to unelected bureaucrats and their smoke and mirror tricks.

The weekend Australian carried an edifying article by “Danny Gilbert”.

Some excerpts:

“Red Tape costs every Australian $7300 a year – four times the Medicare levy”

“Australians are only beginning to witness the massive economic opportunities ushered forth by the resurgence of Asia. However, we are being held back by a noxious culture of over regulation that has infiltrated almost every aspect of our lives”.

“Federal regulations alone burdened consumers and business to the tune of $65 billion in 2014”.

“Its more than what Australians pay in GST every year and about four times what’s raised by the medicare levee”

“ Its more than the cost of Sydney’s second airport at $43bn (Why is it that expensive? Wellcamp was built for $200 mil and took two years to complete) or the National Broadband Network at $49bn. It’s almost double the total output of Australian agriculture, equivalent to the entire economy of Croatia, Lebanon or Macau.”

“ If the social and economic costs of a rule are not outweighed by the public benefit, it is bad regulation”.

“If we are serious about seizing the opportunities of the coming decades, our culture of hastily drafted and ill-conceived regulation must be stamped out”.

“Some regulations simply defy logic”

“We could learn from countries like New Zealand and accept that in general, products cleared by European or North American regulators should be made available here”

“It’s no wonder that Australia despite being the world’s 12th largest economy, has slipped to 22nd on the Global Competitiveness Index”.

“Hastily drafted and ill-considered regulation must be stamped out”

It all sounds so familiar doesn’t it?  We’ve been banging on about it for years as we’ve witnessed our industry being regulated into oblivion. All our protests falling on deaf ears.

Let us hope that these glimmerings of awareness awaken our political masters from their self indulgent torpor and they start to do what they were elected to do.

P2 - Excellent catch TB...  

For those interested here is the link for the full article:

Prune the jungle of regulations
Danny Gilbert
Red tape costs every Australian household $7300 a year — four times the Medicare levy.

Sandy's contribution to the discussion (via the Oz)... :

Alexander


An excellent article but I would opine that the costs are far higher. In just one field, that of General Aviation, there has been a staggering loss of pilots, jobs and businesses. This has occurred at the hand of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority which has beaten down the industry into a shadow of it's former self. Now its a shrinking industry too small to be noticed but the combined losses and multiplier factor would amount to billions. An $8000 upfront fee and many months waiting for a flying school permission. In the US not required.

A large part of the problem is governance through the failed model of the independent statutory government corporation. This unfortunate side effect of the great Thatcherite privatising reforms has blighted our country. The facts of life are that these bodies are prone to make work, read rules and regulations, then require fees and obedience, surveillance and conferences.

Nothing short of legalised protection racketeering simply because without day to day political oversight the incentives for increased power and money become the real drivers. Can'tberra, 400,000, the developed world's most socialist, no freehold, no free enterprise capital bent on growing importance privilege and power at untold expense to our nation. Alex in the Rises.

MTF...P2