In the aviation industry, particularly Australia, the regulator has unlimited power to be Judge, Jury and executioner.
This leads to serious doubts by the user of the system in how he or she will be dealt with if there is an infraction.
It leaves those accused of an infraction with the AAT or Federal Court. The AAT has quite different rules as to evidence, which allow a much lower level of proof for “statements” made by the regulator compared to Federal or State Supreme Court – “Rules of Evidence”.
Does CASA behave as a “model litigant“?. The answer is no – and there are numerous AAT and Federal Court cases to support this notion.
Further, with the matters raised as a result of the “PelAir” report by the Australian Senate, the ATSB also has serious questions to answer as to how it treats the regulator [CASA] when the regulator fails in it’s statuatory obligations, through the SR/SA [Safety Recommendation/Action] system and the “softening” of requirements.
The effect of the ICAO/ FAA audit in 2008 was directed at areas that CASA failed to meet ICAO requirements. There were over 2000 non-compliances. These have still not been rectified and any attempt by the aviation industry to query and fix the situation have been firmly rejected by CASA. Compare with India’s audit.
In this web site, we are attempting to bring together information that can help others to understand why the regulator is taking a particular stand and publish difficult to find material from a range of publicly available sources, including FOI applications, Senate Inquiries, reviews [such as the ASRR] and a range of publicly available web and other sources.
The replacement of all the CASA regs with the US-FAR’s would be a distinct improvement and a complete re-write of the CAAct and associated Acts would assist in getting the aviation industry rolling again.
______________________________________________________________________
January 2015: What’s to come??
22nd January: Monthly missive by CASA
19th January: CASA web page gives us a new CASA CEO biography
12th January: Mark Skidmore Into office on 12th January 2015
7th January: Bankstown Master Plan Approval by Truss
1st January: Mark Skidmore commences his tenure
______________________________________________________________________
Tweets by @flyingoz
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
December 2014:
December 22nd: Release of Instrument and Repeal of Instruments
December 22nd: Release of Supreme Court finding on 2006 Parkes helicopter crash – implications for PelAir compensation
December 11th: The Hitch response to the ASRR “Government response”
December 10th: Aviation Industry Consultative Council – first meeting
December 8th: ATSB announces a “review” of PelAir report
December 6th: Sandilands report on replacement of Martin Dolan [ATSB]
December 3rd: Xenophon response
December 3rd: Truss and mrDak response
December 1st: Mr Skidmore hits the deck – What are the CASA hierarchy telling him
December 1st: Canadians finally reply in ATSB [partial] review
________________________________________________________________
November 2014:
November 10th: Has Mr. Skidmore started at CASA??
November 3rd: No show by Mr. Skidmore at CASA
November 1st: Annual report CASA and Annual report ATSB
________________________________________________________________
October 2014:
October 31st: No announcement of New Board members
October 30th: Appointment of “Mark Skidmore” as CEO CASA
October 20th: Senate meetings and Senate Estimates
CASA in Estimates, ASA in Estimates, Bankstown Issues, Archerfield Questions
October 8th 2014: Cairns to Canberra Caravan leaves for Canberra
October 3rd 2014: No positive outcomes for Part 61
______________________________________________________________________
September 2014:
5th September: No announcement of New Board members
1st September 2014: Part 61 commences, to Industry dismay
1st September 2014: Farquarson appointed as acting DAS
_______________________________________________________________________
August 2014:
31st August 2014: McCormick finished
8th August 2014: John McCormick [who has resigned as DAS] statement about Part 61 in The Australian
8th August 2014: MacArthur Job dies
6th August 2014: Minister Truss announces tenderer for MH370 search
_________________________________________________________________________
July 2014:
17th July 2014: Senators Heffernan and Sterle put a second “Contempt of parliament” for consideration.
14th July 2014: Jeff Boyd of RAAA appointed to CASA Board – Is this a cynical sop to the Industry, as Boyd was out spoken earlier???
10th July 2014: Senator Xenophon puts “Contempt of parliament” for consideration
______________________________________________________________________
June 2014:
27th June 2014: Mrdak gets a 5-year re-appointment????
13th June 2014: ASRR panel release the public submissions and redact [confidential submissions] over 70 of the 269 submissions
3rd June 2014 – Minister Truss releases ASRR Report
________________________________________________________________________
May 2014:
29th May – Minister Truss says that MH370 search is “…back to square one…”
There is Senate estimates on the Budget 2014: Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Infrastructure and Regional Development: Monday, 26 May and Tuesday, 27 May 2014
This is the month of the Australian Budget and questions for reduction of costs imposed on the aviation industry.
It is also the month for the submission of the ASRR report to the Minister.
A very important report that will either give life or death to the aviation industry.
_______________________________________________________________________
April 2014:
Minister Truss takes 40 minutes to mention anything about aviation and in the questions [by the journalists], which go for 35 minutes, not a single aviation question.
Does the Minister need some questions asked??
Minister Truss addresses the Press Club in Canberra – 30th April 2014
Minister Truss gets the KSA announcement done today (15th April 2014) and Badgery’s Creek is alive.
Parliament releases next sitting days as May 13, 14 and 15th May, with Estimates on: 26, 27,28 and 29th May, then continued 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th June.
ASRR report due out in May 2014
Angus Houston takes charge of MH370 recovery – ATSB removed from obvious involvement
______________________________________________________________________
March 2014:
CASA attempts to smooth over the industry
Government Response to the PelAir Senate Inquiry [March 20th 2014] See: PelAir Senate Inquiry
Legislation into the Australian Parliament to increase the number of people on the CASA Board by two.
Release of PelAir Ministers response due on 27th March 2014 ??
______________________________________________________________________
February 2014:
260 submissions to the ASRR but only a handful are public.
There has been no publication of non-confidential submissions to the ASRR.
_____________________________________________________________________
January 2014:
The current inquiry is the ASRR [Aviation Safety Regulatory Review] as a result of the PelAir Inquiry completed in May 2013, with a reply [to the PelAir inquiry] given to Minister Albanese on 5th May 2013, but no action by the Member for Marrickville. ASRR calling for submissions now [by 31st January 2014] with a report in May 2014.
_____________________________________________________________________
18th November 2013:
But on 18th November 2013, under questioning in the Senate, Mike Mrdak said he gave a report to Minister Albanese on 5th June 2013 [before the election] but nothing has been heard in the public sphere from Albanese.
_____________________________________________________________________
October 2013: The Coroners Report came out in October 2013 for Hemple.
The Coroner for the Hemple Affair is on Monday 18th March 2013 and then Friday 22nd March. There is no news yet as to when the final report will be made. In June 2013, the Coroners report is expected by August 2013.
See: Coroners report
Australian Story makes interesting watching.
_______________________________________________________________________
September 2013: Change of Government and Mr. Warren Truss becomes Minister, Mike Mrdack remains Head of Department
______________________________________________________________________
31st August 2013
Still no update on when a response to the senate. Minister Albanese chased down the street by a Prime News reporter, refusing to answer PelAir questions.
______________________________________________________________________
August 5th 2013: Australian Parliament porouged
______________________________________________________________________
24th July 2013
The latest is the ATSB referring it’s “Operation” to the TSB of Canada for a report.
This happened on 24th July 2013 in the Board meeting, that according to Dolan’s reply to the Senate was his response to the PelAir inquiry. The TOR’s have not been published and appear restricted in extent.
______________________________________________________________________
May 2013:
Current Inquiry [Report castigating CASA and ATSB out May 2013]:
The current Senate inquiry into aviation, which continues on 28th February 2013 will delve further into the dubious relationships between the regulator [CASA] and the accident investigator [ATSB].
The report is now “out” and the full details are here.
______________________________________________________________________
Disclaimer
________________________________________________________________________
Diagnostics for Cars
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Thanks for starting this new site as it should give an outlet for aviators to share information