When users are forced to pay

The ‘user pays’ principle that has flourished under the previous two federal governments needs some careful analysis and scrutiny. Both CASA and Airservices Australia are required to provide a dividend to government by charging industry for their services. The 2006 Productivity Commission Report noted that government charges cost airline operators more in total than the cost of doing business with private airport owners. The report also noted the monopoly nature of government aviation services and the need for ongoing monitoring and justification for government charges.

One of the fundamental difficulties with a government monopoly ‘user pays’ policy is where does the user go if the service is below par or non-existent? Recent examples of this dilemma are the highly disruptive and commercially expensive TIBA and TRA declarations forced on Airservices by some industrially motivated air traffic controllers, and long delays by CASA in approving relatively straightforward AOC changes or Chief Pilot approvals. In the latter case, it is recognised that government agencies must display due diligence in their decisions but the operator has no choice but to wait and usually lose money in the process.