No time for dreaming

The political die is cast so what should regional aviation do? The national regional aviation summit on March 19 at Parliament House is now even more strategically important. The vital message that aviation – and regional aviation in particular – is essential national infrastructure must be placed squarely in front of the government and the opposition.

This notion is reinforced by recent major resource discoveries in central Australia. If these resources are to be exploited it will require a wide range of aircraft and capabilities, more skilled personnel and possibly even some new regional airports. If this is the Asian century internationally, it could also be the aviation century domestically.

A large part of the aviation industry late last year described our industry’s most pressing issues in a fully developed policy paper. The industry is looking to engage soon with the government and the opposition on the 15 legitimate issues it raised. Silence from both is not an option if we are to put the industry back on its feet.

The recent national security speech by the Prime Minister raises some interesting aviation issues. She flagged that Australia’s highest security priorities are switching from stateless terrorist acts to tensions between sovereign states in the Pacific. And yet, we have increased security at regional ports with the new costs flowing to airlines and passengers. Given the clear security directions in the Prime Minister’s policy surely it is time to return to the security settings of pre- July 1 2012. This would be a measured reaction to Australia’s new security directions and provide some incentive to investigate new services so sorely needed by many regional communities.

Politics aside, 2013 will offer multiple challenges for regional aviation. Our engineering workforce is still providing sterling service but the average age is continuing to rise. This issue is close to crisis and we must somehow attract young people to the many interesting technical careers on offer. The engineers are the unsung heroes of the regional industry and we need the next generation available very soon.

This summer again proved how important regional aviation is to us all, on occasions a matter of life and death. The fires were still raging this year when the cyclones and floods hit the east coast. When road and rail were cut for days it was the helicopter crews that were out there plucking people from roofs and trees. At the same time, food and supplies were being delivered by regional aircraft to marginal airfields in usually filthy weather. Every year when things go pear-shaped it is the regional crews that saddle up and do their job. For this to happen we need to continue to invest in our airfields, air traffic management and high quality aviation met forecasts.

Our aviation systems – air and ground – provide a sound safety net for regional Australians and need the combined investment of our private and government sectors. Relying on just one sector will not deliver the national aviation network that Australia needs and deserves.

We could start right now by getting rid of the policy that provides one set of commercial aviation students with government-backed loans while at other equally-qualified CASA-certified schools the students receive nothing. The only difference is that the former students are attached to a university-based flight school while the latter attend the traditional stand-alone schools.

This has been a policy mess for years and needs urgent government attention.

Industry is looking to engage soon with the government and the opposition.