Turning the page

However, even that exemption – CASA EX 148/14 – appears to have created new problems and little relief. AAAA is already pushing for changes and common sense to prevail.

While this may be a small issue in an avalanche of bad news from Part 61, at least it shows that genuine pain to the industry and the need for practical solutions can both be recognised by CASA when it puts its mind to it.

Similarly, cooperation between CASA and AAAA on establishing a sector risk profile to match real risks to positive actions is promising to bear fruit as existing AAAA programs and training – such as AIMS and CRM – may be supported and recognised for the first time by the regulator.

At a political level, the appointment of Mark Skidmore to the critical position of director of air safetyand CEO of CASA is a positive development – as much for the end of speculation as for the ability for industry to start working with CASA on a longer-term and more balanced safety agenda. Hopefully this will include an honest consideration of the classification of operations to ensure non-passenger carrying operations such as aerial application are not subject to unnecessary costs or regulatory burdens.

The earlier appointment of Jeff Boyd to the CASA board has already started to change the expertise available to guide the organisation at a strategic level – especially from an individual with a strong background in aviation at a range of levels.

Of course, there remains the unfinished business of the Forsyth report, but perhaps the government response will soon reveal if that process is going to yield significant long-term improvements in the Australian aviation safety regulatory system.

The non-appointment of the rest of the CASA board must be proving a thorn in the side for both political and practical reasons and industry only hopes that those appointments are made in the very near future to buttress the good start to reshaping CASA’s key positions and direction.

From another angle, a recent ATSB report on aviation accidents and incidents provided some long overdue recognition that general aviation in Australia is safe and getting safer.

The report may even

General aviation in Australia is safe and getting safer.

indicate – against all efforts by CASA to undermine the concept of a ‘just’ culture – that reporting of various grades of accidents and incidents is improving.

The recent Australian Aviation Hall of Fame induction of another batch of worthy recipients – including aerial applications’ own Col Pay – provided ample evidence that not only is the industry well served by many inspiring individuals, but that it continues to mature by recognising the contributions those people made to improving aviation in Australia.

The Australian Aviation Associations Forum is bringing industry together to better communicate our concerns, needs and hopes to policy makers. It is certainly starting to gain traction and provide a strong policy focus andvoice on industry issues that cross the boundaries of the individual participants’ areas of interest.

While on an aerial application front drought has Queensland and some of northern NSW in its grip and is making business extremely difficult for operators and pilots, other areas have had reasonable if not spectacular crops.

The Commonwealth has a green paper process established for agriculture and this will hopefully address some of the government constraints on allowing contractors to access mechanisms that will improve resilience – such as longer-term income averaging, access to income equalisation deposits and fairer financing policy from the banks – who themselves received considerable assistance during the GFC but are unwilling to pass on any understanding to their drought-affected aviation clients.

The potential for even better things coming in the new year is, to some degree, highly dependent on how the new management team at CASA intends to drive change, the government’s response to the Forsyth review, and the government’s implementation of its wider election promises such as establishment of an Aviation Industry Advisory Council.

There is no doubt that a speedier start to all of these issues would certainly have been much more in line with industry’s preferences – however, there certainly appears to be an increasing number of things to be positive about – perhaps once Part 61 is fixed.