The Aerial Application Association of Australia (AAAA), the peak body for the country's aerial agriculture industry, today called on all political parties to commit to major change for Australia’s aviation regulator to fix what the AAAA believes are ongoing problems that are damaging productivity and fuelling uncertainty.
AAAA CEO Phil Hurst said that despite the initial promise of the Aviation Safety Regulation Review (Forsyth Report), very little has actually been done to change the state of the industry.
"Two years after the damning Forsyth Report, we do not appear to be materially closer to large scale and tangible relief from the problems identified," Hurst said.
"Despite enormous goodwill and support from industry over that time, the lack of CASA output across a wide range of issues is deeply troubling and will continue to handicap Australia’s ability to take advantage of the predicted significant international upturn in aviation demand.
"Of particular concern is the apparent rejection of a partnership approach identified by Forsyth as key to improving safety."
Hurst also singled out the working relationship between the Department of Infrastructure and Transport and CASA as crucial to achieving any meaningful change.
"Alignment between the Minister, the CASA Board, senior management and staff is critical to culture and behavior change and this is clearly a significant hurdle continuing to dog CASA. This is also another reason for a review of the Civil Aviation Act – the first in nearly 30 years.
"The new Minister and the existing CASA Board will certainly have the full support of the industry in tackling the highly resistant CASA culture of ‘we know better than industry'.
"Whoever the new Minister is after the election, they will have a massive task still ahead of them which may require further personnel changes if reform cannot be delivered rapidly – something supported by an industry focussed on outcomes not talk."
The AAAA has increased the pressure that has been placed on both CASA and the department in the lead-up to the 2 July Federal Election, with The Australian Aviation Associations Forum releasing their 2016 policy and AOPA producing the Project Eureka papers.
With the government in caretaker mode, official responses to these proposals and the Tamworth industry rally have not been made, although sources inside the department suggest something will be released this week.