For years aviation industry pundits have been calling for a Government White Paper to address aviation’s woes, and last December they finally got it.
However, the content is unlikely to silence calls to ‘fix’ GA in Australia.
But beneath the blanket of rhetoric, there are signs that the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Anthony Albanese, does intend to tackle some of the great threats to GA.
Time will prove the strength of the intent, but for now the Federal Government is confident it has cleared a path for industry growth with a series of initiatives.
While GA will welcome some of the initiatives, there is likely to be widespread disappointment or apathy in others.
Most prominent for GA is the commitment to ensuring aviation remains the primary focus of the capital city secondary airports.
In what will be seen as a direct shot at Bankstown and Archerfield, the White Paper recognises the need for non-aviation development at Federal leased airports, but states that the Government will ensure Australia’s capital city GA airports will remain as fully operational airports.
Another biggie for GA is the proposal to establish a recreational policy and Sport Aviation Office within CASA.
With so little detail other than, “…place a high priority on supporting safety and professionalism in the sector”, there’s no way of determining the value of this to aviation.
However, the recognition that sport and recreational aviation has specific issues that need specific solutions can only be a step forward.
Another movement in the right direction is enshrining the Flexible Use Airspace (FUA) program.
To clarify, FUA means freeing up restricted airspace for GA when it is not in use.
Already the number of 24-hour restricted areas has been reduced from 81 to 15.
And the door has been left open for self-administration of non-commercial GA, with a giant condition that seems to slam it shut again.
Self-administration will only be put in place if it actually increases safety.
As it is hard to see how that would happen, the concept of self-administration may be foundering.
Where GA is likely to be united in disappointment is that two major desires missed the cut: subsidies for buying new aircraft and relaxing ASIC requirements for pilots.
However, there is one last big plus for aviation: the very existence of the White Paper.
It represents at least recognition that the Government and the industry itself had to take stock of the direction in which it was headed and plan for the future.
It is a start, not a finish.