Boyd Munro has sent me the following list of points which
sets out the reason for existence of ASA. I think it would
be helpful if we all read and inwardly digested these
statements, and then made up our own minds about the wisdom
of supporting ASA. For what it is worth, I think it is,
although I am not usually the sort of person who deluges my
Member with letters.
Regards, John G.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Boyd Munro" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "John Giddy e-mail" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Sunday, August 17, 2003 10:33 PM
Subject: AIR SAFETY AUSTRALIA
1. We who use Australia's airspace for personal reasons
(e.g. for fun or for personal transport) have an
overwhelming common interest - our continued ability to do
so. That common interest far outweighs any competing
interests we may have.
Glider pilots, AUF pilots, parachutists, GA pilots - we are
all in the same "boat". You only have to look at the
different constraints on gliding at Bacchus Marsh ("near"
Melbourne) and Portmoak (near Edinburgh) or Camden ("near"
Sydney) and Kenley (near London) to see the extent to which
we Australians have lost the right to use our airspace.
2. The organisations which regulate parts of aviation in
Australia (e.g. GFA, AUF, SAA, PFA) are all in practice
beholden to CASA. This is not a criticism of them, it's a
fact of life. It is the result of political ineptitude as
far back as the 1930s but that does not matter. What does
matter is that, being beholden to CASA, those organisations
can never engage in political lobbying in the interests of
their members if that lobbying offends CASA.
3. We aviators are very few in number, which severely
limits our influence. But the total number of aviators is
much higher than the number of any of its parts. If, for
example, parachutists lobby on behalf of glider pilots, and
vice versa, our effectiveness will be greatly increased.
4. AIR SAFETY AUSTRALIA is just a political lobby group -
nothing else. It offers all grass-roots aviators an
oportunity to carry out political lobbying without risking
their group's essential "close working relationship" with
CASA.
5. AIR SAFETY AUSTRALIA is not INSTEAD OF the GFA - it is
AS WELL AS.
6. Because AIR SAFETY AUSTRALIA decides its position on
major aviation issues by balloting all members, the more
glider pilots there are in AIR SAFETY AUSTRALIA the better
will the political interests of glider pilots be
represented.
7. Participants in any visible minority activity need to be
politically active if the activity is to survive.
Australia's system of Parliamentary democracy is completely
reliant on the assumption that any group which will be
disadvantaged by new laws will scream. Australia's aviation
groups are at such risk from CASA that they cannot scream.
As a result truly draconian legislation passes the
Parliament with sickening regularity (the Civil Aviation
Amendment Billl 2003 being a current example).
An aviator can appoint AIR SAFETY AUSTRALIA as his political
lobbyist whilst remaining a loyal full-fledged member of his
operational association(s) such as the GFA. Members can
resign from AIR SAFETY AUSTRALIA at any time. Membership is
free. One is not taking an enormous risk if one joins to
see if the reality matches the description above.
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