Having spent many years in the bureaucracy in Canberra - and in the Transport portfolio, though in roads not air - it is patently obvious in these sorts of things that what will carry the day is not the "logic" or the "justice" of the situation, it is the politics. Your political lobbying is essential if you are to have any chance of success. All of which is a pain in the proverbial when all we want to do is fly...
I need look no further than our own Canberra "International" airport since privatisation. User charges have gone up, user convenience has gone down. Unfortunately with these privatisations it attracts buyers who are developers first and foremost and flying is incidental. Bit Fawlty Towers really, these airports would be a great investment if only these aeroplanes didn't keep wanting to land. If only we could put upmarket apartments on those long pieces of bitumen, what a fortune we could make... So keep up the lobbying guys, it's your only hope. Allan Armistead ph (02) 6249 6470, fax (02) 6249 6555, mobile 0413 013 911 PO Box 908, Dickson ACT 2602, Australia "When once you have tasted flight, you will always walk with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you always will be." Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519 -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Dave Boulter Sent: Monday, 22 September 2003 14:12 To: Aus-Soaring Cc: Hank Meertens; Bob Hall Subject: [aus-soaring] A big thanks to GFA in helping Gliding at Camden Hi, I would like to say a big thanks to GFA for their help in assisting Gliding in Camden, NSW. At present Camden Airport is in the process of being sold. Hoxton Park, Camden and Bankstown Airports are being sold in a group to private industry. Camden Airport will still remain an Airport, but the definition of an Airport is not clear. The gliding community at Camden has great concerns that we may lose our grass runways. This affects SCGC, Sydney Gliding, the Scouts Gliding, Air League and Independent operators in motor gliders located at Camden. Bob Hall and Hank Meertens have been very helpful in working with us on lobbying the Federal Government. The local Liberal member, Pat Farmer, has been very supportive as well. We had a meeting with the Minister for Finance and Administration, Nick Minchin at Parliament House, last week. It is obvious that Hank and Bob have worked these corridors before, many times. It is a frustrating and thankless task with extremely long decision and process times. On behalf of Gliding at Camden, I want to thank these guys for their help. I know on this email alias that there are times when GFA's worth is questioned. Getting help like this is very valuable and I am thankful to have Bob and Hank's experience on our side. Regards Dave Boulter -- ----------------------------------------------- http://www.sgi-extremelinux.com The source of innovation and discoveryTM ----------------------------------------------- |"Flying is learning to throw yourself at the ground, and....miss." | --- Ford Prefect | Dave Boulter | Technology Solutions | Director of Operations | ICON | Silicon Graphics | Sydney Australia |Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] |Tel: +61.2.8875.9541 |Fax: +61.2.8875.9484 -- * You are subscribed to the aus-soaring mailing list. * To Unsubscribe: send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] * with "unsubscribe aus-soaring" in the body of the message * or with "help" in the body of the message for more information.
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