Guilty until proven innocent – CASA’s lack of a Fair Enforcement System
It is unfair of CASA to decide that someone has broken the law unless that person has either admitted that he broke the law or has been taken to Court and convicted.In the case of John Larder, the pilot mentioned in the Telegraph dated 14th November 2000, CASA alleges that six months ago he broke Regulation 47 by failing to fill in a maintenance release.
Mr Larder denies that he broke that law, and an expert in aviation law says that even if CASA' s allegation is true in every respect, Mr Larder still didn' t break that regulation. This is exactly what a Court is for, to sort out competing claims like that in a fair, open and transparent manner.The incident occurred six months ago. CASA has had plenty of time to press charges, but has not. Yet suddenly a week ago CASA suspended Mr Larder's license. He has been deprived of his livelihood, and the entire process was conducted in secret. Only two weeks ago, it came out that the director of CASA, Mick Toller, breached the very same regulation a few months ago. He wasn't charged with any offence either. But his license wasn' t suspended, he was simply "counselled" by a member of his own staff, and for all we know that may mean taken out for a beer or two.I am not saying that what Mr Toller did was serious, nor what Mr Larder did. After all there is no equivalent rule in the USA, and planes don't crash because of it.
I am saying, though, that they should BOTH have been dealt with in Court. It is absurd that Mr Toller was "counselled" by those whose boss he is. Court processes are impartial, open and transparent. CASA is feared but not respected by the Australian aviation community, and that situation will persist as long as CASA acts as prosecutor, judge and jury all rolled into one, shielded by secrecy.It's much the same with Sydney Harbour Seaplanes. Their operating certificate was due for renewal on 31st October. Only six days before that, they were told by CASA that it would not be renewed. This operator has an unblemished record. They have not been convicted of a single offence. Then on six day, notice they are grounded. That's just not fair. If they are breaking the rules they should be dealt with by a court. If you as a driver are "booked" you can elect to pay the fine or go to court and have the police prove their case. The circumstances in which you can lose your license are very clearly laid out.
As a result, Australia's road safety has improved steadily over the last 30 years, and the accident rate has halved. Meanwhile the air accident rate has remained unchanged. Predictable, fair, open enforcement gets the best results.
