RAAA Spring 2019 NEWSISSN 1839-146X From The Lefthand Seat Jim Davis RAAA Chair Director, Regional Express This year saw our third RAAA reached between the AFAP, the RAAA In This Issue convention at the Royal Pines Resort and Alliance Airlines. The agreement is From The Lefthand Seat on Queensland’s Gold Coast and we not perfect and there is still a process Jim Davis - RAAA Chair made a few changes in response to to be gone through before this is feedback received following last year’s finalised and the FWC hands down its From The Righthand Seat convention. In particular we tried to final ruling. Mike Higgins - RAAA CEO increase the networking opportunities What is encouraging is that on balance Technical Update available to members and to encourage the full bench of the Commission Where are the next LAMEs coming from? members to spend more time in the were inclined to introduce the concept AvSuper - Salary Sacrifice trade hall and circulate more amongst of a training bond into the Award Bureau of Meteorology's eye on space helping the exhibitors. and favoured the arguments of the keep global air travel safe I want to thank everybody who has employer representatives over that In the Cabin provided feedback on this year’s event of the AFAP. This led to the AFAP Pionair and encourage those who haven’t yet being prepared to negotiate a clause De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited but would like to offer some comment, to allowing training bonds whereas its do so to one of the board members or to previous hard line position had always Flight Briefing been that training bonds had no place Wellcamp Airport export hub to boost region’s the RAAA office. Our initial impression global potential in the Award. from feedback received and comments Tracware aquisition by JSSI made at the convention itself was that In addition under the BOOT (Better PPG Semco Specialty Nozzles the changes made this year met with Off Overall Test) the AFAP had been Scholarships 2019 - Update some success and we will be looking to mounting a campaign to largely improve on that for the 2020 convention. nullify training bonds currently A key decision to be made for next year existing in various Enterprise will be whether we stay with the Royal Agreements. Due to the current Pines for another year or whether we Award wording they had achieved look for a change of scenery and this some success with legal will be decided by the board at our challenges against training bonds November meeting. Another decision but this will all change once we get we will have to make will be the future training bonds inserted as part of of the RAAA Christmas function. The the Award. last year or so has seen a decline It is worth bearing in mind that in attendance from the days when it the purpose of the Award review is was always fully booked and standing to simply clarify the existing Award room only on the harbour cruise. We and not to re-negotiate it or any are particularly keen to hear members’ clause contained within. It is highly opinions on these two matters. encouraging that the full bench of the A major focus for the past year has FWC was prepared to contemplate the been our representation at the Air Pilots introduction of training bonds into the Award Review taking place in the Fair Award as a means of interpreting the Work Commission. The most recent existing clause on pilot training. hearing was held on 12 November 2019 where an in principle agreement was Unit 11, 26-28 Winchcombe Court Mitchell ACT 2911 Australia +61 (0)2 6162 0305 | [email protected] | www.raaa.com.au From The Lefthand Seat IN THE COCKPIT Continued..... This has been an extremely an interest in being on these groups expensive exercise and one that with around 140 being selected so many small operators would far based on expertise and industry priority. Dealing with the Department struggle to finance on their own. representation. The RAAA has been of Home Affairs represents a whole However using our collective very well represented on the groups new challenge and will no doubt resources the RAAA has been formed so far and it is encouraging frustrate us at times. Its bureaucrats able to mount such a challenge on that CASA has featured us so have little understanding of our behalf of its members along with prominently. With little exception our industry or appreciation of the damage their new rules will do if Alliance Airlines, Qantas and Rex. input has been taken seriously by enforced as they currently stand. The benefits to operators of having CASA and has been acted upon. an enforceable training bond in An important TWG currently being the Award, which the AFAP will convened is the one looking at be unable to dispute, cannot be Parts 61, 141 and 142. The RAAA overstated. The results so far are is again well represented and encouraging and we look forward hopefully we will finally be able to to the end of this protracted and remove the worst parts of these ill expensive process. begotten regulations. Work still proceeds on finalising the As mentioned at the convention the Regulatory Reform Programme with RAAA will be working closely with 2019 RAAA CASA’s new consultative process our members in the freight industry and in particular with the Technical in 2020 to try and make sense of Events Calendar Working Groups appointed by the the proposals covering domestic Aviation Safety Advisory Panel. freight screening. With the Air Pilots 28 November 2019 There are now over 700 people Award Review nearing completion Sydney NSW registered with CASA expressing this will now become our highest Ó Board Meeting Ó Technical Working Group Ó Annual Christmas Function 2020 Dates To be Advised Please mark these in your diary. We look forward to seeing you there. Serving regional aviation, and through it, the people and businesses of regional Australia 2 From The IN THE COCKPIT Righthand Seat Mike Higgins RAAA CEO The RAAA continues to Represent Aviation Across Australia. located in communities from our attempts to attract young people Rockhampton to Wagga to Albury We have welcomed 12 new into aircraft engineering as a career, members since this time last year. to Bendigo, Mildura and Adelaide. as there remains no clear career Unfortunately, we had no response (In 2018 we were joined by 13 new pathway. to invitations to meet with them. members). New members include: Australian Indigenous Aviation I had assumed that the emerging • Cobham Aviation Services Foundation (AIAF) CASR Part 135 and 135M would • Axiom’s Edge raise the level of interest in what the We are in the final stages of preparation for our funding drive • Black Diamond Aviation RAAA can provide to current charter providers. I expect an increase in amongst government agencies and • East Air activity next year as implementation corporate Australia. Some of our members have expressed a strong • Flight Options dates are more widely advertised by CASA. interest in employing successful • MagniX Technologies graduates. The key distinction this ‘457 Visa’ training initiative offers is that rather • Wilson Aviation Services We have been invited to continue than just training for trainings sake, • De Havilland Aircraft of engagement with Home Affairs in we are training for actual jobs. We Canada relation to the Skilled Migration met recently with the Indigenous • Flight Standards Occupation List. Consultation with Ministers Chief Of Staff and the us began anew on the 18th of this Governor General David Hurley. • Pionair Australia month. Home Affairs advise that We enjoy the complete support of • Fly Pelican pilots and engineers will remain the GG who has a personal interest firmly on the Medium and Long- in all matters around indigenous • Secure Sheq Term Strategic Skills List. Pilots and engagement and development. Strategic vs Tactical Engineers are now once again able CASA Technical Working Groups Most of the activities that consumed to be sourced from overseas. Labour (TWGs) our time over the past 12 months Agreements are the vehicle to use and are available from Home Affairs. The volume of work with the have continued to be tactical and industry TWGs on the six main reactionary in nature. Whilst it’s Fatigue Risk Management System CASR Parts has been very time important to manage these issues consuming. I am involved in 7 in a timely manner on behalf of our The rule set for CAO 48.1 is settled. It is in a much better shape today TWGs and a couple of Sector members, we also have to make due to our unrelenting pressure Safety Risk Profiles. CASA are time for strategic development and involvement in policy setting planning on having these draft activities. To this end, the board workshops over the past three regulations ready for making by met in Darwin in May and we spent years. years end, still an ambitious target half a day discussing our strategic indeed. objectives. We are continuing to Engineering Training work on refining this plan. General Aviation Advisory Group Industry has failed to convince CASA (Network) Regional recruitment drive of the need to adopt the latest EASA Part 66, instead, burrowing further The GAAN is a group of industry Once again this year I planned into the hybrid disaster they have experts appointed by the Minister to to meet with interested potential created some years ago. This is advise him on matters of concern. I members located in the area despite the Ministers task force into represent the RAAA on that group.