The general aviation study announced late last month will achieve little unless it results in positive action according to Ken Cannane, Executive Director of the Aviation Maintenance Repair and Overhaul Business Association (AMROBA).
"A new GA study will not achieve much unless the outcome is a government action plan to implement changes for GA that everyone, except public servants, know is needed," Cannane told Australian Flying.
"If the GA study is collating the findings and recommendations of previous reviews and proposing this action plan for government endorsement, it may have success."
One of the outcomes AMROBA is looking for is for the study to recommend regulatory harmony between CASA and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the USA.
"Developing unique regulatory standards must be replaced with adoption of the ICAO minimum standards as implemented by the FAA for GA.
"This aligns with the vision and approach taken by NZ and Australia in the early 1990s – if it had been completed we would have at least had common Australasian GA aviation requirements.
"Adoption will enable GA growth, especially in rural Australia and manufacturing."
The purpose of the study, as stated by the Department of Infrastructure and Transport, is to examine:
- current GA trends
- areas of growth and decline
- key economic, demographic and regulator factors
- challenges facing GA
- opportunities for the GA industry to respond.
According to the department, the GA study will "provide a comprehensive overview of the GA industry and assist in identifying potential actions for both the GA industry and Government to consider."