Outgoing Director of Aviation Safety Mark Skidmore discarded a CASA-prepared script and instead spoke from the heart at the 2016 Lawrence Hargrave Lecture in Melbourne last Tuesday night.
Speaking in front of the Australian Division of the Royal Aeronautical Society – Melbourne branch, Skidmore said his personal philosophy towards aviation safety regulation was based on making sure operators were willing and able to comply with regulations before resorting to enforcement action.
"It's understanding what are the needs of each of us," he told the gathering. "As a regulator you've got to put in place the framework to allow people to operate safely. As an operator, they want to comply, so how do you best help them achieve that?
"That's why we came up with the term 'engage, educate and enforce only when you have to.' And that should be the mantra ... it's got to be the way we should think about doing things.
"You have to engage first; you have to understand what we're both trying to achieve. And how can we help you achieve that? You have to worry about the last one [enforcement] only when [an operator] is not willing to do things."
Citing a similar US Federal Aviation Administration approach to safety regulation, Skidmore reinforced his position and noted that he considered National Aviation Authorities needed to share information to improve safety.
"The Americans have a great term," he said, "they call it 'willing and able'. If you're willing and able, then you're going to do it. If you're unwilling, then something has to be done.
"If you're unable, then there's probably education and training necessary to help you become able.
"I think there's a lot of things we can learn from the other regulators when we have the opportunity to do that. And we've got to continue to share information, share the ideas, share it all as aviators; because that's the only way we can learn and go forward."
Skidmore resigned as Director of Aviation Safety on 25 August, but will stay on until October to ensure a smooth transition to Acting DAS Shane Carmody.