December 30, 2009
From the President
This month has seen some changes to the board structure of AOPA with the resignation of Andrew Kerans and John Gardon, both of whom have made significant contributions to AOPA. In particular Andrew, who has served for 10 years. We wish them well and understand they were unable to continue giving their time because of other commitments.
I am also pleased to announce that the board, has unanimously elected Rosemarie McRae to the board.
Rosemarie who was the President of HAA (Helicopter Association of Australia) intends forming a helicopter committee, to represent helicopter issues within AOPA. To quote Rosemarie’s own words “I believe one of the first things to recognise and advertise is that this is not the HAA. The HAA has been shut down and no longer exists. We are now entering a new exciting era where AOPA is AOPA with helicopter representation. We now have an opportunity to build on the legacy of policy and industry representation where the HAA left off”.
I have long held the view that we must all work together to promote a strong and healthy aviation industry. Whether we fly for recreation or for profit, fixed wing or rotary we have common goals and we need to present a united voice in our dealings with the regulators. AOPA has fought for the past 60 years to protect our right to fly, without unnecessary regulation or restriction. We will continue to do so and working with all sectors of the aviation community, will strengthen our ability to protect those rights.
Yes there will always be some issues which are unique, which is why we believe the establishment of a helicopter committee within AOPA will allow those special interests to be addressed and where we have a common goal our combined voice will be more effective.
We work closely with Australian Warbirds Association. AOPA director Jeff Muller, is secretary and treasurer of that association. We feature articles and issues on Warbirds in our magazine, and we will now also be featuring helicopter articles and issues to broaden our reader coverage.
To quote Rosemarie once again “I believe AOPA should develop into a truly representative body, providing a strong voice for the industry. Currently aviation in Australia is fragmented, as such the representative associations and organisations cannot obtain leverage with government agencies and bodies.”
Rosemarie will be a great asset to the board of AOPA. She is a talented writer and has great enthusiasm and will be developing policy, and communicating with and promoting the helicopter industry. We are fortunate to have her on board.
Airport closures continue to dominate, as a major concern for the aviation industry, the latest threatened closure of Kempsey Airport.
Jim Hazelton organised a Kempsey Airport fly-in and barbeque along with a protest meeting at the airport.
AOPA sent out an email to all of our members (those of whom have listed email addresses) asking them to support the fly-in organised for Saturday, December 5. The response was fantastic, in spite of a very bad weather forecast.
About 50 aircraft flew in, including Dick Smith in his Citation Jet, and I estimated there were well over 200 people in attendance along with local newspaper reporters. The Kempsey Council, in an unprecedented action, hand delivered a letter to the conveners late on Friday afternoon advising them that they were not permitted to hold the protest meeting – the pretext used was that there was insufficient insurance coverage for such a function. The meeting therefore was termed a non-meeting, but went ahead anyway.
Dick Smith spoke to the gathering, as did myself and Col Rodgers (Past President of AOPA) and a number of local identities. Dick urged the local people to attend the council meeting and voice their support for the airport, and to sell the benefits the airport brings to the community.
I was advised there had been 354 medical type flights in and out of Kempsey in the previous year – Angel Flight, RFDS etc. The community benefit of an airport seems to be beyond the comprehension of many of those in council. They focus on the maintenance costs and of course add in their own council rates and inflated administration costs, then claim that the airport runs at a loss based on the rents and landing charges they receive. The failure of councils to consider the intangible community benefits beggars’ belief.
An airport delivers business to the community in much the same way as roads do. There is no measurable income generated from a road into town, but without it there would be no income for the town. Parks and playing fields generate no income, but there is never a suggestion of selling them off for development.
An airport is a valuable piece of transport infrastructure and as such needs to be preserved. Kempsey is in a flood prone area and there is the bushfire threat. The airport enables firefighting evacuation and emergency services to operate whenever these natural disasters threaten. There have been a number of victims of accidents on the Pacific Highway who have been evacuated via Kempsey Airport. Ask them if they think the airport should be retained.
Fly-ins such as that at Kempsey, can help educate the local community to the benefits their airport provides. We in the aviation community must be proactive in getting this message out to the wider community.
Phillip Reiss
AOPA President
