Regarding CASA and the new CEO I think we can be pretty well assured that it will business as usual for General Aviation (GA); subjugation, stagnation, taxation and the incomprehensible regulation merry-go-round. More millions of dollars wasting.

Dr. Hawke's reported remarks that Mark Skidmore has experience in civil aviation is pretty weak when the man has spent nearly all his working life in the Air Force.

Until Parliament insists on reform we will still have airline pilots on 457 visas. Canberra will still have no flying school.
Refueling facilities will still be decommissioned Australia-wide.
Costs for GA will continue to rise.
Loss of skilled maintenance personnel and instructors will continue.
The irresponsible divide between the artificial low weight category and mainstream GA will continue.

10,000hrs, former Chief Pilot, Chief Flying Instructor, airport and aircraft owner operator, scheduled services, charter and flying school. Watched with dismay a perfectly good Aussie industry, GA, going down the gurgler.

In some respects there has been quite a bit of culture change within the RAAF over the past 20 years; roles for women is the obvious one. However, the culture of most military (if not all) is that the rules shall be obeyed without question. What we need now is someone who is going to say "the rules don't work and are even damaging; we need to recognise that and move on to a new set of rules." Is there a lot of that going on in the RAAF? I agree that there has been more culture change in the RAAF in the past 20 years than civvy street, but that says more about civvy street than the RAAF. I honestly hope Mark Skidmore is the man, but his appointment doesn't appear at first to be a good match to what the Forsyth Report said was needed.

Good question, Hitch. When was the last time there was a culture change in the RAAF?

Not sure who you speak to in the ADF however I would suggest there has been more cultural change in the services in the last 20 years than in civvy street.