Millionaire aviation enthusiast Dick Smith fears Australia’s safety record will be destroyed as more pilots are hired from overseas, including Africa.
The businessman said pilot training had become so expensive in Australia that airlines were hiring from overseas on 457 visas.
He feared a shortage of Australian-trained pilots would see airlines recruit pilots from developing nations with dubious airline safety records to keep the planes flying.
Millionaire aviation enthusiastic Dick Smith fears Australia’s safety record will be destroyed as more pilots are hired from third-world African nations (Somalia’s Kismayo International Airport pictured)
The businessman said pilot training had become so expensive in Australia that airlines were hiring from overseas on 457 visas (Kismayo International Airport pictured)
‘They’ll be coming in from anywhere around the world: Africa,’ he told Daily Mail Australia on Monday.
‘The people who will apply will be the people who have become pilots in these countries.
‘They’ll put ads in and people will rush from China and India to come and fly a plane here.
‘We could have a real safety problem because our extraordinary safety record has come from having Australian pilots. It’s outrageous.’
Dick Smith (pictured) feared a shortage of Australian-trained pilots would see airlines recruit pilots from developing nations with dubious airline safety records to keep the planes flying
The Chinese government has since taken over small flight schools across Australian to train pilots for their own airlines as Australian businesses close down as flight training courses (Merredin Aerodrome 260km east of Perth pictured)
Dick Smith resigned as the chairman of the Civil Aviation Safety in March 1999 after then National Party deputy prime minister John Anderson introduced new rules stipulating onerous staffing levels at pilot training schools.
Unlike the United States, retired pilots cannot run flight training schools in Australia.
The Chinese government has since taken over almost half of Australia’s small flight schools to train pilots for their own airlines as Australian flight training schools close down.
Mr Smith is taking his message to Wagga Wagga, in southern New South Wales, in a bid to put pressure on Nationals Deputy Prime Michael McCormack in his own seat, and has published newspaper advertisements.
Mr Smith is taking his message to Wagga Wagga, in southern New South Wales, in a bid to put pressure on Nationals Deputy Prime Michael McCormack in his own seat and his published newspaper advertisements (pictured)
‘It’s outrageous the government has allowed this to happen – it’s been consecutive National Party ministers who’ve just constantly allowed the bureaucrats to have a one-way ratchet on increasing costs,’ he said.
Mr McCormack’s predecessor as transport minister and deputy PM, Barnaby Joyce, had planned to relax the restrictions on flight training schools, before his affair with his former media adviser Vikki Campion saw him resign.
He also had the support of Labor’s transport frontbencher Anthony Albanese.
Flight training in Australia has dropped by 30 per cent during the past five years, with courses now the preserve of the wealthy who can afford the $100,000 fees.
‘We’ve got record youth unemployment at 14 per cent. We’ve got something like 20 per cent underemployment – people can’t get a proper job and it’s just complete madness,’ Mr Dick said.