Parkes Shire Council

Another sad retrograde action ... I received the following via email:

My email response:

Dear council members,

Thank you for your advice; I am currently overseas ATM.

I would like to draw to your attention that the introduction of landing fees is a disincentive to light aircraft operators and family visiting your airport and town. This avoidance will result in a decrease of GA movements, a decrease in visitors, coupled with flow-on effects to your town, and will further contribute to the demise of GA, which is a trend occurring nation wide.

That also means maintenance organisations and training organisations will suffer loss of trade; besides your town suffering from loss of custom. Using AvData for billing, I also believe will cost a significant portion of the fee, and said fees negatively impacts any growth of Aviation, which due to covid-19 and airport governance is at a tipping point of destruction.

It is sad that you have joined the ranks of other councils that do not really understand the value that General Aviation provides. GA is the grass roots of Aviation that feeds into the larger ecosystem, providing training for maintenance engineers and pilots. Think RFDS, Ag Pilots, FireFighting pilots and those who maintain aircraft for their living.

Once these supply chains are eroded Australia will truly become a banana republic importing pilots and exporting aircraft maintenance overseas. Unfortunately a trend that is being promoted by mismanagement, lack of governance, and lack of foresight.

It doesn’t take an economics degree to understand the compounding effects of lack of interest in landing at your airport.

BTW I flew into Parkes just after the Elvis festival to visit the Radio Telescope and meet with my grand children and their father who conducted a road-trip and visited your town and spent money (I also bought fuel). I flew two of my grand children back to Canberra, as they love flying. One volunteered to drive back with their dad to keep him company.

Trying to engender interest in our youth to follow an aviation career is one of Australia’s biggest challenges. Aero Clubs have hardly any youth members (if any), since GA has progressively become prohibitively expensive because of inflation, airport fee gouging, elevated rents, costs of fuel, shortage of maintenance engineers and pilot training schools, and the pressure that decreased aircraft movements cause to those industries. Industries which started as small mum and dad outlets and once trained our children, and grandchildren.

One sure way to stop visitation of your airport is the introduction of landing fee impost onto the small aircraft operators. Less GA movements means less interest and can result in the closure of maintenance organisations and training schools.

Please understand that the airport is a gateway to your town, similar to your main streets, but much shorter and the only place we can land. Do you charge a toll to use your Main Street, or to cross the bridges, or to use your boat ramps?

I leave you with these thoughts. Australia is slowly destroying all its industry and our youth will vote with their feet.

Yours Sincerely, Ralph Holland