SAFA Skysailor Magazine

44 SKY SAILOR December-January-February | SUMMER 2025/2026 wrote to the very polite staff in the Minis- ter’s department, including the Minister, again requesting a change to the scheme. Again, a very polite but somewhat shorter reply came back saying ‘no’. You can read about the Rebate scheme you are excluded from (unless you’re a pilot of an aircraft listed with SAFA) here: https://business.gov.au/grants-and- programs/automatic-dependent-surveil- lance-broadcast-rebate-program-round- 2 CASA also mention it on their website, which points to the above page. CASA do not administer this scheme, so don’t get snarky with them. This hasn’t been their doing. A ‘White Paper’ printed on white paper In 2024, the Federal Government released the long-anticipated ‘Aviation White Paper: Towards 2050’. Interest piqued? You can find it here: www.infrastructure.gov. au/department/media/publications/ aviation-white-paper-towards-2050 Gosh, that’s a lot of pages, 240 in my PDF reader. Let’s see how Sport and Recreation Aviation figures in the landscape. Our specific aircraft disciplines are not mentioned at all. Well, okay, we’re pretty niche. How about Sport Aviation? Nothing. Sport? Ah, 288 references. Oh, ‘sport’ is in ‘transport’… Scanning through these, on page 37 we find that Sport Aviation is included in General Aviation (GA). On page 142, in an info box answering the question, ‘What is GA?’, we learn that GA includes, “ Recreational flying: The ADS-B Mandate Proposal and Consultation