Factional chieftains in the ACT are getting edgy as the deal to preselect ALP assistant national secretary Nick Martin and federal staffer Mary Wood for the seats of Fraser and Canberra respectively starts to unravel. As the spruiking heats up, stronger alternative candidates such as  spinner Gai Brodtmann, criminal lawyer John O’Keefe, rocket scientist Mike Hettinger, constitutional lawyer George Williams and economist Nick Martin are gaining support from the rank and file.

Crikey’s reporting of the serious Jetstar incident at Melbourne Airport in 2007 and the failure of the authorities to act against the airline for not keeping relevant documents or meeting its legal obligations to inform them of the full details, overlooks the serious deficiencies that exist in the regulation of pilot training in Australia.

That report specifically says that the responsibility for airline training outcomes at Jetstar were unclear, and it discussed inconsistencies and the risks associated with this form of unregulated training in relation to the dangerous errors made by its pilots when they came close to flying one of its A320 jets into the ground in fog.

The courses the Jetstar pilots took, like those taken by pilots engaged by Virgin Blue and V Australia, are generally self-funded and provided by third-party organisations that are not directly regulated by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority. Proposed regulatory changes to correct this were supposed to come into effect from July 2003 but are still in limbo as the regulator stumbles around trying not to get in the way of the training standards slashing agendas of all the major carriers.

Is it too much to call for the responsible minister, Anthony Albanese, to declare an immediate moratorium on external self-funded pilot training at Jetstar and Virgin Blue until CASA has the regulations that give it oversight over this critical safety area?

One ABC presenter is hitting back at the federal opposition regarding their demands of last year that the ABC disclose the salaries of its on-air talent.

At a recent recording of Spicks and Specks, presenter Adam Hills informed the studio audience that he is paid so poorly that if they knew the actual figure they would “feel sorry for him”, and most probably “send him food packages”, a sentiment he is apparently repeating to his Melbourne Comedy Festival show audiences.

Maybe the government should disclose Hills’ salary, just so the rest of us can work out exactly how large our food packages to him should be?