Chapter 18 - Export & Import

I knew that the aircraft had to be exported from the USA and imported into Australia and I had read the CASA documentation on the importation but the issue of what was to be done, by whom and by what time, had not registered until Lyn Gray reminded me yesterday that now the aircraft was registered by CASA, it was my responsibility. She gave me the names and email addresses of a Customs Agent in Sydney and another in Honolulu.

Alan O'Leary of Hudsons Global Logistics was back to me immediately with a list of things to do and information he required. All of that was easy until I read that if the aircraft had air conditioning, I would need to get an import license from the Department of Environment and Heritage. As soon as I saw the word Environment I knew things were about to go pear shaped. How? I didn't know, but it would go pear shaped for sure.

Onto the appropriate web site and up came the guide - to insanity. Whilst it didn't mention aircraft, VH-EXS was covered by 'Other'. Need to get a licence prior to importing anything containing hydrofluorocarbon (refrigerant gas). Cost of license $3000. What!!!!

Wait on, a few paras below - the applicant may get a reduction in fee if it was a one off or less than 5 items and less that 10 kg of refrigerant. That fee may then be $400. Fill out the form, send in the money and you should have a license within 60 days. Further on it tells you that it may only take 2 weeks.

60 days or 2 weeks!! Why were we concerned with the winds holding us up?

Having spent most of my life in the air conditioning industry and being a hater of buffoon bureaucracy, the mind went into gear. What are they licensing? Just the refrigerant. Answer is to remove the refrigerant from the air conditioner and then there is nothing to license. Recharge it when the aircraft gets to Australia. All that has costs and potential mechanical risk.

Bureaucrats get really stupid, but this one takes the cake. What on earth are they on about. Take the refrigerant out in the USA and put it back in when in Australia? They must go home each day satisfied and reflecting on their daily achievements. Although it is not the fault of the people processing the paperwork, it is the responsibility of the heads of the Department.

Secretary of the Department - Robyn Kruk AM

I know! We just saved the planet! Not sure how we did it, but those sneaky shiny bottomed bureaucrats and Peter Garrett had surely found a way to do it and weren't telling us exactly how they did it.

Back to the task.

Maybe I should look at the form and see if I can somehow fill it in and leave the gas in the air conditioner.  Compare the costs of the two options. There are only five pages and one of them is instruction on how to fill in the other four.

After filling in my name and address as the Director of the company, and doing the same as the person filling out the form and doing it again as the person to whom correspondence should be addressed I went to the section where I had to answer a series of questions related to criminal offences in relation to the use of refrigerant gas. I hadn't realised that breaches of the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989 could get you into more trouble than most crimes other than murder. Guessed if you were going to bring something illegal into Australia, the severity of the offence would be far less if it was weapons of mass destruction carrying the 'Saddam Hussein' brand name. Not possible, as he didn't have any.

Put a cross in all of the boxes and then realised that I was not to be trusted. As a possible past offender in relation to the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989 my signature was no good. I had to send the form in with a passport photo or some other identification like drivers licence, a stolen rate notice, photo of my non-existent twin sister etc, but it had to be signed by the Chief Judge of the Supreme Court or someone of similar stature.

By this time I have probably wasted more than an hour of my time and threw the rubbish on the floor. That last requirement would take me another 3/4 hour to get a signature involving driving for 1/2 hour using my diesel fuel vehicle and spewing 14 kg of pollutants, including CO2 and black smelly stuff high into the atmosphere. Maybe this was another sneaky trick from Peter Garrett AM MP and his super intelligent bureaucrats. Maybe the smoke gets into the atmosphere and blocks the fluorohydrocarbons from getting into the stratosphere and thereby protects us from further degradation of the ozone layer or whatever. Cunning and clever people those bureaucrats and politicians. They thought of everything.


Peter Garrett AM MP - He has already torn his hair out. I am in the process of doing same to mine.

Two hours later, when my temperature had fallen to 4 degrees below boiling point, I picked the forms up from the floor. I am now at the point of filling out the name of the manufacturer of the air conditioning unit.

How in hell will I find that out? Piper aren't too interested in responding to emails about a 10 year old aircraft. In fact they never respond to any of my emails. The previous owner wouldn't know. Skip that question and come back to it later.

Next question. What is the weight of the refrigerant gas inside the air conditioner which is inside the aircraft which is in USA? You've got to be joking!

No. This is an important question because not far below is the section in which you calculate how much you are required to pay for both the license and the quantity of gas imported. The fee on the gas is charged at $0.000165 per gram of refrigerant.

We could weigh the aircraft, take the refrigerant out and re-weigh the aircraft and the difference would be the weight of refrigerant.

The weight of the aircraft empty of fuel (ah, take the fuel out first) is 2581 lbs divided by 2.2 equals kg and multiply that by 1000 equals grams. Repeat the process after removing the gas and the difference will be the weight of the gas in the air conditioning unit. That's what they want you to do. They have thought of everything.

Threw the forms away. Sent an email directing that the refrigerant be removed in USA and we will recharge the unit in Australia.

Saved the planet. That's another 1000 grams of refrigerant that wasn't brought into Australia. But wait, where will the gas come from to recharge the air conditioning unit. That will have to be imported from USA. Probably by someone who already has a license to import refrigerant gas and who won't have to pay the $400. Just pay for the gas at $0.000165 per gram.

I can't really work out the logic or the benefit in all of this. That's why I am not the highly paid head of a Government Department.

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