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The NSW Prohibition Notices stopped all helium sport diving in NSW where any commercial facilities were involved from October 1991 to March 1994. ie all training, commercial charters, supply of gas, etc. The NSW Improvement Notices almost shut down the supply of nitrox to all recreational divers in NSW. These Notices did not affect commercial divers - nitrox or helium. The QLD Govt are expected to lift the mixed gas bans sometime in the next 2 - 3 months. Excuses used for the bans included that they could not treat nitrox divers suffering DCI due to pulmonary oxygen toxicity etc If people started to ignore the law, they would be prosecuted and made an example of. This would deter others. Navy's problem is that they had NO knowledge whatsoever of recreational mixed gas diving. They conducted their own clandestine investigation into the matter and did NOT bother to cross check basic facts obtained during this investigation. The information gathering by an officer under training broadly seemed to fit their preceived concerns and they backed him 100% without checking the facts. They got carried away with their own egos and self righteous attitude towards recreational diving. They failed to comprehend such basics as the differences between weight of equipment in air and buoyancy in water. They did not know the buoyancy characteristics of the main mixed gas diving equipment used by Navy for the past 25 years. They did not even comprehend its basic operation. When challenged, they adopted the usual Navy tactic of ridiculing those who opposed them by stating that Navy was the ultimate 'expert" These so called experts included the Officers-in-Charge of the RAN Diving and Underwater Medicine Schools, CMDR Des Gorman etc. Midford Paramount v Australian Customs Service. Customs charged a shirt manufacturer (Midford Paramount) over alleged tax fraud with respect to the importation of shirts from Malaysia. The charges were thrown out of court. Meanwhile Midford Paramount went backrupt. A subsequent Federal Parliament investigation revealed that the Customs investigation was a farce. Customs were reorganised after another Federal inquiry and the Officer-in-Charge resigned. Federal Government had to pay AUD $27 million compensation and the investigation is believed to have cost an additional AUD $6 million. Parry, Carroll and Kanjian who ran the Midford Paramount case are also running the recreational mixed gas case against Navy and other parties. Many aspects of the cases are very similiar and Midford Paramont apparently can be used as a precedence. In this case, Bastardisation is the use of physical and physcological methods to remove from course, persons who the instructors do not like. This practice is alleged to have occurred in Navy diving courses since 1975. Keep tuned for further developments.
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