An article appeared in the Dominion Post (New Zealand) this weekend, asking about the level of control over drone use in New Zealand.  The article is well written, but in my opinion, the reporter had an axe to grind.  However, so too did some of the people interviewed.  Unfortunately, the article made a number of unsubstantiated claims about UAV operators, such as "many don't even read the instructions before they launch their machine".  

The Civil Aviation Authority has made a serious attempt to regulate the use of UAVs, both by hobbyists and commercial organisations, without being too restrictive and stifling development of an industry that is coming, like it or not.

The idea of ID chipping UAVs is quite a good one and might be practical.  The popular argument, repeated again in this article,  that planes have "see and avoid" technology that enables them to spot nearby aircraft is a serious misrepresentation.  Certainly, commercial airliners have Traffic  Collision Avoidance Systems (TCAS), but such systems are not normally fitted to smaller general aviation aircraft, such as Cessnas or Pipers.  (Interestingly, FLARM - flight alarm - is often fitted to gliders, which may fly very close together when taking part in competitions).  The development of detect-and-avoid equipment small enough to be put into an aircraft as small as a DJI Phantom, probably the most popular multi-rotor UAV worldwide, will be a major advance in ensuring the safety of general aviation.  Unfortunately, this development is unlikely to happen in the near future and adoption by owners of the hundreds of thousands of multi-rotors already in use is doubtful.

This author is still strongly of the opinion that education of UAV owners is the key to ensuring safety of other airspace users and those on the ground.