I am inclined to think so 'foolish'. It is a business operation and probably has (had) a miniaturized steady-cam and precise GPS for mapping. This is Australia and the setup is probably, even with the drone, cheaper than a surveyor crew if the purpose was mapping. Other uses probably also cheaper than human crew. Looks like, unlike the rotor-types, it could get quite high and thus needs expensive electronics for piloting and auto-return?
Still...$80,000?
Maybe that's in Australian dollars. In this country you can buy a real airplane for $80k.