FED: ASIO hasn't fully overhauled airport security - report
04 Apr 2009 3:16 AM
Subject: FED: ASIO hasn't fully overhauled airport security - report FED: ASIO hasn't fully overhauled airport security - report
SYDNEY, April 4 AAP - ASIO has failed to undertake a complete security overhaul of Australia's main airports, leaving them as susceptible as ever to terrorism assaults.
The overhaul is one of the key counter-terrorism measures urged by a federal inquiry to protect against terrorist attacks.
The Weekend Australian says that four years after the Wheeler review into aviation security, two key recommendations arising from the inquiry have not been implemented.
Security experts have warned that Australia has been lucky to avoid a major attack since international aviation expert John Wheeler handed down a scathing overview of security at the airports, labelling it inadequate and dysfunctional.
The federal department responsible for airport security has admitted that ASIO, the nation's intelligence agency, has failed to check "physical security infrastructure" - everything from locks and gates to security plans - at the major airports, despite telling The Weekend Australian a year ago it had been finalised.
Department of Infrastructure deputy secretary Andrew Tongue said on Friday the department had put in place the bulk of the reforms and "met the letter" of the Wheeler recommendations and that it was continuing to make improvements.
He said airports were big open places through which 70 million people moved every year.
"In that environment, it is unreal not to expect any incidents," Mr Tongue said, and he warned: "There is not enough money to meet all community expectations."
AAP ao =0A
FED: ASIO hasn't fully overhauled airport security - report