Darren Cheeseman (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Aviation Legislation Amendment (2008 Measures No. 1) Bill 2008 deals with some of the harsh realities that our society must now face. It puts in place new regulations to be made under the Aviation Transport Security Regulations 2005 to permit air security officers, otherwise known as ASOs, to use their firearms on board aircraft in Australian territory or on board Australian aircraft in foreign territory. Of course, this must occur within the course of their duties. The situation today is that ASOs using their firearms cannot do so without the risk of prosecution. This bill will change both the Aviation Transport Security Act 2004 and the Civil Aviation Act 1988 to allow the use of firearms by ASOs under these conditions.

This is indeed a tough amendment. It is a complicated amendment but it is an amendment that as a member of parliament you do have to give some additional thought and attention to. These laws are for extreme circumstances. The fact is that, while 9-11 style incidents occur rarely and we do the best we can to prevent them, they do happen. They have happened and, in my view, they will happen again unless we take clear steps to prevent them. When they occur we need to have the laws in place to deal with the situation and protect our citizens, and we need to have the laws in place to protect the innocent citizens from other countries who may be visiting our country or on our aeroplanes operated out of our country.

I want to go through a little detail on the ASO program. The ASO program involves the placement of covert armed security officers on select domestic and international flights to protect the flight deck. The Attorney-General’s Department has carriage of the ASO program, with the Office of Transport Security providing transport policy input and managing legislation provisions that support the program. Currently, the ASO program is underpinned by the ATSA, the Aviation Transport Security Regulations 2005 and the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988. These regulations and the acts under which they are made effectively permit an ASO to engage in conduct necessary for the performance of duties that would otherwise be contrary to Commonwealth legislation—for example, the possession of a firearm on an aircraft.

There is no point having these laws and regulations without the personnel carrying them out clearly understanding what their position is. The purpose of the ASOs is for security on aircraft. At the moment the ASOs know that under the current regulatory environment they run the risk of being sued. In an extreme crisis situation such as these people are being trained for, there needs to be clarity around their rights and responsibilities. The situation at present is dealt with by CASA issuing periodic notices. The current notice expires on 30 June 2008. The AGD, CASA and the OTS have agreed that these notices should not be renewed as they imply that it is safe to discharge a firearm on board an aircraft. It would be much better to replace the notices with new regulations under the ATSR to provide a more appropriate basis to deal with the discharge of firearms.

The other important matter in this bill is the operation of these regulations in places other than Australia. ASOs operate internationally and it is important these provisions are given effect internationally, or ‘extraterritorially’, as the terminology has it. The Australian Government Solicitor has said that the ATSA, and thereby any regulations made under it, does not currently have extraterritorial operation. Therefore, also contained in this bill are provisions giving powers under the ATSA to enable regulations to have effect extraterritorially. The specific effect of this is that these regulations will now apply to Australian aircraft or aircraft engaged in Australian international carriage and the crew and passengers on board these aircraft.

Leaving aside the technical aspects of this bill, it is pretty simple. It is about providing a greater level of security for our flying public. The program which this bill forms only a part of involves the placement of covert armed security officers on select domestic and international flights to protect the flight deck and personnel. It is a sad comment on our society that we now have to take these measures. I sincerely wish it were otherwise. But we all know that today we live in a world where, for whatever reason, people arrive at or are driven to beliefs and actions that are so extreme they will do anything to get a point across or to pursue their beliefs. We know that aircraft are being targeted now as potential weapons of mass destruction, with innocent passengers’ lives treated as inconsequential. September 11 showed the reality of the risk and the horrific impact on thousands of families when there is not in place a strong aviation security system. This bill is part of an improved security system to protect the innocent against such attacks. I commend this bill to the House.

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