Geoff Lyons (Bass, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Aviation Transport Security Amendment (Screening) Bill 2012 is one that everyone should support. We know that the safety of our aircraft is a vital part of the services that governments and the industry should provide. All members of this parliament believe in the safety of our air services. We are an island nation and air services are a vital method of getting tourists to Australia and, in particular, to my island state of Tasmania and my electorate of Bass. We know that everyone will support this bill. We probably go on too much in this place about safety in speaking about this bill, but the reality is that everyone should endorse it. This is a safe measure and we should be working with technology to get the best method of securing safe aviation.

It would be a risk for any attempted bomber to smuggle viable improvised explosives onto an aircraft coming into Australia with a device concealed in a passenger's clothing. So it is really important that we respond to the incident that occurred on 9 February 2010. The government announced a package of measures to strengthen Australia's aviation security and that package included $28.5 million to assist the aviation industry to introduce a range of technologies including body scanners, multiview X-ray machines, bottled liquid scanners and additional explosive trace detection units at international terminals. To allow aviation screening officers to check people who present at an aviation security point, we should be giving them all the powers they need to undertake this vital work. Our body scanners will facilitate safe air travel in this country. We know that the Liberals support this bill because they believe in safe travel in Australia and it is time they got on board to support this legislation.

See this speech in context