Arch Bevis (Brisbane, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Aviation and Transport Security) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Transport and Regional Services. I refer to the minister’s answer yesterday and to his answer again today, for which I thank him, where he claimed that a new security fence was in place to secure the airport while construction was under way at Sydney airport. Is he aware that, until the matter was raised in this House yesterday, people accessing the construction site could get to the secure area of the airport through a hangar simply by removing a wooden chock—not unlike this one—from the hangar door? Minister, is a wooden chock like this the best practical measure the government can find to protect the Australian public from terror attacks at our busiest airport?

Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Minister for Transport and Regional Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am not sure how many times I have to answer the question before it gets through to the honourable member for Brisbane that the fence that is normally in place around Sydney airport for security purposes has a gate in it which has been left open because of the construction activity that is going on at a Qantas site. To compensate for the fact that that fence is no longer able to fulfil its security function during the construction process, a second fence has been constructed around the work site, dividing the site from the secure area of the airport.

Arch Bevis (Brisbane, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Aviation and Transport Security) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Bevis interjecting

David Hawker (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! The member for Brisbane has asked his question.

Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Minister for Transport and Regional Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The General Manager of Corporate Affairs of the Sydney Airport Corporation, as I said yesterday, has informed me that the additional fencing that has been constructed meets mandated security standards. At no stage has there been any risk. The temporary fence around the construction site has needed to be accessed so some construction activity could occur, so a second security fence was in place which did meet standards and which has ensured that there has been no improper access to the regions concerned.