Arch Bevis (Brisbane, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Home Affairs. Will the minister inform the House about the latest information regarding laser pointers being pointed at aircraft?

Bob Debus (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Brisbane for his question. I expect that the House will be interested to hear that the government will ban the importation of laser pointers above one milliwatt, with the regulation to take effect from 1 July. That means that lasers will, rightly, be treated like other dangerous weapons like knives, tasers and crossbows.

Last year there were 325 laser incidents involving aircraft reported to the department of transport, and yesterday in Senate estimates the Office of Transport Security revealed that since January this year there had been 563 attacks. It is obviously concerning. Those sorts of numbers are of major concern considering the potentially devastating consequences an attack could have. Indeed, aircraft pilots are very anxious to see these changes.

Obviously there are legitimate uses for high-powered lasers—in the construction and mining industries, in surveying and in astronomy. Therefore, under the government’s new regulation, importers will have to obtain police authorisation from the relevant state or territory police force before applying for an import permit. Customs will work with them to make sure that they are aware of the new scheme and know how to access it.

I do not pretend that this ban can immediately prevent all illegal use of lasers. There are thousands of them already in the community. Several jurisdictions—Victoria, Western Australia and the Northern Territory—have already introduced laws banning possession of lasers, and similar laws are at present before the parliament of New South Wales. Of course, this import ban has to be supplemented by these kinds of possession laws if it is to be effective.

It is difficult to locate the source of laser lights directed at aircraft and therefore to apprehend offenders. There is often a long distance between the origin of a laser light and its target. Nevertheless, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and Air Services Australia are working with the Australian Federal Police to improve procedures for detection of these incidents, and the AFP is working on a mapping system which will help narrow down the location of the light source.

I thank Customs, the Attorney-General’s Department and other agencies for their work in getting this ban quickly in place. Together with the state possession laws, involving significant jail terms, I am confident that the new Commonwealth regulation restricting laser importation will restrict the availability of laser devices and help us to change the culture which has led some people in our society to so disregard the potentially disastrous effects of their improper use.