New security measures for Australia

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The word is security theatre, and the drinks measure is another scam to prop up airport concessions. And they are banning curries too, cans of beans and soups. Its a scam to reduce your luggage allowance by stealth, and make you 're-buy' liguids or lunches. One cannot easilly see the threat of a take away tub of beef vindaloo and rice - but banned apparently.

Most importantly, it makes duty free booze bought from OUTSIDE the airport really expensive, because it counts in your luggage. Very anti-competitive and underhanded.

As stated previously , they could easilly have a funnel, and you tip a swig of water down it - testing water is so easy!. What they don't say, is that you can buy a bar wand based scanner ([SIZE=-1]spectrally resolved laser absorption[/SIZE]) , squeeze the trigger and get a beep if its water or something else. Originally built for sports grounds to weed out water from alcohol enhanced bottles. Easy as pis.. , but noooo, they want you to buy.

Lets put this myth to bed. You can board the plane with a gallon liquid container, and a 12 inch cake knife from the concessions - they won't blink. It is not a liquid ban, but a ban on non-airport-bought carry on liquids passing the security barrier, because the security attendants are
1) Inconpetent or cant be trusted
2) Time/Money based - too lazy to scan your stuff - cost saving?
3) Even when you cop a dose of cancer causing backscatter ionisation that will not only mark you if you have explosives, but also MNDA or other drugs. So why the liquid ban if backscattered????
4) Tollway deal. Paid to pervert and maim efficient traffic flows, so a third party can line their pockets

Now, if your $97? departure tax is not paying for a real service, it is a con.
At least the Customs and AQUIS people on inbound are smart and reasonable and allowed to think, and empowered to act. I want the scanner chimps to have the same brains, rather than say, oh, those brass safe keys come out too black on the xray machine, and will have to go into luggage type statements when it is final call.

Or they could have a acetone trained sniffer dog. Better yet, a drinks conveyor belt - A Mt Franklins water bottle, or a bottle of vegemite is an improbable vector. Curries banned - , looks like 'Balmy Army' bashing.

Buy Buy and Buy NOT. One will take in a whole chilled pineapple, and chilled oranges, and with no decent knife, make a sticky mess somewhere, with a slice of chilled watermellon. I'll be tipping 100 ml out and freezing the mt franklins into solid ice- sorry Mr, it not a liquid. I suspect they will be ignorant of the chemistry vector. Cups and flasks allowed. Goody, can boil some water with a heater coil, and instant Ramen noodle soup.

Normally I drain my 2litres of duty free into a plastic bottle, saving 2kg of GLASS. Now I can't. Asian friends used to take an esky of abalone or prime rib onboard as hand luggage, but I guess primary industry bashing is back again. **** Smith is needed back, to bang a few heads methinks.

My advise is to invest in apples, an apple peeler(allowed) and bananas.
Fruit is cheaper than airport junk food cough, unless bought at the airport, where it triples in price, over the gate. <end of rant>:-|
 
ethernet said:
... I'll be tipping 100 ml out and freezing the mt franklins into solid ice- sorry Mr, it not a liquid
I went through BNE last week with a 165g tube of toothpaste. I only had enough left for 2 uses (<10ml), as I was only staying overnight. I found out that the 100ml size is the original container, not what is left. Thankfully the customs officer allowed me to squeeze what was left into the bag & I could go through. Here is a link to FAQ on the topic
Frequently Asked Questions
Steve
 
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yo yo ma said:
I went through BNE last week with a 165g tube of toothpaste. I only had enough left for 2 uses (<10ml), as I was only staying overnight. I found out that the 100ml size is the original container, not what is left. Thankfully the customs officer allowed me to squeeze what was left into the bag & I could go through. Here is a link to FAQ on the topic
Frequently Asked Questions
Steve
And that just goes to show how ridiculous the application of the rules has become. You can carry the empty container, no matter how big it is. But if it has just the smallest amount of liquid/cream/gell remaining, then it is not allowed.
 
We are bringing some of those little hotel-sized shampoo and conditioner bottles (stolen on previous trips) to get us through Tahiti and Easter Island. Once we get to Peru, there will be cheap local brands. Still hoping to get away with 2 carry-on backpacks.
 
Thanks Simongr for the link. I notice QF have the following:

QF LINK above said:
At Australian international and domestic terminals laptop computers will be subject to an additional security check. Before x-raying, the laptop computer must be removed from its carry case and the battery removed from the laptop. All items will then be x-rayed separately. If the screener is unable to satisfy that the computer does not contain a weapon or explosive device, it is to be subjected to trace detection.

I've never had this, has anyone else. If this ever gets policed it just adds to more bureaucracy and security will be a nightmare.
 
littl_flier said:
Thanks Simongr for the link. I notice QF have the following:



I've never had this, has anyone else. If this ever gets policed it just adds to more bureaucracy and security will be a nightmare.


That's old information I think. The Australian airports used to ask you to seperate laptops from their batteries and screen seperately. This was in late 2001 when terrorism fears were at their peak. Sanity prevailed to an extent, and they changed it to Laptops need to screened separately. This has remained since then. I don't believe batteries have had to be removed since mid 2002 (although I'm glad to be corrected). Explosives trace detection on any item is a possibility if the screener sees something they're not happy with - as is a visual inspection of whatever the item is.
 
I have not been asked to remove the laptop batter for quite some time. But they do still reserve the right to ask you to remove it if they so desire you to do so.
 
The measures have been in place since 1 April. I have flown 12 international sectors since then either into our out of Oz. I chose to completely ignore the ban from day 1, and since I don't check in luggage any more this means I have plenty of lotions and potions and semi-liquids in my luggage, including those horrible little cylindrical plastic water things that you get in the SQ lounges. I know I'm not a terrorist and I know it's a dumb rule. I can say that it has been a successful tactic. Not once have I been pulled up. And if I am pulled up, I will just say Oops.
Don't fight it. Ignore it. It works in a lot of other areas of life also.
Bon voyage !
 
Sorry but that is possibly the worst advice that I have ever seen here. It's because of thatthat people are stuck in queues behind people going "oops- sorry I am a bit dim - is there a rule against that?"

Do you speed, drive drunk , import drugs, commit bigamy or is there a list of rules/regs that you abide to / ignore so we can assess what is right and wrong.
 
simoninsingapore said:
The measures have been in place since 1 April. I have flown 12 international sectors since then either into our out of Oz. I chose to completely ignore the ban from day 1, and since I don't check in luggage any more this means I have plenty of lotions and potions and semi-liquids in my luggage, including those horrible little cylindrical plastic water things that you get in the SQ lounges. I know I'm not a terrorist and I know it's a dumb rule. I can say that it has been a successful tactic. Not once have I been pulled up. And if I am pulled up, I will just say Oops.
Don't fight it. Ignore it. It works in a lot of other areas of life also.
Bon voyage !
Ignorance is no excuse for not knowing the law... Sure it is a small inconvenience but it is there, so you might as well comply. It is a $2200 fine (or 2 yrs jail or both) for not doing so. It might be a dumb rule but it is in the US & UK so other nations travelling to these destinations have to comply.
Are you sure you are telling the truth:confused: I don't think so;) Have another read...
Frequently Asked Questions
Steve
 
yo yo ma said:
Ignorance is no excuse for not knowing the law... Sure it is a small inconvenience but it is there, so you might as well comply. It is a $2200 fine (or 2 yrs jail or both) for not doing so. It might be a dumb rule but it is in the US & UK so other nations travelling to these destinations have to comply.
Are you sure you are telling the truth:confused: I don't think so;) Have another read...
Frequently Asked Questions
Steve

They need to show you are "deliberately" flouting the law Steve. I'll just say I forgot it was in there. Stupid rule, don't care, end of story !
 
No worries SIS... I agree that all that will happen is that the things will get confiscated... Unlikely to impose the fine but they may want to set an example!!! Your choice mate:D
 
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Just a randon semi OT note.

I forgot my duty free in Singapore the other day :(
Purchased a few hours in advance, in the lounge working, drinking, things on mind, happy i scored an op-up to J. Never even thought about it until about 1hr before landing. All they did was refund to my CC before i even got a chance to call them and ask what happens. Good to know. (DFS in case anybody was wondering)

E
 
Evan said:
Just a randon semi OT note.

I forgot my duty free in Singapore the other day :(
Purchased a few hours in advance, in the lounge working, drinking, things on mind, happy i scored an op-up to J. Never even thought about it until about 1hr before landing. All they did was refund to my CC before i even got a chance to call them and ask what happens. Good to know. (DFS in case anybody was wondering)

E

That's great customer service Evan. I wonder whether we'd get that from Downtown. :confused:
 
simoninsingapore said:
They need to show you are "deliberately" flouting the law Steve. I'll just say I forgot it was in there. Stupid rule, don't care, end of story !

Interestingly why do you so passionately hate this law - so much so that you are happy to waste the screeners' time explaining/debating things with you and slowing down the passage of other pax? Are you that important?
 
simongr said:
Interestingly why do you so passionately hate this law - so much so that you are happy to waste the screeners' time explaining/debating things with you and slowing down the passage of other pax? Are you that important?

I hate it because it's dumb dumb dumb. And as I said in my original post, I haven't been challenged in all the 12 flights I've taken. If I am challenged I'll just hand it all over and watch it all go in the bin. I'm not out to embarass the security bozos, or hold up the queue. I'm not the sort of person who holds up these queues - it's Aunt Martha from Tamworth who's never flown in a plane before.

And in answer to your earlier question - what laws do I respect ? Well most of them I guess. I'm generally law abiding. Speeding, drink driving, these are all things where noone has a right to impose their own standards.

Do I think I'm too important ? No, I don't think so. But on utilitarian principles, it's better for me to flout the law. Do I feel safer because because of this new law ? Nope. Do I care if other people do like me ? Nope Do I accept that perhaps I'm wrong, that it is making it safer for us all. Yes I accept that, but my private actions have absolutely no bearing on this. If they want to spank me when I'm caught they can. I really don't care ! I just want to move through the airport quickly and I have enough hassle in the whole process without having to **** around with Glad bags and silly little bottles.

And I'll let you into a little secret - I don't bother turning my mobile off during the flight either !

So my friend, you can treat it as the dumbest advice you've ever heard, by all means. In fact, it's probably in my interest for most people to abide by this stupid law like sheep, otherwise they'll change the law, like presuming that any act is a deliberate one or whatever. Now that I can do without.


Simon
 
What a great attitude (NOT). The majority of people who post advice on this forum do lots of travel and have respect not for just other pax, but also for the rules that enable them to travel safely and quickly. The main hold up with security is when pax do what you do, and hold up the line behind them. By the way simoninsingapore, welcome to AFF
 
Maca - I do between 70 and 80 international sectors and between 30 and 40 domestic sectors a year. Take it from me, I don't hold up the security queue. Ironically, it's the people who are respecting all the stupid little rules that are holding it up.
Nor do I make planes late, despite the fact that I usually show up at the check-in counter 45-50 min before take off.
 
simoninsingapore said:
Do I think I'm too important ? No, I don't think so.

And I'll let you into a little secret - I don't bother turning my mobile off during the flight either !

So my friend, you can treat it as the dumbest advice you've ever heard, by all means.

Simon

simoninsingapore,

Could you ensure you post a list of your flights as I definately don't want to be on ANY of your flights. I don't agree with you on many of the points of your little rave though I can understand where you are coming from.

With respect to the mobile phone this is still a serious safety issue on a lot of aircraft and is really gross arrogance and outright dangerous. So to re write your comment from above 'Do I think I'm too important ? YES, I am.'
 
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