"Brisbane Airport security breach alarm"

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Brisbane Airport security breach alarm
By Tuck Thompson 
Australia - The Brisbane Courier Mail


TOUGH security restrictions at Brisbane Airport are regularly being breached
as staff fail to monitor casual workers who don't have full security
clearance.

Casual baggage handlers are entering restricted areas without photographic
clearance cards and without adequate supervision, according to airport
workers.

Federal law requires people working inside sensitive areas to wear red
Aviation Security Identification Cards.

But airlines are permitting part-time and casual staff to use visitor passes
while their ASIC applications are being processed. As well as the threat of
terrorism there are also concerns about baggage theft and tampering.

The yellow visitor cards, lacking photos, are being used for weeks or
longer, with another key concern of full-time baggage handlers being that
they could be given to someone else who has had no background checks
whatsoever. 

Staff with the cards are free to come and go from restricted areas, provided
they are escorted by workers with ASIC cards.

But Qantas baggage handlers told The Courier-Mail this week that they were
too busy lifting and sorting bags to monitor casuals.

"We don't know who these people are but they expect us to watch them while
we're working. I can tell you it doesn't happen," said one veteran worker.

Qantas said the only staff using visitor cards had already passed background
checks. That was disputed by the Transport Workers Union.

But Qantas group general manager airports Brad Moore said it was "ludicrous
to suggest that Qantas was risking the safety of its passengers".

"Qantas meets, and in many cases exceeds, all of its legislated aviation
security obligations," Mr Moore said.

Virgin Blue said its visitor passes were issued by an "airside manager on
duty".

The airline said: "Team members adhere to the same Federal Government
requirements whether they are full-time - as are the majority - or contract
staff."

Qantas's Mr Moore conceded contract employees were used "from time to time
to ensure we are able to meet the operational demands of our business".

He said preliminary approvals for such workers were sent to the airline
electronically from AusCheck, a vetting branch of the Attorney-General's
Department.

"Where a contractor has received their security clearance but is waiting to
be issued with an ASIC (clearance), a visitor pass can be issued," Mr Moore
said. "In these cases, the contractor is always accompanied by an ASIC
holder should they need to access a secure area."

A spokesman for the federal regulator, the Transport Department's Office of
Transport Security, said official security clearance arrived with the ASIC
card.

But TWU national secretary Tony Sheldon said airlines, eager to outsource
labour, were misusing the visitor cards across Australia and putting
passengers at risk. 

"Labour-hire workers don't have background checks before being allowed into
extremely sensitive areas of the airport," Mr Sheldon said.

Transport Workers' Union assistant secretary Michael Kaine said there was
also no set limit to the number of people an ASIC holder could sign in under
a visitor pass. 

"One of our greatest concerns regarding passes is that the ASIC holder who
signs them in is required to monitor the movements of that visitor.
Realistically this is not always possible when there is work to be done," he
said.

Brisbane Airport Corporation spokesman Jim Carden said airport security was
"robust" and there was no evidence airlines were shirking legal
responsibilities.


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