Opinion: Australian airport security needs action now

AFTER an alleged plot to blow up a plane it’s became abundantly clear Australia’s airports have significant security blind spots.

• Security overhaul: Everyone to carry ID at airport

AFTER an alleged plot to blow up a plane last month it became clear Australia’s airports have significant security blind spots.

For years the Australian Federal Police held serious concerns about criminality at airports. In 2015, The Courier-Mail revealed the AFP was lobbying the government for laws that would force passengers to show identification before they boarded.

It was clear some people, including bikies and those linked to organised crime groups, were not travelling under their own name.

An airline ticket can be bought online under any name. When a passenger boards they do not have to prove they are the person who purchased the ticket.

Security screening at Brisbane Airport. Picture: Liam Kidston

In 2015, controversial Islamic preacher Junaid Thorne, who had publicly supported some terrorist attacks, was sentenced to nine months jail for using a false name to travel on a domestic flight. He was granted immediate bail.

It is harder for police to monitor those who are being watched when there is this loophole.

The AFP did not get their wish.

Much pushback came from airlines, which did not want to be burdened with angry passengers who paid for a ticket but could not board because they forgot their wallet. There were also questions about what do to with 80-year-old granny who no longer held a driver’s licence.

But the security environment has changed dramatically since 2015. While aircraft continue to be a target for terrorists, it is clear public spaces have become an even greater target. It has never been more apparent that large groups of people are attractive to a terrorist.

This is why our law enforcement agencies have dramatically shifted on airline security.

Walking into an airport is easy. The minute someone gets out of a taxi or parks their car, they are a potential problem for police. Think of the long lines waiting to check in bags or waiting to be screened.

Think what would happen if a bomb is detonated inside a terminal. Hundreds of people would be killed or injured.

This is one of Australia’s security blind spots — the entrance in and around airports before people are screened.

So it makes sense that law enforcement agencies be given the power to ask any person, at any part of an airport, for ID if there is a view they are acting suspiciously.

As the new Home Affairs portfolio is built, Australians should expect to see police powers widened. This is the new reality we live in. As long as the checks and balances remain, Australians have nothing to fear from a government giving extra powers to police to keep up with the evil ideology of terrorists.

Given the shortfalls in airport security, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull should get this done now.