I've just written a letter to the Minister for Transport. By hand, on paper. As soon as I transcribe what I wrote there, here, I'll put it in an envelope, address it, stick a stamp on it, and wander down to the post box and hope the lovely people of Australia Post will deliver it to Canberra by Tuesday.
Dear Mr Albanese,Please don't go ahead with full body scanners in Australian Airports.They will not make us any safer.They cost a huge amount of money.They are an invasion of privacy.Europe has banned similar machines.The chief advocate of these machines in the US, former Homeland Security Chief, Michael Chertoff, has admitted he has a financial interest in their manufacture.We really don't need this kind of "Security Theatre" in this country.Yours sincerely,Donna Benjamin
I was spurred to do this after reading the following articles in today's online media:
- Body Scanners to be installed across Australian international airports. Travel, The Age
- Body scanning legislation going ahead Herald Sun
- Get a body scan or face ban Adelaide Now
- Body scanners, and the question no-one will answer Planetalking, Crikey
This is unacceptable to me.
It has been argued these scanners are security theatre. This term was coined by Bruce Schneier, a world renowned expert on security matters. It refers "to measures which are undertaken not because they will be effective at thwarting attacks, but because the agencies carrying them out need to appear to be doing something useful."
- The EU recently banned use of these scanners.
- Cost Benefit Analysis Report
- Claims Chertoff has interest in scanning tech
- An Interview with Bruce Schneier
- And more from Schneier here
I wonder - were we given some of these machines, like a set of steak knives, to sweeten some other deal?
Has anyone taken a good look at the proposed legislation yet?