Have to agree, the ASIC is bull****. But in response to your comment, an ARO can’t fine a non-ASIC holder, only AMS can do that. And they have been doing that for a couple of years now, it’s nothing new. The big issue is that if you get pinged by AMS for not wearing your ASIC, apart from you receiving the individual fine, the aerodrome owner/operator also gets hit with a non-conformance notice as it occurred on their aerodrome. That’s why ARO’s are often so trigger happy when it comes to reprimanding a person who is operating airside without an ASIC (depending on your category of aerodrome).
As with all things Government, the requirement for an ASIC does very little towards preventing fraud, preventing unauthorised access via a step ladder over the fence at midnight, or stop people using a fake ASIC. It’s just another tool for big brother to use to monitor you, curtail your freedoms, and let you know that it is not you who is in charge, it is they. No ‘terrorist’ is going to apply for an ASIC under their real identity (therefor getting caught before they commit an act of terror), nor will they obey regulations, comply with silly signs on aerodrome fences or any other primitive Government folly. I would be more concerned with the amount of ‘missing’ surface-to-air missiles worldwide, and the damage they could do to an aircraft approaching or departing an aerodrome on the fringes of a city or beside a nice wide ocean or river system.