"terror Squad Swoops On Airport"
Terror Squat swoops on airport
By Vanessa Burrow
Warrnambool’s “The Standard” Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Secuirty at Warrnambool’s airport was stepped up yesterday when the Australian Fedral Police sent it’s regional security team to the city for routine patrols.
The eight-member counter terrorism Regional Rapid Deployment (RRDT) included an officer with bomb appraisal training and a four-and-a-half-year-old labrador that can detect more than 19,000 explosive elements.
Planes and hangers were scoured and passengers’ luggage checked in what was the team’s second operation since it was established by the Federal Government on January 1.
Team leader, protective service officer Gavin Hall, said the routine deployment would educate airport operators and reassure the Australian public of the safety of regional airways.
“It provides uniformed presence at regional airports to give the community and passengers travelling a sense of security in their aerodromes,” he said.
Explosive Detection Canine handler Warren Hawkins and his charge Ziggy were doing their best to achieve that goal yesterday by searching for any hazardous substances at the airport.
Protective service officer Hawkins said his hard-working labrador trained every day and was rewarded with food.
“He doesn’t get a bowl, he has to work to get his food,” he said.
“It’s a good fun job – I get paid for playing with a dog,” he laughed.
Warrnambool airport reporting officer, John Franc, who was employed by the city council to care for the facility, said he was impressed by the RRDT team’s thoroughness.
“People definitely don’t realise what potential there is for danger (at the airport) and these fellas show everybody the authorities are on top of what’s going on,” he said.
The officers will be in Warrnambool for several days and plan routine and intelligence-led deployments at many of Australia’s 146 regional airports.
Three teams operating from the Sydney, Perth and Brisbane airports will join the Melbourne-based RRDT from July at a cost of $20.7 million over five years.
(The photo attached shows the dog sniffing around the prop of a seneca (probably the only twin that’s even been there in the last week) while one officer is checking the nosewheel and three officers are standing a line watching.)
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SNIFF AND GIGGLE...
To give some perspective on how quiet this airport is- there is only one operator who actually has a base on the aerodrome- this operator has a C152 and a C172 (of which neither was flying last week, when I wanted to hire an aeroplane…any aeroplane out of Warrnambool). I believe that the only other operator is Sharp Aviation operates a service that uses Warrnambool as a drop-off point on the way through to Essendon. Warrnambool does not have many movements per year.
*Does anybody else get the sense that 20.7 million of taxpayers is being wasted?
* Can anybody tell me why 8 officers are needed at Warrnambool airport to play with a dog- surely 2 or 3 could have done the job?
* Can anybody explain why they are staying on allegedly having a bit of holiday on the coast?
(But then, they may as well be holidaying on the coast- as any more than an hour or so sniffing around a few aeroplanes with 8 officers and a dog over a few days is as useful as having a holiday- good on ya boys!)
The friendly RRDT coming to a town near you- make sure that they buy you a beer- you have to get your hard earned tax back somehow.