Never forget the lesson of Martin Niemoller.
The lesson is: when government’s misbehave, it’s just a matter of time before they will come for you.
Recently, two Australian citizens arrived back in Australia after a long overnight flight.
They had nothing to declare and filled out customs declarations accordingly. The dogs sniffed their bags, legs etc and soon lost interest.
Nevertheless the Australian Border Force people (ABF) decided to single them out for closer inspection. ABF staff were particularly unfriendly and treated them as suspects.
It was 6 am and ABF turned the Australians’ luggage inside out. They took X-rays of the luggage, but found nothing. Not surprising, as there was nothing to find.
But ABF then decided to confiscate the travellers’ iPhones, iPads and laptop computers. They kept the travellers at the airport for almost 2 hours. Finally, they said that the travellers – two Australian citizens who had just returned from a holiday – were suspected ‘people smugglers’.
ABF then confiscated the travellers’ iPhones, iPads and laptop computers “for forensic testing”. They kept them for the next ten days. Nothing was done to protect their personal, private and confidential information on their electronic devices.
During the ten days they kept the electronic devices, ABF made NO effort to contact either of the Australian citizens. Instead, the citizens had to chase ABF in an attempt to have their electric equipment returned.
Eventually the equipment was returned. The Australian travellers have not been charged with any offence (probably for the good reason that they had committed no offence). But there was no apology from ABF, and no explanation.
Just for a moment, try to imagine how it feels: You arrive back in Australia tired, the ABF men in black rummage through all your luggage and then keep your iPhone, iPad and computer for ten days. I thought that’s what happened in Police States. But with two former Queensland policemen in charge (Dutton and Quadvlieg), expect the unthinkable.
Be aware, be very aware!
And remember the words of Martin Niemoller (he is in the centre of the photograph of people taken in by the Nazis), the Lutheran pastor who was taken in for questioning by the Nazis in July 1938:
When they came for the Communists I said nothing, because I am not a Communist.
When they came for the trade unionists I said nothing, because I am not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews I said nothing, because I am not a Jew.
And when they came for me There was no-one to speak for me.
So this idiocy has reached our shores from the US. I’d seriously suggest doing a hard reset on all phones and reformat/reinstall on the laptops. Who knows what snoop-ware the pantysniffers may have planted in them. Even that is hardly a guarantee that the devices are clean with the amount of bios infecting slime they use.
This was a practice well learned by Dutton and his ilk in the Queensland Police Force, where if you could not prove an offence you verballed the suspect and so found them guilty. Dutton has no integrity. He is an ambitious nobody who is prepared to step on anybody in his fight to the top. thankfully he will be a nobody with no job come the next election. His seat will be one of the first to fall. His only chance is to topple Mr. Nowhere Man as leader, and then impose military law, so that we are deprive of the opportunity to throw him out.
Thank you for this information.
Why is it not available to the ABC and other news organs? What else are we not being told?
When will these two men and their political masters be called to account, not, as in one case, be allowed to go on leave, while earning an astronomic salary, greater than that of the PM.
Good post JB.
That’s terrible. I never trusted Dutton. So much for a free country
This sort of escalation in the process of erosion of personal rights, freedoms and redress against “Official” bullying has been utterly predictable since the amalgamation of Customs and Immigration…in effect, a “De Facto”, and unaccountable law agency. It was always going to happen, and Labour should have strenuously opposed the formation of, what is, in effect, a new Agency of Homeland Security, and basically, a huge power grab by Dutton. He really has to go!
Appalling abuse of power. We live in a (ex-Queensland) police state. Who speaks for the ordinary, law-abiding citizen against this abuse of power.
Last time I left to go on holiday the border force were marching around up and down the lanes of the customs hall – 12 of them with a dog. “Like the gestapo” I thought at the time. There were 4 customs officers checking passports at the desks and a massive line to get through. Seems a waste of resources in the wrong place to me.
I suppose such organisations must justify their existence and look, hopefully, around for targets. They must also feel so detached from ordinary people that they can treat them as objects.
This is not the Australia that people love and trust!
We do not need to act in such a punitive and divisive way, we did not become the most successful multicultural nation on Earth by behaving like this, quite the opposite!
What have we, the Australian people done to deserve such negligence and stupidity from our elected representatives ? .Here is what Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) an anti Nazi dissident had to say on stupidity and malice, while serving time in prison. Although our present government is not yet showing signs of overt malice, it certainly is displaying its stupidity for all to see….”Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may protest against evil, it can be exposed and, if need be, prevented by use of force. Evil always carries within itself the germ of its own subversion in that it leaves behind in human beings at least, a sense of unease. Against stupidity we are defenceless. neither protest nor the use of force accomplish anything here: reason falls on deaf ears: facts that contradict one’s prejudgement simply need not be believed-in such moments the stupid person even becomes critical-and when facts are irrefutable, they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental. In all this the stupid person in contrast to the malicious one, is utterly self-satisfied and, being easily irritated becomes dangerous by going on the attack. For that reason, greater caution is called for when dealing with a stupid person than a malicious one. Never again will we try to be persuade the stupid person with reason, for it is useless and dangerous”…….We are not at that stage yet, but all the warning signs are there. Alarm bells should be ringing here in Australia, America and Europe.
Dutton is the biggest threat to Australian way of life, the tolerant welcoming fair egalitarian society that we have been working towards since the dark days of the white straya policy.
It’s going to get worse as the Terrorist Laws pushed through by Abbott and supported by Shorten, Being Terrorist Laws is just a smokescreen they are for controlling the Australian Population and Turnbull is adding to them. ASIO no longer answers to the Australian Government and Parliament and if they now kill Australians they cannot be questioned or charged and don’t have to answer question asked by an Inquest. If you talk about an ASIO operation you can be locked up and when released if you tell anyone about being locked up you can receive an automatic 10 year sentence. These Terrorist laws have already been used against a Federally Registered Political Party to shut them up as they were the only laws they could override the laws protecting Federal Parties.
You are one person for whom I have great regard and am grateful for the social activist role you play on behalf of many vulnerable people.
I have always had a simple rule for customs:
1. In a country that has next to no government and bureaucracy is based on corruption: declare nothing, head for the green gate, don’t stop, unless someone points a gun at you.
2. Australia: Always declare something. You know you have nothing to declare? Doesn’t matter. Declare something, go to red gate. They do a cursory search and wave you through. Mind you, I’m white, female and middle aged which probably helps (sad, isn’t it?).
(It is so important to declare ALL plant and animals based products as Australia’s agricultural industry is dependent on our isolation. So if you do have something to declare – do so.)
Australian police and, obviously, Border Force, forget they are PUBLIC SERVANTS. Even if the ‘public’ has broken the law – they are still their servants. They need to be reminded of this regularly. I believe we should take all their weapons away. This would make them politer!
We have elements of a police state in Australia now. Frightening.
I have heard of worst from friends whom have travelled abroad particularly to Asian countries and especially being of an Asian background. Aparently the ABFthey get their fix from stripped search and anal probes.
Hi V. Vongpoothorn
I am a research assistant researching personal body searches at airports. If you are comfortable doing so, it would be good to speak to you about your comment. Please contact me at erre0005@flinders.edu.au.
Kind regards
Helena
Put simply, this Liberal government needs to go. They are taking away our rights and freedoms one at a time, sadly, most people aren’t recognising this.
Control freak behaviour. Is there no redress for this unacceptable behaviour?
Thank you Mr Burnside for voicing my fears. I am fearful of the constant unnecessary fearmongering and slow but constant erosion of all our freedoms.
Scary times indeed! Were they targeted randomly or was there a political motive do you think?
History repeating itself, will governments never learn?
for me this kind of harassment has been expected by the these nazis, it was only a question of when. While Malcolm Turnbull is overseas trying to sell his so called moderate liberal party the extremists are turning the country into a police state. In fact if you look back over the past 40 years or so, by comparison the liberal party that Malcolm Fraser lead were further to the left than the labor party is today, party’s have swung so far to the right, that they can’t see the middle of the road.
The war on terror and the war on drugs are just lame excuses for governments to wage war on their own citizens using the citizens own money.
& all this started when howard started jumping up & down Screaming”Shoot at us! Shoot at us” & joined the other 2 war criminals in invading Iraq & caused the Bali bombings etc & now billions of dollars later we are a police state….. & no one is any safer from this imaginary threat.
This is repugnant! Shows hpw low we’ve sunk with the whole racist refugee issue. Too much power to small people!
“Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely”. A free press would hold a mirror up to thee would be gestapo thugs. Unfortunately the Australian press is held on a short leash by it’s corporate masters.
Sends shivers up my spine. Intimidation at it’s worst: innocent people who are helpless in the face of ‘Border Force’ authority. I will be reminded of this injustice when I attend the theatre tomorrow to see 1984.
That is a disgrace……those men were so victimised ……and no one to speak to about it. How many other people have faced with this kind of intimidation. Because the Border Force were having a “bad day”.
I really don’t know what I would have done in the victims position.
There is no doubt the ABF is nothing more than the LNP’s private army. We can expect more intrusion into the privacy of innocent Australian citizens as they get bolder. Remember only recently they wanted to stop citizens at random and check their identity. They were stopped then, but you can be sure they will try that again! Germany 1935, Australia 2017! (The uniform of Hitler’s SS was designed by a theatrical agency with clear instructions that they were to be made as intimidating as possible. Same basic design as the ABF! THE LNP have been using Goebbles’ tactics with great success for years now, so why not try Himmler’s?,
Same thing happened to myself returning from Thailand , took my iPad and iPhone, kept waiting for an hour and a half. No explanation , no thanks for your time, arseholes.
But man, proud man, dresssed in a little brief authority, most ignorant of what he’s most assured – his glossy essence – like an angry ape, plays such fantastic tricks before high heaven as makes the angels weep; The Bard as usual had it nailed – my experience of the ABF exactly.
Th Govt spent $10 million of our money on a facelift and name change to ABf – Effect? To basically make the officers look like real Nazis! The extremely dark blue outfits look very black to me eyes! Intimidating much? Welcome to Naziland – err I mean Ge..I mean Australia
Border Farce. The SS is coming armed w guns, tastes and unlimited and unfettered power granted by none other than Dutton himself, ever pushing for more and more power to abyse and mistreat the innocent and vulnerable!!
Would the AFP not need a court order or warrant. Mr Burnside this is very Alarming, have the Australian media picked up on this?
Are you surprised with Trump in charge of the ‘Free World’ and the Coalition here.
Shades of 1984! We are living in interesting times.
Border Force was started/commissioned/ empowered while I was overseas. I remember returning to Australia 2 years ago. I distinctly remember sense of menace and ‘force’ as I came through Customs and Immigration, so different to other returns after overseas travel, where I felt a great sense of ‘welcome home’.
The uniform, the firearms, the attitude were all very much intended to intimidate, So different to the behaviour of the previous Department of Immigration, which was friendly and welcoming. What must our international tourists fell as they arrive in Australia?
… can’t help but wonder if they were singled out like this .. were they blonde haired, blue eyed lads in beige chinos & blue shirts?? .. I bet they weren’t! 😠 shame shame sham 😠
With so many “christians”in the government then thats where the Nazi comes into the equation.look at all the catholic nations in the world.
Exactly, and that’s why I stand up for free speech! I stand up for my country, which has always been a great nation – until it said we couldn’t have Christmas carols at Christmas because it might offend someone – it offends me NOT to have them!! Where are my rights? I don’t want to resort to One Nation (& haven’t) but, as many who have, have said, “they’re the only ones speaking up for us!!”
Some people fear we are becoming a police state. They are too late, we have already become that monster. It will tak a lot to unwind the evil that is being committed by our parliament, under our name, even against ourselves.
Surely there must be some cause of action? There actions cannot be lawful? Julian can you provide some insight on this? Ideally one would like to have the mobile phone recording this but this may be illegal. The professionalism of customs officers seems to vary at different work locations. Is poor workplace morale one of the reasons for improper behaviour? I have had issues with customs at Melbourne but at Adelaide they have been very good.
The overriding complacency of Australian people, coupled with a still naive trust in Government ensures that ABF will continue to abuse the powers entrusted to them.Everyone needs to hear these stories, we all need to be vigilant whrn it comes to the basic rights of citizenship.Dutton and his thugs simply have to go.We should gav ed listened to the warning bells when The Immigration Dept. became Border Force.This was more than just a name change
AFP usually take that sort of action after a tip off or past history. I would rather they did this than play mr nice guy and let through drugs guns and other contraband. After all which is more detrimental to our way of life; a long wai for the return of our computer or the nice guy attitude that lets in guns an drugs. If you knew all the story you might have a different. Then maybe not!!
I have been harassed by the police on several occasions since becoming politically active
I will mention a couple of them here, there are more
once early in the piece I made a speech at Belmore Park in Sydney at a rally where I mentioned Tony Abbott was potentially in breach of section 44 and should be deported not the refugees.
I was followed 45k by a marked AFP car home.
the other mentionable occurrence was
I was spearheading a group that was investigating Baird’s activities in relation to Crown Lands in NSW just before his resignation
All of our team were visited by Police and attempts were made to enter the premises for spurious and unfounded reasons, in my case access was denied and they stopped coming after we dropped the work re crown lands due to the fact that Baird hobbled ICAC that week. I had three visits from them IN A MONTH.
Few Australians realise the extent of the unwelcome at the airport. For most of us it is an inconvenience by uniformed officers who were previously searching boxes and running dog squads. A trip behind the scenes at the airport and city detention centre reveals the extent of the unwelcome. Mainly brown people but increasingly European young people are having their visas cancelled on arrival for reasons not made clear to them.
We find young people in Detention from USA , UK , Canada Asia and EU who have relationships with Australians whom they may have met abroad or here on previous trips to OZ. When they try to legitimately re-enter on tourist visas for a second or third time to see the girlfriend/boyfriend, some are accused of coming back to work and are detained, visa cancelled and sent back. I have checked that they did not overstay a previous visa giving a reason for the cancellation- no.
There is a daily rotation of people into the detention centre from the airport. No way to challenge. As for relatives, they also go through the wringer.We see weeping relatives who have come for short visits on legitimate visas to see elderly grandparents, then challenged at the airport and taken to detention.
As one man said recently, someone should tell everyone coming to Australia to wipe their mobiles and facebook accounts just in case BorderForce see something they don’t like. Australians would be wise to review how non-citizens are being treated, their lack of privacy or rights as their phones and computers are taken and scanned and the contents then interpreted by suspicious paramilitary types looking for trouble where none exists.
Airport Turnarounds and Rapid Returns categories- no explanation needed.
This article is the tip of a hidden, secret, non-transparent process.
The rot has started and it will only continue until
GOOD AUSTRALIANS stand up and say
WE DO NOT WANT SUCH UNACCEPTABLE TREATMENT OF EVERYONE WHO ENTERS OUR COUNTRY!
WE ARE NOT A POLICE STATE!
WE ARE A DEMOCRATIC COUNTRY!
WE WANT EVERYONE TO BE TREATED WITH CORDIALITY WHEN THEY COME TO AUSTRALIA!
WE WANT MINISTER DUTTON’S EXCESSIVE MINISTERIAL POWERS TO REVIEWED & LIMITED!
WE WANT THE FINAL SAY ON THE RIGHTS OF PEOPLE ENTERING OUR COUNTRY TO BE UNDER THE CONTROL OF OUR COURTS!
WE NOT WANT THE AUSTRALIA BORDER FORCE TO BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE WAY THEY ARE TREATING PEOPLE (INCLUDING AUSTRALIAN CITIZENS) WHEN THEY ENTER (RENTER) AUSTRALIA.
WE WANT THE AUSTRALIAN BORDER FORCES ACTIONS TO BE UNDER THE SCRUTINY OF OUR COURTS!
THE STATUS QUO SHOULD BE INNOCENCE NOT GUILT!
Hmmm,
Too late…Dutters is now to be elevated to “El Supremo” with unfettered power over all government policing/security forces.
Sadly terrorists have achieved their aim of disrupting democracies by making governments complicit in eroding common decency and fairness.
We aid and abet them by electing them (the government) by falling for sloganeering on”secure borders etc”