NZ to approve air marshalls.

[corsair67]

I just noticed this story in The Australian; did anyone else see/hear this on the news in NZ?

I'm guessing it will more than likely only apply to incoming/outgoing international flights, rather than flights within New Zealand.


NZ to approve air marshalls
From correspondents in Wellington
December 10, 2005.


THE New Zealand government has launched moves to allow armed marshals on aircraft to counter any perceived terrorist threat, according to a newspaper report.

A need for "in-flight security officers" has yet to arise in New Zealand but the country has to be able to move fast to respond to any change in its security status, Transport Safety Minister Harry Duynhoven told the New Zealand Herald.

His disclosure came after US air marshals shot dead a man who claimed to have a bomb on an aircraft in Miami, but who was unarmed and suffering a mental disorder.

The incident was a "pretty big wake-up call" about how security was managed, Duynhoven said.

Duynhoven said an amendment to the Aviation Security Bill would also lift the ban on overseas airlines carrying air marshals on flights to New Zealand.

It is understood New Zealand has turned down past applications for marshals to fly here.

"Merely having legislation which is permissive doesn't actually mean we will ever have air marshals," Duynhoven said.

"At the moment there is no signal I'm aware of that we have any need for any additional security."

Armed US air marshals disguised as passengers are placed on thousands of flights each week in an effort to prevent attacks on civilian planes.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States the number of marshals went from 33 to thousands. The exact number is classified.

In December 2003, the US government ordered foreign airlines to put armed marshals on selected flights to further boost security on aircraft flying to, from and over the US.

[Dave Homewood]

Yes, with a wonderful quirk of bad timing, this was in the news (on Teletext and National Radio at least) the very day after those two US Air Marshalls shot dead an innocent man in the USA! Just what we need on a flight, trigger happy gun toting nuts.

I think I'm right in saying only one incident has occurred in NZ aviation where a plane was hijacked. An Air New Zealand 747 back in the days of the first Fiji coup. A Fijian airport worker hijacked the ANZ plane to get him off the island. Cabin staff dealt with him by smacking him on the head with a bottle of champagne. Ouch. (My late Nana once did that to an armed robber who was holding up her wine shop. She distracted him and smacked him on the head with a bottle. Game old bird, she was in her 60's then) In both cases, AirNZ and Nana, the bottle didn't break and the victors shared the contents!

Back to the point. Is there really a need for these marshalls on NZ flights? We're not involved in the stupid war, so pose little threat to terrorists. Why would they steal our planes? They're hardly going to use them against NZ targets, we have none. They're herdly going to fly them across the Tasman or Pacific to hit Oz or US targets as they'd be splashed by fighters over the sea. I see this as a waste of seats on the planes that would otherwise make the company money, and yet another reason to up ticket prices with another "security" charge.

Still it'd be a nice job to have - flying around the world all the time, staying in luxury hotels at the customer's expense. And the odds are, regarding shooting or detaining terrorists, as it happens so infrequently you'd not actually ever being called on to do anything at all, your work is simply to go places. Cool.Probably one of the cushier jobs to evolve out of the recent American state of paranoia.

[corsair67]

Yes, it certainly is a case of security firms and consultants having a real boom time because of The War Against Terror ^TM paranoia.

I guess we can all become a little complacent though because we feel we're all a long, long away from the troubles some other countries are experiencing. You just have to look at some of the dipsticks that were arrested is Sydney and Melbourne in the last few months after ASIO had been tracking them, to see that we have more than our share of fanatical nutters in our own backyard.

[Dave Homewood]

Yes, we still have to be aware of possible threats, but not in such a way that the population suffers by having to pay more and more money for seemingly no reason. And we don't need the paranoia rammed down our throats, that makes things worse and the end result is terrorfying the nation - exactly what the TERRORists want.

I think even terrorist groups, whoever they are, would probably realise that NZ has little to threaten them with, and little to do with the war against them (a ship in the Gulf and some soldiers rebuilding towns and clearing mines is of little threat to them). Also we are traditionally a nation that would rather sit down and sort the conflict through talking than by war. Look at what NZ has done (with Aussie) to resolve some very nasty situations in East Timor and in Bougainville. Huge achievements made by the NZ military, police and Government through peaceful means.

Having said this, I don't doubt there is some cell activity in NZ. The 11 of Sept 2001 attacks were linked to Hamilton. There are numerous cells operating in Australia, I can't see why they're not also here. But I think those who lived here, even in cells of hate, would realise that Kiwis just are not a logical target in this war. It would do no-one on the Muslim terrorist side any good to be seen by the world as blowing up innocents from a country that's pretty much not at war with them.

Here's a question, as a bit of an aside to this...

... if an Air NZ 747 full of passengers was hijacked and flown into the Sky tower by Al Quada terrorists tomorrow, how do you think Kiwis would react?

Do you think there'd be a huge public stir of patriotism and there'd suddenly be a declaration of war, remilitarisation of the country, conscription, and battalions of our men sent to the Gulf en masse?

Would, in this day and age, the NZ population suddenly rise to war with the spirit of the two World Wars? It's really hard to tell, but I doubt there would be anywhere near the majority rising to arms.

We've had terrorist bombings and acts in NZ before, but though concerning, no-one really gave a monkeys as far as going to war with the perpetrators. Well, maybe a lot of the RSA and military guys wanted to go to war with the hippies that set those bombs at military bases and elsewhere in the 1960's/70's (as discussed on the Wartime RNZAF Stations Thread).

No-one wanted to go and fight France en-masse for the Rainbow Warrior. We all boycotted their products and thumbed our noses, but little else. There was possibly more ill feeling against the idiot who smashed up the America's cup and the other idiot who chopped the One Tree Hill pine.

So, how do you think we'd react in such a situation. I'd love to hear opinions. I'm still undevided.

[corsair67]

Interesting question, Dave: how would Kiwis react if an incident like that happen in NZ? I guess the chances of it happening are really very minimal, but then you should never let your guard down either.

The major problem is that terrorists don't always attack whom or where you expect. And many extreme terrorists wouldn't differentiate between a Kiwi and an American: to them both represent the "evil of Western society".

I think the United States has played into the terrorists hands by becoming overly paranoid and by also questioning the loyalty of anyone with a dissenting view to The War Against Terror ^TM. The worry in Australia is that we seem to be following in their footsteps somewhat. But at least the public here do seem to be asking the big questions of Govt whenever new anti-terrorism laws are in the pipeline, whereas in the US I don't think this really happens anymore.

[zknsj]

if every air hostess looked like helen clark, we wouldnt have any trouble with hijackings