London bombings speed up Oz tech border control plan
The government has fast-tracked an upgrade to Australia's border control technology in light of suspected links to terrorist organisations in this country.
Although ASIO, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) and other public agencies have been working on the upgrade for a number of months, the recent London bombing attempts have accelerated the planned rollout.
Speaking yesterday, Prime Minister John Howard said: "Plainly, these announcements represent the end result of a process that began at the end of last year. It's not a process that has been initiated as a result of recent events, it has been a process which has been in train now for some months and its introduction will be accelerated so that the new system can commence some time in September of this year."
Changes to border security will mean more resources will be provided to both ASIO and DIAC this financial year, including increased connectivity between the pair to help them deal with new security threats.
Howard added the system "involves the introduction of more state of the art software which will enable a massively more comprehensive and effective examination of the antecedents of people who seek visa entry into this country."
The revamped border control will enhance existing security by analysing behavioural patterns and travel arrangements -- examining an individual's previous movements and financial transactions, for example -- to find those predisposed to committing terrorist acts. The overhaul will also mean higher quality data-matching.
The government will also be throwing additional auditing capacity at the border control system to help minimise any knock-on effect to travellers coming into the country.
Costs associated with the deployment were not revealed, although the Prime Minister revealed the system will be "very expensive".