The Queen and the Pope can pass though security at Australian airports without clearance – they are above that sort of irritation – but the privilege does not extend to Australia’s Governor-General. That appears to be the inference of an incident in which Governor-General Quentin Bryce passed through a checkpoint at Brisbane Airport without the usual clearance, only to be turned around.
According to Sydney’s Daily Telegraph, Bryce, the Queen’s representative in Australia, had no sooner been whisked through airport security without clearance than officials ordered her to go back and walk through again.
Bryce was travelling privately when she set off alarms at the Qantas security screening area, the paper reported.
The female officer in charge of screening directed the Governor-General to go through the checkpoint again, triggering an argument between the officer and Bryce’s Australian Federal Police security team.
The paper says the incident over the weekend led to the female security guard being temporarily moved to “other duties” by her manager, an incident that Transport Workers Union branch secretary Peter Biagini called “an absolute disgrace”.
The employee had been disciplined “for enforcing the law” Biagini fumed.
The officer was reinstated to her position a short time later and the Governor-General went to the Qantas’ Chairman’s Lounge where special clearance was given for her to fly.
Written by : Peter Needham - (Source: eGlobal Travel Media, 28th June 2011)
