The Australian Government's $15 million fridge magnet campaign to educate Australians about terrorism has scooped an international award as one of the most stupid security measures introduced since September 11.
The competition, run by Privacy International, which is best known for its annual Big Brother awards for intrusive practices, received almost 5000 nominations from 35 countries.
The Government took out the Most Egregiously Stupid Award for the kit which urged Australians to report anything suspicious while asking them to be "alert but not alarmed".
The Delta Terminal at JFK Airport in New York won the most flagrantly intrusive award for forcing a mother travelling with a four-month-old baby to drink three bottles of her own breast milk, for fear that the bottles contained explosives or chemical agents.
Heathrow Airport, also picked up an award for quarantining a quantity of Gunpowder (green) tea. The tea was eventually allowed but the packaging bearing the Gunpowder labelling, was confiscated and destroyed.
Another airport, Philadelphia International, received the most inexplicably stupid award for issuing a code-red hazardous materials alert that closed a hospital emergency ward and two local shops because of a bottle of suspect cologne.
"There is a serious issue of respect for people's rights being eroded by stupid security measures," said Tim Dixon, a judge on the Stupid Security competition panel and a spokesman for the Australian Privacy Foundation. "Many of these measures do not make us any safer."
Mr Dixon said the Australian Government-backed public education scheme stood out because of its scale, cost and its "meaningless nature".
The Attorney-General, Daryl Williams, who launched the fridge door anti-terrorism kit in February, declined to comment.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/04/09/1049567739732.html