Do you notice a trend here. The places where max "security" is vital, so say our fearless leaders, you know the ones, the people responsible for all the trouble in the first place, are the places where the warmongers and societies establishment hang out, parliament house, the courts, etc. No screening on a crowded bus, or in public shopping center, its not required. In those places you can take your AK47 with you, no questions asked. If you were to approach the driver on a public bus and say "Driverrrr!.. the bloke down the back's gotta Bomb! the response would be "Christ!..I'm run'n 15 minutes late already.. what do ya want me to do about it!"

Poirot, G4S now that name rings a bell! That security guard might have been the twin brother of one of their Manus Island men, the place where that mob conduct basic training in asylum seeker bashing.

Foxy, gee a small fur hat, that is stupid and ridiculous, its all about "THE POWER". Reminds me of those strange little men at the airports who throw your half a jar of 'brylcreem' in the bin, just in case you were contemplating putting on your head and terrorising your fellow passenger in cattle class on 'Nostar' Airlines.

Dear Paul,

The security guard who made me take my hat
off in Parliament House's Public Gallery, was
simply going by those antiquated rules. I don't
think "power" came into the equation. And perhaps
it was a silly thing to have insisted on - but
his job depends on him carrying out those rules.
Silly as you and I may think they are.

Sorry to hear that, Foxy...but there was no reason under those circumstances that the security officer shouldn't have had access to a private viewing area if he'd "really" thought your little fur hat was a security threat...what did he think it had - mange?

Yes, Paul, it does read as if that security officer was exercising his "power" - she had passed her bag through a security scanner and had walked through a metal detector. on her head was a "scarf" - not a top hat.

You're spot on with the rest of your post too.

What has the Abbott govt's latest faux hysteria achieved?

This?

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/attacks-on-muslim-mothers-mount-20141009-113wdj.html

"A Muslim mother verbally abused at a Melbourne playground and ordered to stop her child from playing with others is among dozens of attacks against the Islamic community in recent weeks.

It is one of at least six incidents nationally in which a Muslim mother has been abused, either in front of her children or while heavily pregnant, that appears on a list of abuse being compiled by Muslim community leaders.

Overall there have been 30 recorded attacks, mainly on women wearing the hijab – in the three weeks since anti-terror raids swept Sydney and the feared Islamic State stepped up their threats.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Ken Lay has heard anecdotal reports about Muslim members of the Melbourne community becoming the object of abuse in a heightened terror environment.
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However, police data suggests the community is not reporting these attacks to police, something Mr Lay wants to see change."

So, to sum up...before the Abbott govt decided its best way out of the woeful hole it dug for itself was to demonise one section of the community, choof off our armed forces on a "humanitarian" mission and erode our freedoms with new laws, Muslim women were going about their business like the rest of us.

Now they're being abused and in some cases attacked.

All for the Abbott govt's electoral kudos.

Dear Poirot,

Of course there were a lot of things the guard could
have done but obviously he wasn't trained in that
way at that time. Remember this was before all this
"security" business arose. I can't help but wonder though
what the rules now are concerning women's head gear in
the Public Gallery at Parliament House.

poirot: Now they're being abused and in some cases attacked.

This is terrible. Australia is a terrible place, especially for moslems. If I was a moslem, I would throw a tanty & leave for a Country that would be more accepting of my Religion. Bloody Australians. Next they'll be siding with the French.

Foxy, I can't agree << I was asked to take my small fur hat off in front of everyone >> These people should be given enough "power" so they can use some discretion.

How was it that Liberal senator Bill Heffernan took a mocked-up "pipe bomb" into Parliament House to show how new security arrangements are "a joke". Under the new system, some passholders and their belongings are not scanned when entering the building.
More a case of some are seen as the right sorts, while the riff-raff are always suspect! There should be a special queue for Heffernan, and his mob, the kuku queue.