By Kate Gauntlett
CANBERRA
AUSTRALIA's front door was wide open to terrorists because of flaws in the visa waiver scheme used by short-term visitors from many developed countries, a new report warns.
It also claims the Howard Government is too focused on the security threat posed by unauthorised arrivals via the "back door", and calls for strict new rules for short-term legal visitors.
The report, by Australian National University Professor William Maley for the right-wing think tank the Centre For Independent Studies, argues French terrorist Willie Brigitte exposed a gaping hole in Australia's electronic travel authority system.
Dozens of countries are included in the ETA system, which has done away with paper applications and face-to-face interviews for visas for short-term tourism and business visits.
"What is so alarming is that Mr Brigitte penetrated Australia's borders not because the system failed but because it worked," Professor Maley said.
The ETA - Australia's equivalent of a visa waiver - was obtained through certain travel agents or over the internet so people like Mr Brigitte could get visas promptly and with minimal inconvenience.
Electronic visa applications were checked against a database known as the movement alert list, but there was no protection from people whose names were not on it.
"The belief of immigration officials that wealthy, developed states included in the ETA system are low risk has been outdated by recent developments in global terrorism, with terrorist cells operating in Singapore, the United Kingdom, France and the United States," Professor Maley said.
The report calls for a shake-up of what constitutes a low-risk country.
"At the very least, a country should be removed from the ETA list the moment there is any credible evidence of terrorist cells operating in its borders," Professor Maley said.
He recommended a return to scrutinising a wider range of visa applicants through face-to-face interviews, which occurred in some of the other countries on the ETA list.
While Professor Maley accepted the burden of those measures could be considerable, especially if other countries responded by imposing strict new visa requirements on Australians, it was crucial for security.
"The potential mayhem which a terrorist could inflict on innocent Australians should not be underestimated," Professor Maley said. "Nor should we underestimate the urgency of the matter."
But Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone defended Australia's ETA system against Professor Maley's claims.
"At the time, Brigitte was not on the alert lists of any country, including that of France," she said.
"Australia has one of the most sophisticated screening systems in the world but it still relies on information from other countries."