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Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Aviation Security

Direct News Source

12-Mar-2010 Tomorrow, I will attend the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Aviation Security in Tokyo on 13 March.

The conference is being hosted by the Japanese Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Seiji Maehara.

The purpose of this meeting with my ministerial counterparts as well as officials from the International Civil Aviation Organization is to discuss ways to strengthen global aviation security in the aftermath of the terrorist attempt on a United States-bound flight on Christmas Day last year.

The safety and security of Australians is our number one priority.

Last month, the Rudd Government announced a comprehensive $200 million package of measures to strengthen Australia's international and domestic aviation security regime against emerging threats.

These measures included new and improved security and screening technologies, increased policing at airports, as well as strengthening international cooperation.

Each year, there are more than 48 million domestic and 24 million international passenger movements to and from Australia each year.

I look forward to providing my international colleagues with a briefing on how Australia is responding to emerging threats to aviation security and working with them to improve aviation security globally.