Does Australia Post have a viable security system or not?

Post date: Jul 6, 2010 11:54:37 AM

From the Canberra Times - 1999

THE CANBERRA TIMES TUESDAY MAY 11 1999 3

'I assure the addressees they are in no danger and in fact were never in danger'

Letter bombs: police had 10 hours' notice

Police had 10 hours' notice to start searching for parcel bombs before one exploded at the Canberra Mail Centre last December, the man charged with sending 28 mail bombs said yesterday.

Colin George Dunstan is to stand trial in the ACT Supreme Court on July 19.

Dunstan, 43, of Palmerston, is accused of waging a letter-bomb campaign against officials of the Australian Taxation Office and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

He is charged with 28 counts of attempting to inflict grievous bodily harm, 28 counts of using an explosive device in circumstances likely to endanger life, and one count of arson with intent to endanger life.

Dunstan said police had collected 22 parcels at the mail centre after being called by a Sydney recipient of a parcel sent a day earlier than the rest.

"The Australian Federal Police had 10 hours' advance warning to be on the lookout for parcels of identical appearance," he told the Supreme Court. "No parcel had exploded when police attended and photographed all 22 parcels."

He disputed the arson charge, saying a former postal worker he met in detention had told him a hole in the centre's ceiling was caused during replacement of a copper water pipe.

Dunstan said one charge had the wrong name of an intended parcel recipient, with the name in the charge coming from an unposted parcel.

He said he only noticed the error when studying police photographs.

Dunstan, who is representing himself at this stage, is to make another bail application in the Supreme Court on June 2.

He told the court yesterday that he was still waiting for a legal-aid application to be processed.

Chief Justice Jeffrey Miles requested that the Legal Aid Commission make its attitude known by May 21.

If Dunstan was refused legal-aid funding for his defence, he was to provide to the court any documents he may rely on in an application for a stay in proceedings.

Justice Miles said he did not want such an application to be made on the day of the trial.

At last month's committal hearing, Dunstan said the devices were merely meant to look like bombs and were sent as warnings to the recipients with no intention of hurting anyone.

He said fears of danger had been greatly exaggerated.

"I assure the addressees they are in no danger and in fact were never in danger," Dunstan said.

Prosecutor Kerry Hempenstall said he would oppose bail.

He said the charges may be reduced from 57 and the trial was expected to take two weeks.