White Powder Scare Parliament House

But JB the APS does have its own generic policy on it. From experience it pays to be very careful when quoting internal e-mails on a public site verbatim

Also I see I have been deservedly punished for forgetting the DIY wotz on guide….

VG – Parliament House is a copmplicated beast, there are at least 60 independent organisations within the walls, and no policies on “internal communication”

Watch the movie Rounders. As the main character says ‘poker is not gambling’. It is for a ‘fish’, but for the rest its not all about luck.

A fool and his money are soon parted. It is actually quite hilarious to see people come into the casino after watching poker on ESPN, think they know it all, and leave with empty pockets within the hour. Even if you don’t gamble it can be a fun exercise in people watching there, seeing mouthy, obnoxious drunks lose wads of cash

Casino is starting up $60 NLHE Sit ‘n go tables tonight if anyone is that way inclined. Kicks off at 1830

(NLHE = No Limit Texas Hold ’em, a form of poker, the stuff they play on Foxtel but, it isn’t as easy as they make it look)

I’ll be keeping it geeky with some EpIII once the kids are in bed. No drinks, gotta drive.

I’m sick of being a responsible individual!

And I could probably do with going straight home like a responsible individual for once…..

I’ve been trying to find someone to come to happy hour with me, but maybe I should mosey on up to the pot-belly!

Yep. And have no one to collect your child from child care and are stuck in a building with the air system turned off. Not fun.

LG is correct-a-mundo. I was caught up in the Southcare sand-mail debacle. Not much fun at all when you have to explain to people why we are being locked down and not evacuated.

I wouldn’t be saying that given that certain government agencies may use this website as a resource……. (also, you don’t get the day off, you get stuck in the building)

Who’s for ‘send your closest friend a package of white powder so they can get the day off work’ day ?

Perhaps… Nevertheless, part 3:

MEDIA RELEASE
MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS
ALEXANDER DOWNER
June 3 2005

Media Statement

A suspicious package addressed to me was intercepted during routine security screening at Parliament House this morning.

The package contained white powder and has been taken away for testing. None of my staff, nor any Parliament Security staff came into contact with the contents of the package.

I appreciate the professional work of the Parliamentary Security staff and the police in handling this matter.

As I have said this week in relation to the incident involving the Indonesian Embassy, this type of intimidation is deplorable. The matter could be a serious criminal offence and it is best handled by the police.

someone obviously hasn’t read the departmental policy on the disclosure of work related e-mails to outside sources

Another update from that source peoples:

The ACT Fire Brigade is now clearing the Loading Dock area and the
Loading Dock will be reopening shortly.

Hilary Penfold

I received the following from a source within Parliament House:
>
At 9.05am today routine screening in the Parliament House loading dock
detected a suspicious package.

The package was addressed to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade,
the Hon Alexander Downer. With the authorisation of the intended
recipient, the package was opened in a secure area and found to contain
a sealed plastic bag of white powder.

The substance was isolated in the Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) area of
the loading dock. Officers of the ACT Fire Brigade are in attendance and
are conducting incident response operations in accordance with their
procedures. The substance will be removed by the HAZMAT section of the
ACT Fire Brigade and taken to Canberra Hospital Pathology Section for
analysis.

The loading dock has not been contaminated, but will remain closed until
it is cleared to open by the ACT Fire Brigade. Nor has there been any
contamination of any other area within Parliament House.

The staff member who detected the suspicious package will be offered
counselling.

Hilary Penfold
Secretary, Department of Parliamentary Services
Chair, Security Management Board

No need to panic …. it’s just a powder puff for Alexander….. is all.

http://www.smh.com.au has the story.