I am currently on my honeymoon in the Antipodes and have experienced both international and domestic security screenings in New Zealand and Australia. In all cases I experienced the following:

Quick, professional, and cordial screenings.

I even had a secondary on an Australian domestic and it was done with the utmost professionalism and politeness.

I did not experience:

Bad attitudes, fascism, scare tactics, bullying, or threats.

Seriously, why can't the same be done within the "Land of the Free"?

On a side note, the immigrations and customs officials extended the same courtesies in both countries as their respective security.

I am not looking forward to:

The additional screening at the gate for the US bound flight, the ICE thugs, the TSA thugs, the rescreening into the domestic and all the accompanying barking from the over empowered "Protectors of Freedom" next week.

I'll try to keep it out of my mind as we enjoy the rest of our trip.

I'd have to agree with you. Even when I had a small problem with the folks at SYD they were exceptionally polite and apologetic.

BTW, how exactly does one get to the Antipodes?

Back in July 2006, Mrs Flies and I made our annual pilgrimmage to OZ. On the way home, she was selected for a secondary backpack search at SYD. We were way early for the flight, so there was nobody else to "randomly" pick.

The Aussie screener gave my wife an 8x11 (actually A4) laminated sheet of paper which was two things:

1. An Aussie-equivalent of a Privacy Act disclosure; and,

2. A written consent agreement. (She had to verbally agree to have her backpack searched and could have refused with the penalty of not being allowed into airside.)

It was really refreshing to find a government that cared about the rights of their citizens and visitors. Wow -- for a fleeting moment, I thought the Aussies has adopted the US Constitution.

Well evidently it IS available for adoption....we seem to have abandoned it.......

I just came back from the Dominican Republic a few days ago. On a flight to the US, I was shocked at the "lax" security--no shoes off, no laptops out, no secondaries. The initial screening and then random bag checks at the gate. It was a pleasure.

Then we made a connection in Atlanta and TSA failed to detect a suitcase full of liquids (medication). It was the height of irony.

The second amendment may be a problem.

I'm sorry but the rule is if the customs, immigration, or security officers work in the English speaking country, then they will tend to be fascists. Two examples from down under.

2003 - I fill out the customs form stating that I was not bring food in to Australia (SYD). In the USA and Canada and Europe, food means stuff like fruit, vegetables, meat, cheese. In Australia, it means junk food and wood. The kids had left over candy in their back packs, and naturally the Australian custom's people wanted to make federal case of it.

2007 - My 68 year old mother's clothing was was swabbed for explosives in SYD before a flight to Brisbane. Comes up positive. They find a female to strip search her (sexually assault) her. She's hasn't handled a weapon or powder since she was a kid on the farm.

Australia is a great place to visit, but keep in mind this country is building a nationwide firewall to protect the children. When it comes to "security" it is as demented as Canada, NZ, UK, and USA. These are the countries that pay each other to spy on the other's citizens as well as on the governments of their allies.

The second half of the name, "junk food" should clue you in to the fact that you need to declare it in Australia. Their forms and signs are very specific. Any and all food. The FA on my flight told me she has to declare her Tic-Tac candy. If you think Australia is bad with regard to declaration of food & such, don't go to New Zealand.

If you eat it, it is hard to see why you wouldn't call it food...

Customs can be quite severe here.. and AQIS (the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service) can be extremely "intrusive" in some peoples view... but remember please that this Island continent of ours remains free of many nasty diseases endemic in other parts of the world... rabies and foot & mouth being two fine examples...

There is a local television series that has had a run of a few seasons... it is filmed at Sydney airport and shows the sort of things people try to bring (or mail) into the country... Unbelievable!!

One quote from the show(that the OP can probably relate to) .. an incoming passenger with a suitcase chock full of edible items (who naturally had NOT declared any "food" items on her entry form) .. when challenged insisted .. "IS not food... Is snack!"

A distinction which I must say completely escapes me!

Those folks take their jobs seriously.. and as a local I can only applaud that... and it would take a hard heart not to be charmed by the sight of the AQIS Beagles in their little maroon coats trotting around sniffing away....

A long as they don't "indicate" my bags to their handlers of course!!!

I have had one or two pretty nasty (hidebound/borderline rude) Customs agents on arrival back home - they are mostly quite pleasant or at least polite... and as that mirrors my experience with the TSA - no notably poor experiences with them either.. I'd have to say, IME, it's all pretty much the same...

Show me how TicTacs can cause and epidemic in AUS and I will concede your point.

Not the point... if you eat it it can quite reasonably be defined as food. The declaration you fill in (and sign) when entering the country asks if you have any food..

Pretty simple question really... and if you are unsure whether what you DO have is OK or not- why not ASK???

How hard is that?

My comments on the stringency of AQIS and Customs inspections were a response to the imputation that these people are 'fascists".... not a suggestion that any/all debatable foodstuff imports were a problem...

Is it "fascist" to want to:

A: protect the country from the importation of disease (and pests.. which CAN and HAVE been brought in in wooden items), and

B: Expect people to take entry documentation (that they are SIGNING!) seriously.. It's a legal document for goodness sake!

(How about having a LOOK in the cabin bags on your way to immigration? There are "dispose of unwanted food HERE" bins in the entry hall!)

In fact.. if you ASK you might well be told that certain things ARE fine Roasted sunflower seeds fr'instance) .. Just declare them first!

Again.. How hard is that?

I guess I was not clear...I did not fault the officers for enforcing the rules...I am saying the rules are stupid and unnecessary.

The dirt on the bottom of my shoes has a MUCH higher risk or tracking in some pathogen than my Tic Tacs yet the Tic Tacs are verboten. See the problem?

And no I am not advocating shoe confiscation

You'll love our AQIS people then.... My riding boots were taken away to be scrubbed when I got back from the USA in October...

They certainly agree with you that dirt on shoes/boots IS a concern... which is why one of the questions on the declaration is whether or not you have spent time on farms or near livestock...

Yes, I agree tic tacs are probably harmless (yes, alright.. ARE harmless).. but let's face it.. it is MUCH easier to write an internally consistent set of rules - and ENFORCE them - if you say:

"No food AT ALL unless declared and OK'ed"

Rather than producing a list of allowable (no declaration required) AND banned foodstuffs.. which would have items missing... arguable interpretations etc... be anightmare to administer.....

The food thing in Australia/NZ is stupidly easy to deal with. Check the "yes" box and then tell them what you actually have. The US form has specific types of foods listed so that is what they are looking for. The forms down under do not (and they are pretty clear about it in the signage and a video they showed just prior to arrival in AKL as well). Sorry you had to deal with it, but you did err on that one.

I was also given a secondary at SYD on my international-international connection a couple weeks ago and actually found it pleasantly entertaining how professional and polite they were. Two people are involved from their security crew, but they make it pretty clear that they are doing it that way to ensure that you receive good service and your rights aren't violated, not to intimidate. The A4 page with the description of your rights and options is also nice. I was ready to go for the wand/pat-down and they actually made me stop and rad the paper before they'd start.

Top notch all the way ^

It's pretty simple in Australia and New Zealand - declare it if it is food of any type and they decide if it is a problem. Most food items they will simply allow to pass and away you go. They are trained to decide what is a problem and it saves thousands of untrained airline passengers all making up their own minds about what is a problem.

I have never had any food items taken off me on entry to Oz or NZ - I did get one screener apologetically take a jar of Vegemite from my carryon on exiting SYD once though - I had forgotten that I had it and he was embarrassed to be seizing it when you could see them on sale in the duty free shop from the screening station. This was right after the adoption of the no liquids and gels rule.