The Chaser APEC pranks

APEC APEC Australia 2007 comprised a series of political meetings between representatives of the 21 member governments of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. This culminated in a week-long summit meeting: Leaders Week, 2 to 9 September, when heads of the member governments gathered in Sydney. The significance of the APEC summit called for stringent and expensive security arrangements. The Protective Security Coordination Centre, of the National Security and Criminal Justice Group from the Australian Attorney-General's Department, oversaw security planning through the APEC 2007 Security Branch, formed expressly for the APEC meetings. To secure and monitor the summit, the New South Wales Police Force instituted the APEC Police Security Command. Many public roads in Sydney were closed, as leaders, officials, and personnel travelled in motorcades around the city centre. Figures released by the state government at a Senate committee hearing show that security measures at APEC cost A$170 million. The Chaser The Chaser group's founding members were Charles Firth, Dominic Knight, Craig Reucassel, and Julian Morrow. In 1999 they started The Chaser, a fortnightly satirical newspaper. Chas Licciardello, Andrew Hansen, and Chris Taylor later joined the group; and in 2006, after various ventures in radio, stage, and television, this line-up created ''The Chaser's War on Everything'', its most successful program, which screened on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) station ABC1. By its second season in 2007, the show had forged a reputation for ambush-style stunts and deliberate controversy. The group had been warned about the dangers of irresponsible behaviour during the Sydney lockdown for the APEC summit. According to New South Wales Police Minister David Campbell, the police understood that "parody and satire are entertaining and fun", but The Chaser must understand the "seriousness of this matter [APEC] and take caution". Morrow hinted that their challenge was to perform a stunt that would "make Osama bin Laden feel a little incompetent". == Breach of APEC restricted zone ==

On 6 September 2007, eight members of the team (including five runners dressed as bodyguards) and three hired chauffeurs manned a fake Canadian motorcade consisting of two motorcycles, two black four-wheel drive vehicles, and a black sedan. The group—including Chas Licciardello dressed as Osama bin Laden, and Julian Morrow—drove the motorcade through the Sydney central business district and breached the APEC security zone. The premise of the stunt was that bin Laden should have been invited to the summit as a world leader, to discuss the war on terror, with another motive being to test the event's security. In the following episode of ''The Chaser's War on Everything'', the team emphasised that their only realistic attempt to disguise the vehicles was the use of a Canadian flag. There were many deliberate indications that the motorcade was not genuine, particularly on the fake credentials used by the team; members' security passes were printed with JOKE, Insecurity, and ''It's pretty obvious this isn't a real pass'' all clearly visible, In addition, some of the runners were holding camcorders and one of the motorcyclists was wearing jeans, both highly unusual for an official motorcade. The vehicle (or vehicles) stopped for a red light and the police became aware of the motorcade's presence, but waved them towards the checkpoint. The convoy travelled through the first checkpoint without inspection and proceeded in a northerly direction to a second security checkpoint in the prohibited "red zone", just before Bridge Street. Both motorcyclists had by now separated from the motorcade, Their cameras were confiscated, with Morrow believing that they had lost the footage. Nathan Earl (The programmes producer/director) then revealed to Morrow that he had hidden a tape recorder behind his scrotum. It was not discovered by police, and he removed it when the group returned to the ABC. All were released on bail to appear in court on 4 October 2007. Under the new legislation, the crew members would each face a maximum penalty of six months' imprisonment if they were convicted or up to two years if they were in possession of a "prohibited item". == Aftermath ==

Following the breach of the APEC restricted area, the actions of The Chaser became the subject of intense debate among sections of the media, senior police officers, and government ministers. Public response Despite strong condemnation from some officials, the stunt was mostly well received by the public. A Sydney correspondent for the BBC reported that the Chaser team had become "folk heroes" after the prank, while 87% of the 28,451 respondents to a Sydney Morning Herald internet poll found the stunt "funny". However, the ABC received more than 250 complaints, outweighing the 177 positive submissions. Political reactions There were many critics among politicians and officials. Representatives of the police force in Sydney were among the most severe, and New South Wales Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione, the head of APEC's lead security agency, was angered because the comedians could have been shot by police snipers, who were "clearly ... there because they mean business. They're not there for show." In response, Licciardello expressed his faith in the snipers' professional ability: "They are highly trained, competent people and they're not going to shoot people if they're in an Osama bin Laden costume if they clearly don't pose a threat". Many politicians, mostly from the Labor government of New South Wales, reacted to the security breach with concern and unease. Police Minister David Campbell expressed disappointment and concern over the stunt, arguing that there were "21 world leaders arriving in the city at the one time and it needs to be taken seriously". Then New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma said that while he was a fan of the show, those involved would have to face the full force of the law. International recognition The APEC security breach captured international attention and acclaim. A local newspaper in Canada saw the humorous side, despite the pranksters posing as Canadian officials. In the United States media reviews were mixed. Newsreaders from American networks such as the Fox News Channel, National Broadcasting Company, and CBS Broadcasting either "raised their eyebrows" or "had smiles on their faces over the stunt". After the high ratings for the episode and international recognition derived from the stunt, the program began screening in countries such as Israel, South Korea, and New Zealand; and other countries, especially in the Middle East, began negotiating with the ABC. Current affairs On 6 September 2007, the tabloid current affairs program Today Tonight from the Seven Network aired a story headed "Dangerous Fools", specifically devoted to the APEC stunt. Host Anna Coren asserted that The Chaser were wasting taxpayers' money, and will "need more of those funds [in legal costs to the government-funded ABC] to defend their actions in court". referring to US president Bush and terrorist bin Laden. Legal action After their arrest and questioning by police, all eleven participants in the stunt (eight production members of ''The Chaser's War on Everything and three hired drivers) were charged with "entering a restricted area without special justification" under the APEC Meeting (Police Powers) Act 2007''. all charges were dropped by the New South Wales Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on 28 April 2008. It was decided that the police, failing to notice that the presented security badges were fake, had given "tacit" permission for the group to enter the restricted zone. Further, the actions of the police on the scene, who themselves may have been unaware of where, exactly, the legally restricted area began, caused the Chaser team to proceed much further into the heart of the security zone than they had intended to or realised. This meant their breach of the law had happened largely due to an exculpating mistake of fact on the part of Morrow, who intended to end the stunt before crossing into restricted territory, but who received no explicit indications as to where that territory began − and was indeed waved farther into it by the police. The police remained unapologetic. The DPP argued that it was never the intention of The Chaser to breach security and that they were allowed into the restricted area only because of the mistakes of the police. The laws enacted for the summit meant that entry into the restricted zone needed justification, which could include police permission. The DPP stated that by waving The Chaser through, they had granted permission to be in the restricted zone. A further defence was available: all members charged, except Morrow, could argue that they were present for work-related purposes, and part of their employment was to be with Morrow, who was directing the stunt. The 12 September episode was downloaded one million times from the ABC's website, and in late February 2008 it was nominated for the ''Rose d'Or international television award for comedy, on behalf of The Chaser's War on Everything''. The stunt depicted won the "TV moment award" at the 2008 MTV Australia Video Music Awards, and Nine Network's show 20 to 1 Pranks and Pranksters ranked it first in its list of "greatest pranks in Australian history". The Chaser's response After the successful breach of APEC security, the comedians expressed their bewilderment at the incompetence of the security forces. Morrow and Reucassel went on radio to augment the initial reactions they had aired on the 12 September episode of ''The Chaser's War on Everything''. Licciardello stated that they did not know they had entered the red zone, and "we had the advice of our lawyers ring in our ears; 'Do NOT go into the red zone. You can go into the green zone if they let you, but DO NOT go into the red zone.' " He said that they "were absolutely sure we would never get past the first checkpoint. It was panic stations when we realised", adding that it was a "stupid gag that backfired". Morrow said that the purpose of the stunt was "an attempt to satirise in a silly way the very heavy security and the spin surrounding that security, it was a test of the old adage that if you want to get in somewhere the best way is right through the front door. I didn't want the stunt to happen in a way that resulted in people getting arrested. If we've made a mistake and crossed into the green zone, I'm very regretful about that." == Other stunts ==

In addition to The Chaser's major APEC security breach, the team performed stunts at the APEC Summit that received far less coverage in the media. Pantomime horse at APEC protests rides the pantomime horse. . (right) are questioned over the stunt, with the media looking on. On 5 September 2007, Chris Taylor, mounted on a pantomime horse, confronted police officers, who were on foot, and asked them if they needed any reinforcements against APEC protesters. When his offer was refused, Taylor took the horse for a stroll anyway, and was met by amused onlookers and media personnel. The reference was to the horse flu outbreak, which forced police officers to face APEC protesters on foot. This stunt aired on the 12 September 2007 episode. This incident involved running near and attempting to enter the APEC protected zone dressed in cardboard cars mounted with Canadian flags, a reference to the flags' earlier use to disguise the successful breach by the real motorcade. Police had no choice but to release all members involved in this stunt, as they were outside the prohibited area. This stunt also aired on the 12 September episode. The two displays were close to each other, with the official fireworks launched at the Sydney Harbour Bridge, while the rival fireworks were fired from Woolwich. This stunt aired on the 5 September 2007 episode. Proposed nautical red zone breach A planned stunt that was never executed was an attempt to breach the nautical red zone. Morrow and Licciardello were to perform it after the motorcade stunt on 6 September 2007; but it never went ahead, since they were detained by police after the surprising success of the earlier stunt. The plan was to breach APEC nautical security in "funny" boats, such as a gondola. Licciardello also stated on an episode of Rove Live that there was to be an attempt to breach APEC security "by lilo". == References ==