A " middle ranking officer " of the Department of Immigration is about to experience disciplinary action because he failed to alert his superiors to the presence of a bomb during the recent riot and fires at Villawood detention centre - which caused $ 9 million damage.
What would be considered hilarious - if it wasn't so damaging to this officer - is the description of this so called " bomb ". It comprised a " can of fly spray and a bottle of baby oil in close proximity to one another ".
Villawood detention centre is a place where people are living, sleeping and eating. It would be reasonable to think that such a place would contain items such as fly spray - and because there are also young children - baby oil. It would be interesting to learn why these two items being in close proximity should be considered a danger - and how their combination could possibly be termed " a bomb ".
Anyone with even the slightest knowledge of explosives knows that explosives require a detonator. It seems that there was no mention of such a device - nor has any expert bothered to explain just how a terrorist armed with a can of fly spray and a bottle of baby oil could construct a deadly weapon.
It would be a very reasonable defence for this middle ranking officer to plead that he made no report of a bomb - because there was nothing to suggest that these items in combination could fit such a description - by any stretch of the imagination.
This act of nonsense by Immigration superiors will have consequences by sharpening the imagination of all who work for the service. To avoid facing charges of " neglect " in future officers will be quick to report the presence of all manner of ordinary items as " potential bomb material ".
No matter how ridiculous the claim, it will be better to err on the side of safety than to risk demotion or departmental adverse criticism. We can expect a surge in the number of bomb reports - and on the premise that fly spray and baby oil are potential bombs the definition could be applied to most of the contents of the grocery cupboard.
Of course - toss in the word " bomb " and that equates to another word - " terrorists ". Put them together and the media have a field day.
Never let the truth get in the way of a good story !
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