The TV comedy pranksters charged for breaching APEC's $250-million security blockade with a bogus motorcade say police gave them permission.
ABC TV which airs the satirical The Chaser's War on Everything, and the program's producers, said in a statement the Chaser team had no intention of entering the APEC restricted zone.
They had no knowledge that they had entered a restricted zone, the statement said.
"The motorcade proceeded down Macquarie Street with the permission of police.
"When the Chaser reached the perimeter of what they thought was the APEC restricted zone, they voluntarily turned around.
"The police only detained the Chaser motorcade when it was turning around and after Chas Licciardello emerged from a car dressed as Osama bin Laden."
The comics left authorities red-faced yesterday after the security breach only metres from the Sydney hotel where US President George W. Bush is staying.
Eleven people were charged, including Licciardello, who sat in the back of one of the cars dressed as bin Laden, and Morrow, who posed as a security guard running alongside.
The 10 men and one woman were last night charged under new APEC laws on entering a restricted area without justification.
Police are furious about the prank.
"I don't see a funny side to what's happened today. I don't see a funny side at all," NSW Police Minister David Campbell said.
Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd said the Chaser team had "crossed the line".
Police apparently waved the comedy team through a roadblock into Sydney's restricted APEC zone.
A source inside The Chaser's War on Everything revealed the team had never expected to get so far.
The skit had been approved by ABC lawyers, but it had been assumed they would be stopped at the first checkpoint, hundreds of metres from the President's hotel.
Instead, they were waved through the first checkpoint, then a second that had sniffer dogs. They eventually stopped in sight of the hotel.
The ABC later released a statement saying the team had no intention of entering a restricted zone and had been wearing mock "insecurity passes" that stated the convoy was a joke.
"It was a piece testing APEC security and the motorcade looked pretty authentic," the Chaser source said.
"They approached the green zone, and they just waved them through – much to their amazement, because the sketch was meant to stop there with them being rejected.
"They were then waved through into the red zone, but rather than go all the way through they made the call to turn around."
"Apparently that was the first time the police realised it was not authentic and they swooped in and arrested everybody."
Eight members of the comedy team, including the film crew, were arrested, as well as three hire car drivers.
The fake motorcade – three cars and a motorcycle escort – had Canadian identification.
"We just thought Canada would be a country the cops wouldn't scrutinise too closely," said Chaser performer Chris Taylor.
The police APEC security boss, Assistant Commissioner Dave Owens, failed to see the funny side.
"I'm not embarrassed at all. I'm very angry," Mr Owens said.
"I enjoy a big laugh, but that isn't funny. They're putting themselves in a position where security is extremely tight.
"They are running the risk of a very serious and swift response."
Mr Owens and Mr Campbell claimed the "multi-layered security" at APEC had worked.
The head of the APEC investigation squad, Det. Supt Ken McKay, said The Chaser team was not entitled to any preferential treatment.
"While it appears it was a prank, the current APEC security environment isn't the place to do it in," he said. "Who they are is irrelevant."
All 11 were granted bail to appear in the Downing Centre Local Court on October 4.
The comedy delivered the ABC one of its best ratings nights of the year on Wednesday, winning its timeslot.
- with AAP
"i'm not embarrassed, I'm ANGRY"
pkcRAISTLIN
yep. australians are the coolest :cool:
Provocative_boi
There are so many funny videos of there pranks on youtube:-
Chasers War - Smuggling Weapons in Jail Rocket,Cannons,Tanks
The Chaser on Fox News
Airport Security - The Chaser
These guys are jokes....:)
Beat Blog
That's cool to see that some quality Australian TV (most of our stuff is ) is getting overseas.
I'm surprised you'd get half the jokes though; so much of it is local humour about Australian celebrities and/or politicians.
This incident is pretty embarrassing for whichever idiot organised the security for APEC. :stongue:
p.s Vandit, do you watch it with subtitles? :rolleyes:
Provocative_boi
:)
Fledz
The Chaser + John Stewart = Best satirical shows ever.
Btw, they did it again today, but in carboard cutouts of cars :stongue: The cops got pissed off and told them to leave lol.
Ian
quote:
Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN
yep. australians are the coolest :cool:
You're basically 10-12 years behind the uk in political correctness bull. We used to be able to watch shows like this back then but now it'd be considered too offensive so we get 'comedians' like caroline tate to put us to sleep.
Chasers rocks though and as a brit, we know a lot about the aussies, so it's not hard to pick up at all. Plus you don't need to be australian to enjoy clive the slightly too loud commuter :D
Lilith
quote:
Originally posted by Ian
You're basically 10-12 years behind the uk in political correctness bull. We used to be able to watch shows like this back then but now it'd be considered too offensive so we get 'comedians' like caroline tate to put us to sleep.
Chasers rocks though and as a brit, we know a lot about the aussies, so it's not hard to pick up at all. Plus you don't need to be australian to enjoy clive the slightly too loud commuter :D
People in Australia though Ian don't have the same kind of tolerance for seriousness that the English do, they share the same kinds of appreciations in a lot of aspects like wit, satire, taking the piss, banter and all that, except they don't appreciate being told what they should find funny.
Anyone stumbling into this country and expecting the locals to accept them, not tease them to the point of tears and beyond, simply because of where they're from and who they are. Is going to be back on the boat and crying all the way home like a little bitch.
Humour here is egalitarian, they'll rip the crap out of the aristocracy as much as they'll tear up the peasants and call the pope a poofta.
Nothing is sacred, nothing is too serious to have someone make a joke about it, you don't make enough or make too little or work somewhere to the point where someone isn't going to take a shot at you for being too rich, too poor, stupid, smart or forgive you for being a complete bell end.
Americans love their politicians and hold them up to high ideals of what the country represents in much the same way as the English regard their royalty and both regard religious institutions as the foundation of moral values.
Australians think they're just a target for taking the piss out of at any opportunity, they don't care!
Standing up and announcing you're the king, pope, PM or president just gets you heckled to the point even the hardest crumble to nothing more than whimpering dogs :haha:
tubby
as funny as this was, it's far from their best work. I rank the bulldogs supporters kit and the fake airline passegner names (misters Al Kyder and Terry Wrist who were late boarding their flight) as their funniest efforts.
infinity HiGH
quote:
Originally posted by Beat Blog
That's cool to see that some quality Australian TV (most of our stuff is ) is getting overseas.
I'm surprised you'd get half the jokes though; so much of it is local humour about Australian celebrities and/or politicians.
This incident is pretty embarrassing for whichever idiot organised the security for APEC. :stongue:
p.s Vandit, do you watch it with subtitles? :rolleyes:
I'm a huge fan of the Chaser's. And I don't find their humour to be too hard to understand. A lot of it is universal.
DigitalPhoenix
Wait, Bush was nearby? No wonder security turned into idiots! :tongue3
tubularbills
this reminds me of something that you'd see on Trigger Happy TV. Good !
