Hello Sydney

By request, I am posting this by request, something I am happy to do. If you see customs-related news items, always feel free to forward them to me at customslawblog@gmail.com.

It seems that the Australian government is hoping that travelers entering the country know pornography when they see it and report it when they are carrying it. This has caused a bit of a dust up down under because not all pornography is illegal to possess in Australia and not all is banned from importation. However, the two sets apparently do not coincide exactly. According to Australian Customs and Border Protection, travelers should just disclose what they have and let Customs sort it out. I am not sure on the law in Australia concerning border searches or self incrimination (feel free to comment if you are). Either way, it certainly seems like a bit of a stretch to assume that a traveler will arrive at the Customs desk Kingsford-Smith and open his or her bag of porn for the inspector to review. Maybe Australians are genetically immune to embarrassment.

More on the story is here. In case you are arriving right now and want to know what to leave on the plane, according to the news story "banned material includes child pornography, bestiality, explicit sexual violence, degradation, cruelty and non-consensual sex."

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hi,
I was told about an incident at the LAX airport a few weeks ago. Apparently an American Airlines flight attendant upon entry of the US was stopped by the customs inspector and asked if that yogurt that she had with her was from the airplane. And after she "admitted" that the officer confiscated the yogurt.
I'm a little confused, about this. Is it prohibited to bring airline yogurt into the US? Would other yogurt be admissible? Is there a legal basis for this or does it depend on the officer and his discretion?
Nov 4, 2010, 2:11:00 PM
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