'Dangerous times': Police to have new powers to check IDs at airports

Police will be given sweeping new powers to demand identification from travellers under new laws to boost counter-terrorism efforts at Australia's airports. The Australian Federal Police will be able to ask anyone for ID and eject them from the airport under the changes that will also see the introduction of advanced X-ray and body scanning machines. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull conceded the new powers were a big step but said they were necessary for "dangerous times". Turnbull said the terror attacks in Indonesian city of Surabaya in recent days were a reminder that the threat still existed. "The justification for changing the law so that police at an airport can ask you to identify yourself, the justification is the safety of the Australian people," he said. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said that, under current laws, certain conditions need to be met before police can ask for ID. "We are addressing an anomaly and a deficiency in the law at the moment," he said. The law will not require travellers to carry ID. The Turnbull government's budget laid out $294 million in funding for airport security, which will see 190 further counter-terrorism police officers and 50 in technical and intelligence support positions.<br/>