Gaffe Station

It Was Comedy, But No One's Laughing

Not even George Bush’s gaffe today - calling the Sydney summit OPEC instead of APEC - could derail this story. There’s a lot of comedians in politics, but no one ever thought a tongue-in-cheek gag by a TV comedy team would embarrass the $250 million invested in security for the APEC summit in Sydney.

Members of an Australian TV comedy show, one dressed as Osama bin Laden, drove a Canadian-flagged fake "motorcade" through two security checkpoints in Sydney yesterday, before stopping of their own accord near the hotel where US President George W. Bush is staying.

Police arrested 11 cast and crew from the TV program, The Chaser’s War on Everything and impounded three vehicles, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, which airs the show, said on its website. The group wore fake security tags that bore the words ``Insecurity’’ clearly emblazoned across them.

Eleven people were charged under new laws passed a month ago with entering a restricted APEC area. Each faces a potential six-month jail sentence. For more details and photographs, go to Herald Sun.