The Chaser APEC pranks

Julian Morrow directed a fake Canadian motorcade, which was allowed through the restricted zone by police and not detected until Chas Licciardello alighted, dressed as Osama bin Laden.

Other less controversial and less publicised stunts were also shown on The Chaser's War on Everything, with ratings peaking at almost three million Australian viewers for the APEC wrap-up episode.

Figures released by the state government at a Senate committee hearing show that security measures at APEC cost A$170 million.

Chas Licciardello, Andrew Hansen, and Chris Taylor later joined the group;[6] and in 2006, after various ventures in radio, stage, and television, this line-up created The Chaser's War on Everything, its most successful program, which screened on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) station ABC1.

[13] The group—including Chas Licciardello dressed as Osama bin Laden, and Julian Morrow—drove the motorcade through the Sydney central business district and breached the APEC security zone.

[14] The premise of the stunt was that bin Laden should have been invited to the summit as a world leader, to discuss the War on Terror, with another motive being to test the event's security.

[10] Taylor later said that there was "no particular reason we chose Canada, we just thought they'd be a country who the cops wouldn't scrutinise too closely, and who feasibly would only have three cars in their motorcade—as opposed to the 20 or so gas guzzlers that Bush has brought with him".

[18] There were many deliberate indications that the motorcade was not genuine, particularly on the fake credentials used by the team; members' security passes were printed with JOKE, Insecurity, and It's pretty obvious this isn't a real pass all clearly visible,[15] while the APEC 2007 Official Vehicle stickers included both the name of the series and the text This dude likes trees and poetry and certain types of carnivorous plants excite him.

[15] Morrow ordered the motorcade to turn around at the Bridge Street intersection because he realised that they had proceeded further than expected, and because the police officers were not going to stop them.

Surprisingly, as pointed out by the team on their television show, the officers initially ignored Licciardello (Osama Bin Laden) and only arrested Morrow.

[23] Under the new legislation, the crew members would each face a maximum penalty of six months' imprisonment if they were convicted or up to two years if they were in possession of a "prohibited item".

[24] Following the breach of the APEC restricted area, the actions of The Chaser became the subject of intense debate among sections of the media, senior police officers, and government ministers.

Police Minister David Campbell expressed disappointment and concern over the stunt, arguing that there were "21 world leaders arriving in the city at the one time and it needs to be taken seriously".

[29] The then Federal Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd, also from the Labor Party, voiced similar concerns, saying "I'm a fan of The Chaser ... but I think these guys have crossed the line".

[34] Australian scholar Niall Lucy analyses the prank's political significance as an important act of deconstruction in his book Pomo Oz: Fear and Loathing Downunder.

[35] On 6 September 2007, the tabloid current affairs program Today Tonight from the Seven Network aired a story headed "Dangerous Fools", specifically devoted to the APEC stunt.

Host Anna Coren asserted that The Chaser were wasting taxpayers' money, and will "need more of those funds [in legal costs to the government-funded ABC] to defend their actions in court".

[22] All eleven were granted bail, on the condition that they refrain from entering any of the APEC secured areas, and ordered to appear at the Downing Centre Local Court on 4 October 2007.

[42] It was decided that the police, failing to notice that the presented security badges were fake, had given "tacit" permission for the group to enter the restricted zone.

Further, the actions of the police on the scene, who themselves may have been unaware of where, exactly, the legally restricted area began, caused the Chaser team to proceed much further into the heart of the security zone than they had intended to or realised.

[44][45] This stunning success made it the most watched ABC1 television program since 2000,[46] and broke the show's own record of 1.491 million viewers in capital cities, set by the preceding episode.

[47] The 12 September episode was downloaded one million times from the ABC's website, and in late February 2008 it was nominated for the Rose d'Or international television award for comedy, on behalf of The Chaser's War on Everything.

On 5 September 2007, Chris Taylor, mounted on a pantomime horse, confronted police officers, who were on foot, and asked them if they needed any reinforcements against APEC protesters.

[15] On 7 September 2007, following the security breach on the previous day, Taylor, Reucassel, Dominic Knight and their film crew were detained and questioned over a follow-up stunt.

[15] Shortly before 5 September 2007, Reucassel approached several APEC security personnel and offered a selection of clothing, inspired by the traditional official photograph of all the attending leaders wearing matching outfits.

[59] These procedures included random frisking, taking hair samples, telling tram riders in Melbourne to stand and turn their heads, and erecting secure areas in public toilets and near escalators.

[59] On 10 September 2007,[60] Licciardello rang a talkback radio station pretending to be someone else, and complained about the stunt, claiming that it was stupid and anyone involved at the ABC, including Kerry O'Brien, should be jailed for ten years.

[15] This stunt aired on the 12 September 2007 episode, and Licciardello said he wished he had made the call on the evening of the security breach because talkback radio discussion would not have already died down.

[15][60] Sometime between 6 and 12 September 2007, Licciardello and Morrow tried to enter a Returned and Services League (RSL) building using the same fake passes that had gained them entry to the restricted area.