With increased terrorism concerns, the safety of the Australian people in crowded places such as stadiums, shopping centres, pedestrian malls and major events is becoming an even greater priority for the Australian government. These spaces are highly attractive targets to potential terrorists and as such the government has introduced various strategies and safety measures to counter, prevent and stall terrorists. In response to these concerns and the growing number of attacks in public places, particularly in Europe, the government released the 2016 report Australia’s Strategy for Protecting Crowded Places from Terrorism.
This strategy includes a suite of supplementary materials that will assist owners and operators to understand and implement protective security measures. Some of the main strategies include heavy use of concrete seating, barriers, bollards, planters and other infrastructures that aim to prevent and dissuade terrorist vehicles from attempting to injure pedestrians. The toolkit also includes comprehensive guides on how to handle potential terrorist situations, such as chemical attacks and bomb threats.
The report, commissioned by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, was prepared by the Australian New Zealand Counter Terrorism Committee and focuses on the collaboration between police, local councils, state governments and private operators in order to protect public spaces from terrorist incidents.
The report places primary responsibility on owners and operators of public places in ensuring adequate protection for their sites, including a duty of care to protect people that work, use, or visit their site from a range of foreseeable threats, including terrorism. The success of this strategy rests on strong and sustainable partnerships across Australia between governments and the private sector to better protect crowded places. These partnerships give owners and operators access to improve threat and protective security information. By accessing this information, owners and operators will be in a better position to protect crowded places against terrorism.
Taken from the Australian National Security website. For more information visit www.nationalsecurity.gov.au
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