Statues and bollards vital for atrocity prevention
UPDATE: PM Malcolm Turnbull has strolled through Sydney’s Pitt St Mall after outlining a plan to install stairs and statues in public places as one of many measures to protect Australians from terrorism.
NSW
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STATUES, stairs and bollards should be used to protect Australians from a Barcelona-style terror attack as extremists increasingly turn to low-tech weapons such as trucks or chemical weapons to cause maximum casualties, according to new terror guidelines.
The report, released by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull today after a year’s worth of planning, wants makeshift barriers installed to protect popular places such as stadiums and shopping centres, while bollards or planter boxes should be used to protect pedestrians in shared traffic zones to stop a London Bridge-style atrocity.
“It is part of our continuous program of optimising, improving the way we can keep Australians safe,” Mr Turnbull said.
“(Australia has the best security agencies in the world) but we recognise that the threat is constantly evolving, so what we have to do is to make sure we too are constantly improving and updating the measures we have.”
Truck drivers will also be warned to lock up their vehicles and report suspicious activity following the Barcelona attack, which left 16 dead and about 100 injured.
Venue operators of crowded public places and architects of new buildings are being urged to have security top of mind under the new plan, which states and territories have been involved in developing.
The report, called Australia’s Strategy For Protecting Crowded Places From Terrorism, highlights the risk of terror cells using chemical weapons, warning that “mass casualties are possible”.
It says: “Non-state actors have shown the willingness and the capacity to use chemical weapons.
“Islamic State has conducted a number of chemical weapons attacks in Syria and has demonstrated intent, along with Al Qaida and other terrorist groups, to acquire, make and use chemical weapons elsewhere, including in the West. This threat extends to Australia.”
If attacked, it advises people to do “whatever it takes” to find uncontaminated air, move upwind and flush skin with water.
“While terrorist attacks in Australia — and against the West — have tended towards low capability inspired attacks using basic weapons, we also remain concerned by the threat of more complex attacks,” the report said.
It warned terrorists are seeking bigger vehicles that can carry more explosives with a “significantly greater destructive impact”. It warns: “Recipes and technical instructions for manufacturing IEDs are easy to obtain online.”
But it recommends public spaces must be “safe but they must also be functional” so that the level of security is proportionate to risk.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who commissioned the report following the 2016 Nice terror attack, yesterday said Australians are “not immune from the global conflicts in the Middle East”.
“As we have seen from tragic events in Paris, London, Berlin and Barcelona, terrorists continue to target crowded places,” he said.
“It is vital that all those responsible for crowded places know where to go for information and advice and how to better protect their sites.”
The report was sent to state governments, councils and the managers of public sites such as shopping centres, stadiums and universities last week. Major sporting bodies such as the AFL and NRL have also been sent a copy in the lead-up to football finals.
It includes a nine-question security scorecard that requires operators to rank the terror risk of their site. If the site scores 40 or above, the manager must contact police.
Members of the Australian-New Zealand Counter-Terrorism Committee travelled to terror hot spots including Lebanon, Israel, France and the UK to learn how “strategically placed mitigation devices” such as planter boxes, seats or bollards can provide additional protection against vehicles.
Venue owners and operators will also be given government and police help for security audits of their facilities to determine any weaknesses and develop strategies to strengthen and fortify such places.
There will be a greater use of permanent bollards — like in Sydney’s busy Pitt Street shopping precinct — to separate vehicles from pedestrians and more use of police and security agencies around mass gatherings.
New buildings will be required to undertake security measures.
“The best mitigations are done at the design stage,” Mr Turnbull said today. “You can’t proof every site 100 per cent — there are certainly things that can be done to existing sites — but the most important thing is as you get new developments, new plans that security measures are put in place at that time.”
The program, which provides a do-it-yourself toolkit on installing bollards and planters, and other methods of mitigating a hostile vehicle attack, was presented to businesses, councils and private operators last week.
Cabinet minister Arthur Sinodinos said it couldn’t be guaranteed there would be no attacks in Australia, but measures could be taken to deter, detect and ameliorate any consequences.
People had to get used to thinking about what they could do to give a greater chance of deterring someone from doing something.
“For a long time in Australia we’ve just had a mentality of live and let live and that we can walk around doing whatever we want,” he told ABC TV on Sunday.
“Now we have to have more of that ‘be alert but not alarmed’ mentality.”
TRUCKIES GIVEN DIRECTIVES
TRUCK drivers are being urged to lock up their lorries and report suspicious activity under new security guidelines issued by the Federal Government following the latest terror attack in Barcelona.
Terrorist groups have encouraged radicalised extremists to steal, buy or rent large vehicles to use in attacks prompting the Turnbull Government to update its advice to the industry.
Truck drivers will be warned not to pick up hitchhikers and check their load if the driver has left the vehicle unattended.
Drivers are also encouraged to dob-in people caught loitering near depots or taking photos of infrastructure.
“Attacks are usually aimed at crowds, trying to kill as many people as possible,” the report says.
“Most attacks overseas have involved vehicles driving into crowds, but terrorists are adapting and may do things differently next time.” “This potentially includes vehicle borne improvised explosive devices.”
The updated advice will be released alongside a major national security report aimed at protecting Australians in crowded places.
The report also highlights the risk of terrorist filling trucks and vans with large amounts of explosives which can have a “significantly greater destructive impact” than smaller weapons.
It says people in crowded places should look out for unattended or suspicious vehicles with unusual items such as gas cylinders or leaflets inside.
“Additional fuel tanks may be used to secrete explosives or to provide additional gasoline to fuel the explosives.”
In July 2016, a terrorist rented a 19 tonne Renault cargo truck and ploughed through a police barrier in Nice, killing 86 people.
In December, a commercially-owned semi-trailer was hijacked and driven in to a crowded Christmas Market in Berlin killing people and injuring 56.
— Additional reporting AAP
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