Port Phillip Council to spend $7m boosting security at public events and venues
PORT Phillip Council will beef up security at popular venues and public events, including the South Melbourne Market.
Inner South
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PORT Phillip Council will spend more than $1 million a year to bolster security at its venues and events.
Mayor Bernadene Voss told Leader the new seven-year deal with National Protective Services would ensure public safety at the myriad events in the area, including the St Kilda Film Festival, citizenship ceremonies and gallery openings.
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“We have a lot of council buildings and we have the South Melbourne Market and all the events … at the town hall,” she said.
“We need to make sure our buildings are protected and our community is protected.”
Cr Voss said the freshly inked deal also included a “significantly increased” security presence at the ever-busy South Melbourne Market.
The added patrols were a proactive measure rather than a response specific threats to public safety, Cr Voss said.
“We’ve got no intelligence indicating any heightened risk at all,” she said.
“We don’t want our community to be overly alarmed; it’s really just about making sure everyone is safe.
But Cr Voss said being prepared was a critical part of “being a responsible council”, especially given recent global and local events.
“Just recently with what happened in Brighton, for example, that’s pretty close to home and we just need to be prepared,” she said.
“We are in the process of reviewing our current risk levels and, where relevant, will strengthen these.”
The $7.09 million contract includes patrols, call outs to alarms at council properties and security guards at major events.
Bayside Council spends about $128,000 a year on security, while Melbourne City Council splashes between $2 million and $5 million year to monitor its venues and events.
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