Melbourne CBD security: Tough measures needed to keep vehicles out, says Lord Mayor
BETTER security measures to exclude vehicles from parts of the city centre will be needed during major events like Moomba, says Lord Mayor Robert Doyle.
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TOUGH security measures to exclude vehicles from parts of the city centre will be required to prevent rogue attacks using vehicles at major events, says Melbourne’s Lord Mayor.
Cr Robert Doyle said that rogue vehicular attacks, such as had already occurred in Melbourne and in terrorist incidents in New York and other cities, showed how vulnerable people were when gathered in large crowds.
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Cr Doyle said that streets were already closed off for events like the Melbourne Cup Parade along Swanston St.
“But they’re sort of temporary shutdowns. If someone really determinedly is trying to get into a crowded area like that, we might need to think about better protection that is quite removable,” he said.
“We might need to think more seriously about the entry and the exit points to the city for major events, whether that’s New Year’s Eve or the Melbourne Cup Parade or the Grand Final or Moomba.”
The Lord Mayor will take the idea to a high-level counter-terrorism roundtable in London this month that will also be attended by mayors from terrorism-affected cities including Paris and Barcelona.
Cr Doyle was invited to the Home Office and New Scotland Yard event by former Metropolitan Police Chief Commissioner Lord Bernard Hogan-Howe, who has advised the Lord Mayor on security options for Melbourne.
The city council has already revealed plans to deter vehicle attacks by rolling out more bollards, of varying designs, and using special treatments to stop cars mounting kerbs.
Cr Doyle said there were about 10 sites in the inner city earmarked for action, starting with the Bourke St Mall.
“They are places where you can see the lines that cars can take if they wish to attack a crowd. You can work out … where you might need to put protections or safety zones or a sanctuary,” Cr Doyle said.
The State Government allocated an initial $10 million for CBD security measures after January’s Bourke St massacre.
But the council, police and state agencies are considering adopting further measures, and Cr Doyle said: “I think it will cost considerably more than $10 million.
“We’re now looking at a much broader scale, and if I bring back some different ideas (from London) I’ll have to make that argument.”
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The Police Association has stressed the need for members to have legal protection for the use of lethal force in responding to a terrorist incident.
The Government announced after May’s deadly Brighton siege that police would get greater legal protection in shoot-to-kill situations.
“It is essential that … our members are left with absolute clarity that they will be protected from prosecution if they are required to use lethal force,” association secretary Wayne Gatt said
Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said the force was trying to learn from overseas terrorist incidents to ensure Melbourne was as safe as it could be. “We are acting quickly. We have got a strong police presence in the city all the time with a quick response in mind.”
Police have revealed anti-terrorist measures will be enforced at Flemington Racecourse during the Melbourne Cup Carnival amid heightened concern about the threat of attacks.
And everyone entering will be scanned with metal detectors and their bags will be checked.
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