Victoria Police want local council, business cash to help protect public areas from ­terror attacks

BEACHES, ski resorts, shopping centres, cinemas and music festivals in Victoria have all been identified as potential targets for terrorists.

Lord Mayor Robert Doyle says he remains very concerned about CBD areas such as Princes Bridge across the Yarra. Picture: Nicki Connolly

BEACHES, ski resorts, shopping centres, cinemas and music festivals in Victoria have all been flagged as potential targets for terrorists.

Victoria Police wants local councils and business owners to stump up cash to help protect public areas and mass gatherings from ­terror attacks.

Following the wave of ­attacks in Europe, our police are putting plans in place to foil deadly plots.

Assistant Commissioner Ross Guenther, Victoria Police’s head of counter-­terrorism command, said the public and private sector needed to work together to stop terrorists from launching outrages similar to those seen in Barcelona, London, Nice and Paris.

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Victoria Police’s head of counter-­terrorism command, Assistant Commissioner Ross Guenther, says the public and private sector needs to work together to stop terrorists. Picture: Susan Windmiller

A mixture of public and private investment is seen as the key to foiling terrorism here.

Discussions are under way with operators of ski fields and music festival promoters to toughen ­security.

“We are a big state covering a large area,” Mr Guenther said.

“From Mildura to the ski fields, to Portarlington and Lorne ... we have a lot of areas which will need significant co-operation between the entities.

“The risk predominantly still sits around the city,­ ­because the terrorists will want ... something for the greatest impact.

“That will be for something to happen in the city of Melbourne rather than up at Falls Creek or Mt Buller.”

A new national strategy around crowded places will be released by the federal government on Sunday.

The strategy will give owners and operators of places such as shopping centres, cinemas and sporting stadiums guidance about security.

“We look at attacks in Spain, France, the UK ... often these happen in open shopping malls,” Mr Guenther said.

“Ownership is difficult. If anything, it is probably local government. Either side of those areas they are privately owned.

“There is public and private investment in working out how we protect those areas — and the ski fields and those bigger festival areas where people go in summer.

“It has been acknowledged that it is next to impossible to mitigate against every threat. But that does not take away from our desire to do so, and we will do everything we can.”

Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said he was pleased that Melbourne had started installing bollards through the city as an anti-terrorist measure.

“We took police advice and we put bollards where we were told to put them,” he said.

“On reflection people would say, ‘Even though they are not a thing of beauty, I’m pleased that they’re in place’.”

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Lord Mayor Robert Doyle says he is pleased Melbourne had started installing bollards through the city. Picture: Stuart McEvoy

Cr Doyle said he remained very concerned about areas such as Princes Bridge across the Yarra in the CBD because of the high pedestrian volumes and potential for cars to speed up on the bridge.

The bridge has plastic barriers along the footpath and there was the option of planter boxes being used as a security measure.

The Lord Mayor said the council was also looking at bollards which looked unobtrusive but were connected to each other underground.

“So that if you hit one, you’re not just hitting one bollard, you’re trying to drag them all because they are all connected,” he said.

Bollards were recently installed in Olympic Boulevard as part of a strategy to protect crowds in the sports precinct.