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Australia comes up with anti-terror strategy

This article is more than 12 months old

SYDNEY: Australia yesterday announced a strategy to prevent vehicle terror attacks carried out in crowded public places following deadly assaults in Barcelona, Nice and London.

The report - commissioned after 86 people were killed in the Nice truck attack last year - gives venue operators a "tool kit" to work from when addressing terrorism concerns.

"As we have seen from tragic events in Paris, London, Berlin and Barcelona, terrorists continue to target crowded places," Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said in a statement.

"The strategy will assist owners and operators to increase the safety, protection and resilience of crowded places across Australia."

Suggested steps include deterrent options like fencing and closed-circuit cameras, delaying approaches such as trees and statues to slow down vehicles, and quick response staff.

"You can obviously have bollards, you can have seating... you can have works of art, you can have steps, planter boxes," Mr Turnbull said in Sydney.

The report acknowledged that even the best plans might not stop attacks on crowded locations, but said the measures could reduce the likelihood of such assaults and their consequences.

"It is a constant battle for us. It is a tragic reflection of our times that we need to be taking these sorts of measures," Transport Minister Darren Chester told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation earlier yesterday.

"I think inevitably there will be restrictions that may affect people as they go about their daily lives, but it is a balancing act I guess." - AFP

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