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31 October 2006
News
1 Editor's view
2 NSW Police Cronulla Riot Reports
3 BSITE changes its name to Whispir
4 Preview of the Mass Transport Security Conference
5 Briefs
6 Rising security costs of APEC leaders’ event
7 Bill to introduce better exchange of information in emergencies
8 Developments in APEC security preparations
9 Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Reforms.
10 New Border Security Bill
11 Criteria for listings terrorist organisations
12 Recruitment and training in the Australian Intelligence Organisations
13 AFP Major Challenges
14 The role and functions of Australia’s intelligence agencies
15 ASIO Annual Report
16 Security implications of recordkeeping
17 Labor opposition criticizes transport security
18 New security package in Victoria
19 Victoria purchases a high speed police vessel
20 WA Security projects wins WA Engineering Excellence Awards
21 WA Creates a specialist Revenue Protection Squad
22 International reports
* US Cyber Storm Public Exercise Report
* Pandemic Influenza Preparedness, Response, And Recovery Guide For Critical ** Infrastructure And Key Resources
* Exercise Hawthorn Lessons Learned
* Emergency Response to London Bombings
23 Upcoming events
* 7th Australian Information Warfare and Security Conference, 4th Australian **
Information Security Management Conference
* Terrorism & Counter-Terrorism History Research Forum
* Introducing Islam and Understanding the Muslim Communities
* Mass Transport Security 2006
1 Editor's view
Another year is coming to an end and yet again there has been no time to catch up, rest and consolidate activities in national security areas. For the last five years, the pace has been demanding and many things have been left unfinished with the anticipation of returning to them at a later time. This time has never come.
Today, staff in many areas of government and the non-government sector are worn out due to this unrelenting pressure. The consequences of this will be increasingly seen over the next few years as very experienced security professionals start to leave the field for areas where the balance between work and non-work is better. Unfortunately these are the people which organisations desperately require as they expand. These mid-level and experienced staff are critical to supervising the large number of newer staff to ensure that small mistakes don’t become large ones.
One sign of the changed times has been the lack of any slowdown over the Christmas period. This is no better illustrated in the holding of the Mass Transport Security Conference in early December! It contains many sessions of great interest to practitioners including Kerran Campbell, SKM on how much security is enough and Jackie Austin, Yarra Trams on protecting revenue.
Thanks again to SKM for their support of this newsletter.
Athol Yates, Editor
NSW has released two reports into the Cronulla riots. They are
- Hazzard Report into the Cronulla riots
- Sorrenson/Jeffries report into Strike Force Enoggera: This report reviews the managerial policies, practices and procedures of Strike Force Enoggera, which was established to investigate the criminal incidents arising from the riots on December 11th, 2005 and the reprisal attacks and other events on December 12 & 13th.
The NSW Police Commissioner Ken Moroney has announced that all 33 recommendations of the Hazzard Report into the Cronulla riots and the nine recommendations of the Sorrenson/Jeffries report into Strike Force Enoggera have the in principle support of NSW Police.
Norm Hazzard’s report made a number of recommendations spanning personnel, resource and community issues. The following key recommendations and comments were made:
- better training and education for risk assessment is required
- public order training should be reviewed
- the establishment of a state coordination centre
- use of a vehicle for Police command
- need for better equipment for handling riots (including arrest equipment)
- radio stations should be careful about airing potentially provocative callers
- text messages played a significant role in facilitating the rallying of people
- the widespread existence of racism and/or violence in some communities
BSITE, Asia Pacific’s technology leader in notification management, has changed its name to Whispir. The company introduced the new name at the Safeguarding Australia 2006 Conference. This rebranding to Whispir better reflects the way the company's communications solutions enable the precise delivery of targeted notifications, so enabling effective and calm command of situations, even if they escalate.
Whispir’s technology was designed from the ground up to provide advanced multi-team support, information security and mass notification to large groups. It can deliver automated, interactive notifications to the widest variety of devices in accordance with self-applied contact and escalation rules.
It is also the only notification management platform offering collaborative workspaces. These provide enterprise level information-sharing, security, control, privacy and customisation, to support the widest range of business critical notification scenarios. Clients of Whispir include Telstra, ANZ Bank, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and Dun & Bradstreet.
Whispir’s email addresses and web address will change, but phone and fax numbers remain the same, as will all current client contracts, service URLs and customer billing arrangements. To find out more, contact Whispir CEO Jeromy Wells on 0143 784 038 anytime. www.whispir.com.
A conference by practitioners for practitioners
The 2006 Mass Transport Security Conference will be held on 4 & 5 December at the Sofitel Hotel, Brisbane.
Its key focus is
- Protecting revenue
- Future of land transport security legislation
- Lessons from recent hoaxes and exercises
- Security transport hubs and precincts
- How much security is enough
- Involving staff in managing security
- CCTV
- Site visit
Further details including the full program and online registration facilities can be found on the event website at http://www.masstransportsecurity.org.au/. Alternatively call AHSRC on 02 6161 5143.
- Don Williams, formerly of XTEK, has been appointed as Research Associate of the Australian Homeland Security Research Centre
- Stuart Koschade, Queensland University of Technology and Research Intern at the Australian Homeland Security Research Centre has had is social network analysis of Jemaah Islamiyah published in Studies in Conflict and Terrorism.
- Analytical Service Company has released a technical note which simulates a large mine blast under a warship. Read it here.
Yesterday, the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Public Administration heard about rising costs in relation to logistics and security for the APEC leaders’ event in Sydney next year. Alan Henderson, Deputy Secretary of the APEC 2007 Task Force answered Senators’ questions.
The cost for APEC next year has risen from $216.3m to $308m. The following question and answer was given:
Senator Evans: … what I am trying to get at is that I cannot find any announcement or record of what seems to be an almost 50 per cent increase in the costs…. but what I am asking is: do you know what has driven this increase in costs?
Mr Henderson: The short answer is no, Senator. I think the attorneys-general will be able to help you.
A question about private security contractors for the event was asked. Henderson advised that a tender for private security was put out. He stated that the number of security professionals required will depend on whether “…50 demonstrators might choose to disrupt the event or 500. Whether we need to engage them for six days or two days, again, will depend on our security assessments.”
Henderson also stated that a number of foreign leaders will be bringing a substantial number of personal security with them. When asked if a memorandum of understanding or protocol would be used as guidance for the foreign security, his answered included the following: “I am not aware that we plan to actually have memoranda of understanding with individual economies, but in December we are convening a conference—and we have invited representative security officials from every economy—where we explain our plans and our expectations.”
Taskforce details in brief
APEC Task Force number of staff as of 30 September: 172
Cost of PMC: $149.1m
Cost of other agencies (including DFAT, AG and NSW Police): $159m
Total predicted cost (October 2006): $308m
Total predicted cost (May 2005): $216.3m
On early October 2006, the Australian and South Australian government agencies were involved in testing the response to a terrorist situation in the Adelaide’s central business district as part of the security preparations for next year's Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).
Exercise Red Luminary is part of the National Counter-Terrorism Committee's Exercise Programme and is designed to practise and evaluate arrangements under the National Counter-Terrorism Plan. Red Luminary practised interagency response, incident management and aspects of recovery to a terrorism incident in preparation for two APEC meetings due to be held in Adelaide next year.
The Australian Government has allocated more than $68 million over four years to ensure the safety and security of APEC events.
Information that helps identify and assist disaster victims will be more readily exchanged under a Bill introduced in the Senate recently. The Privacy Legislation Amendment (Emergencies and Disasters) Bill 2006 will provide a clear legal basis to manage the collection, use and disclosure of personal information about people involved in an emergency or disaster.
"The Bill places beyond doubt the capacity of the Australian Government and others to lawfully exchange personal information for a specific purpose in an emergency or disaster situation," said Attorney-General Philip Ruddock.
The provisions of the Bill will be triggered by a declaration made by either the Prime Minister or the Attorney-General that an emergency or disaster has occurred in Australia or overseas. The Bill does not compel disclosure of personal information but confirms that disclosure is permitted in such situations
The Bill will give agencies and organisations greater confidence regarding personal information that may be disclosed under the Privacy Act about someone who may have been killed, injured or is missing.
Legislation to be introduced to Parliament will strengthen Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing system and ensure it remains responsive to emerging criminal threats, according to the Minister for Justice and Customs, Senator Chris Ellison.
The Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Bill 2006 will be introduced into Parliament as soon as possible and the Government hopes that it will be passed preferably this year. The Bill reforms Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing system by implementing international standards issued by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
The FATF, which was established in 1989, is an inter-governmental body whose purpose is the development and promotion of national and international policies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. Australia was a founding member of FATF.
Senator Ellison said the Bill will create a financial system that is hostile to money laundering and terrorism financing while minimising impacts on business.
According to the Minister, the final legislative package represents an agreed and innovative risk-based approach to regulation in line with Government commitments to reduce regulatory burdens on business. “Implicit in this approach is the recognition that industry has the most experience and best knowledge of how to implement measures appropriate to the money laundering and terrorism financing risks encountered by their business.”
Also additional funding of $139 million will be provided over four years for the Australian Transaction Reports Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) which will have a range of new regulatory functions under the new legislation. In addition to its enhanced role as a financial intelligence unit, AUSTRAC will now have a significantly expanded role as the national AML/CTF regulator with supervisory, monitoring and enforcement functions over a diverse range of industry sectors. AUSTRAC will also have a major role in education and awareness raising providing guidance on AML/CTF compliance for businesses.
Additional funding of $15.3 million over four years is being provided to the Attorney-General’s Department for a public and industry awareness campaign in understanding and complying with the new anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regime. This includes ongoing consultation with industry in the implementation period and formulation of AML/CTF rules.
The Australian Institute of Criminology will receive an additional $3.4 million over four years for research into money laundering and terrorist financing in Australia to ensure Government and industry have the latest information in assessing risks and determining responses. $1.9 million is being provided to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner to undertake additional educational, auditing and compliance activity in relation to increased personal information handling under the new arrangements.
The Government has decided to approach the new reforms in two tranches, with the first tranche covering those sectors already subject to some anti-money laundering regulation under the Financial Transaction Reports Act 1988.
The first tranche covers the financial and gambling sectors and bullion dealers. The second tranche, will cover real estate agents, jewellers, and some transactions provided by accountants and lawyers, and will be developed in further consultation with the private sector.
There was a 44 per cent increase in the number of suspect transaction reports recorded by the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) during 2005-06, the Minister for Justice and Customs, Senator Chris Ellison said today.
Pro-active industry education programs, including increased communication with cash dealers and feedback on the quality of data reported had contributed to the increase, which had also resulted in improved compliance with Australia’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations.
AUSTRAC received over 13.8 million financial transaction reports (FTRs) from cash dealers, solicitors and members of the public; an increase of 10.38 per cent from the previous year. AUSTRAC recorded 2,416,427 significant cash transactions (5.59 per cent increase on 2004-05), and 11,411,961 international funds transfer instructions (up by 11.4 per cent over the previous year).
In mid October, the Australian Government introduced the Border Integrity Bill. It is designed to strengthen arrangements at Australia's borders and prepare the way for enhanced security processing using biometrics.
The legislation will allow for the introduction of an automated border process known as SmartGate that will begin operating in selected Australian international airports from early next year. The SmartGate system will be rolled out from early 2007 and will allow passengers with selected biometric "e-passports" to be processed using a specially designed kiosk.
On 16 October 2006, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security tabled its report on the review into Al-Qa'ida and Jemaah Islamiyah as terrorist organisations.
The report made the following observations on the criteria for listing organisations.
The legal test for the listing of an organisation is set out in the Criminal Code. The Attorney-General must be satisfied on reasonable grounds that the organisation is directly or indirectly engaged in, preparing, planning, assisting in or fostering the doing of a terrorist act (whether or not the terrorist act has occurred or will occur). The Committee noted in previous reviews the breadth of this definition and sought advice from ASIO as to why some organisations which fitted the definition have not been proscribed while others have. ASIO’s response was to provide the Committee with a set of criteria which it used to determine which entities it sought to proscribe. These criteria were:
- Engagement in terrorism;
- Ideology and links to other terrorist groups or networks;
- Links to Australia;
- Threats to Australian interests;
- Proscription by the UN or like minded countries; and
- Engagement in peace/mediation processes.
There has been considerable discussion about the validity of these criteria in public submissions put to the Committee in reviews over the last two years. There has also been a continuing discussion with ASIO about the way the criteria might logically be applied, whether holistically or not. This has not been resolved. Nevertheless, the Committee has found the criteria useful as a means of assessing the arguments provided by the Government in each statement of reasons.
In two previous reports, in May 2005 and September 2005, in order to make greater sense of the decision-making process, the Committee asked the Government to address these criteria in future statements of reason. The Government has not responded formally to the recommendation which dealt with this request in the Review of the listing of four terrorist organisations, nor has it altered the structure or the content of the subsequent statements of reasons. A clearer exposition of the criteria would strengthen the Government’s arguments, provide greater clarity and consistency in the evidence and therefore increase public confidence in the regime as a whole. It would greatly facilitate the Committee’s review process if this change occurred.
The full report can be found here.
On 14 August 2006, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security tabled its report on the review into administration and expenditure of the Australian Intelligence Organisations: recruitment and training.
The report made the following observations.
Recommendation 3: The Committee recommends that the Government enquire into the feasibility of establishing a combined facility for basic training in intelligence either in an existing academic institution or as a separate college.
Submissions to the Committee and evidence given at the hearings confirmed that recruiting, training and retaining linguists remains a real challenge for intelligence agencies. The Committee heard that people with existing language skills are not always people who can be cross-trained as intelligence analysts. One agency gave evidence that it is harder to train a person to be an excellent intelligence officer than it is to train a person to be an effective linguist so the agency firstly looks for the skill sets needed to be an intelligence officer and then provides, if necessary, language training.
The Australia Defence Association (ADA) made a similar point, pointing out that ‘good linguistic skills are not synonymous with aptitude for intelligence work’11 and, therefore, linguists must qualify in the other professional intelligence skills, and gain sufficient experience, to be effectively employed as linguists rather than translators.
The Committee believes that the development and implementation of a National Language Policy as a long-term investment in Australia’s future, not only for the benefit of the AIC agencies but for the benefit of the entire country, would become an invaluable national asset. The Committee recommends that the Government consider, as a matter of national priority, language development as a national asset.
The Foreign Intelligence Coordination Committee is looking at career management issues to see whether it can encourage more mobility within the community and whether there is scope for agencies to approach career management on a more community-wide basis.
In a speech in mid October, the Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty, identified a series of challenges.
One was the evolving terrorist methodologies.
They are now using softer targets. We have also seen terrorists exploiting new and emerging technologies to fund and facilitate terrorist activities. They use mobile phones and remote control devices to detonate bombs. We’ve seen new bombs and bomb making materials such as liquids being formed or being joined to make bombs.
We have rapidly changing environments to recruit new terrorists, and terrorist organisational strategies are put in place to counter what we’re doing on our side. We’ve seen examples of networks behind charities and legitimate business enterprises. We’ve also seen disturbing evidence of home grown terrorists with no known criminal backgrounds and how do you then counter that movement and embracing of an idea?
He also addressed the political nature of the criminal justice response in dealing with the political-motivated crime.
Because terrorism is inherently political it brings with it a dimension to criminal proceedings that would not normally be the case. The challenge for law enforcement is to maintain the apolitical character of policing, while at the same time dealing with the issues at hand.
The AFP has had to ensure it acts according to the law and with impartiality. Because the issues are so inextricably linked to politics and political positions, we have to make sure we don’t become overwhelmed by that or succumb to the temptation to try and act in a political way. It seems there will always be the temptation for some commentators to try and view the actions of the AFP to be politically motivated or driven.
But if the definition of terrorism is to actually commit an act or threaten to commit an act that alters the position of a government or a particular policy position of government, then it is inherently political and that is part of the criminal justice system that really hasn’t been extended yet.
The full speech can be found here.
The Australian Government has released a brochure on the role and functions of Australia’s intelligence agencies. The brochure [www.ona.gov.au/publications/aic] was one of the recommendations of the 2004 Inquiry into Australian Intelligence Agencies by Mr Philip Flood AO. It aims to improve public understanding of and confidence in our intelligence agencies.
The brochure explains the legislative framework under which the intelligence community operates and the accountability mechanisms in place that ensure Australia’s intelligence agencies are fully accountable for their activities under Australian law.
One of the reasons this booklet was released was probably due to the misinformation about the accountability of the intelligence community. Ian Carnell
Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security in a recent address said that:
One particular disappointment I have with the quality of some of the counter-terrorism debate in Australia is the refusal by some to recognise what safeguards and protections are already in place for the intelligence agencies.
There are statements such as ASIO is subject to “little, if any, external scrutiny”, or that there is “no effective mechanism for independent scrutiny” of ASIO.
I was astonished to read recently of a call by a former judge for a “security ombudsman”, which he described would be a statutory position to monitor the use of powers by security agencies, to receive complaints and to investigate matters with adequate powers to do so. There was no acknowledgment that such a role is already carried out by me in relation to the six core Australian intelligence and security agencies, and by the Commonwealth Ombudsman in respect of agencies such as the Australian Federal Police. The Ombudsman and I work closely together when necessary.
The brochure can be found here.
ASIO’s 2005-06 annual report has been released. Some of its elements included that :
- it conducted 135,000 personnel security checks in 2005-06 in the lead-up to the Commonwealth Games, in the aviation and maritime sectors and for people seeking access to ammonium nitrate.
- ASIO conducted 53,147 visa security assessments and recommended against the entry of 12 people assessed to pose a security risk because of links to politically motivated violence, terrorism or foreign intelligence services.
- ASIO moved to a nine-division structure on 1 July 2006, including creating a division to address threats from espionage and foreign interference
Below are some of the key statements in the report:
The security environment remained complex and dangerous with no sign that the range of security threats to Australians at home or abroad is abating.
Jihadi doctrine asserts the individual duty of Muslims to undertake jihad – in any country in which it is possible to do so. Adherence to the doctrine underpins the development of autonomous, largely self-sufficient ‘home-grown’ terrorist groups. While such autonomy imposes certain operational constraints on groups, it also makes detection by security agencies more difficult. For example, both the Madrid bombings of March 2004 and the London bombings of July 2005 were conducted by largely self-sufficient groups with a low security profile.
Other groups and individuals in Australia also adhere to the extreme interpretation of Islam that advocates violence. Some of these are Australian-born and others have lived here for most of their lives. Some are associated with extremist groups and terrorist identities overseas and some have trained with terrorist groups in other countries. Yet other so called ‘home-grown’ extremists have no identifiable links overseas but use the Internet and other resources to obtain terrorism knowledge and to radicalise and reinforce their own extremist views about violence. ASIO continued to investigate leads relating to individuals in Australia with links to overseas extremists and terrorist activity, including al-Qa’ida and likeminded groups. In the case of terrorists, the speed of the radicalisation process can see a person transform from being an otherwise ordinary member of the community into a person willing to engage in politically motivated violence in a short space of time. Similarly, the time taken to plan and conduct a deadly terrorist attack can be alarmingly short, making it difficult for security and law enforcement agencies to detect and disrupt. Developing our engagement with the Australian community ASIO continued to increase its contact with members of the community. This enhanced dialogue assists ASIO to carry out its functions. Community engagement supplements warning systems already in place, including the National Security Hotline and work performed by other departments The Community Contact Program ASIO has implemented a program of engagement with leading members of the Islamic community. Similarly, ASIO engages with the leaders of the Jewish community across Australia.
The Business Liaison Unit was established during 2005–06 to provide a direct interface between the private sector and the Australian Intelligence Community. The unit will produce unclassified national security-related information on each industry sector in the form of Business Security Reports, which aim to assist businesses’ risk-management planning processes. These reports will be disseminated directly to businesses and also will be accessible on a secure website from July 2006. https://secure.blu.asio.gov.au/
The full annual report can be found here.
The Australian National Audit Office has released an audit of the management of electronic records. It provided some criticism and comments on the security implications of electronic recordkeeping.
There was a wide range of recordkeeping practices in place in each of the entities. The ANAO observed a number of practices that adversely impacted the completeness and integrity of entity records. These practices included: file classification practices that did not comply with the Protective Security Manual (PSM); using email and shared folders to manage records contrary to the entity’s recordkeeping policy; and inconsistencies in decisions about the information, including data in electronic systems, that constituted a record and, therefore, there were inconsistencies in what was captured into entities’ recordkeeping systems.
Electronic management of records will generally not eliminate the need for entities to maintain some paper records and to use records and information in paper form in conducting their day-to-day business. For example, records with a security classification above the security level of an entity’s network and other electronic systems will need to be maintained and stored in paper form to meet Australian Government security requirements.
Each electronic system that is used to manage sensitive information is required to comply with the Protective Security Manual and the Australian Government Information and Communications Technology Security Manual, ACSI 33. In particular, ACSI 33 requires the development of a risk management plan and a system security plan for each of these systems and for the plans to be reviewed annually. These requirements are designed to ensure that entities identify security risks to systems and the information contained in them, and to implement appropriate risk treatments.
The ANAO found that, with one exception, no risk management plans or system security plans had been developed for the systems reviewed. As a consequence, the entities did not comply with the relevant requirements of the Protective Security Manual and ACSI 33
The ANAO identified, in each of the entities, instances of record users:
- not classifying or marking electronic documents or files containing sensitive information;
- assigning an inappropriate classification to records and information held in electronic form; and
- not clearly marking classified information stored on the network or communicated via email by, for example, indicating the security classification in document titles or titles of folders in shared folders.
As a result, the entities were not managing some sensitive material in accordance with the requirements of the Protective Security Manual.
Recommendation No.8: The ANAO recommends that entities:
(a) review current practices to ensure that they meet the requirements of the Protective Security Manual for classifying sensitive electronic information; and
(b) develop a formal preservation strategy aimed at ensuring access, integrity and functionality of electronic records, particularly those records that need to be retained for long periods of time.
The audit can be found here.
Labor has criticised the three years it has taken the Australian Government to finally introduce a new law to provide a legal basis for the Inspector of Transport Security.
The Government announced the creation of an Inspector of Transport Security in December 2003. It took them a year to finally appoint former AFP Commissioner, Mick Palmer to that job. In May 2005 the government agreed to underpin this important job with new laws. Now, about one and half years later, a Bill has been presented to Parliament. The recently introduced Bill provides a legal authority for the most senior transport security inspector has left the Inspector powerless.
The Hon. Arch Bevis MP, Shadow Minister for Homeland Security, Aviation and Transport Security believes the position of Inspector of Transport Security should be a fulltime position.
The Victorian Government has announced this month a $5.8 million package of measures that will further enhance Victoria’s capacity to fight terrorism.
The counter terrorism package includes:
- $1.2 million to establish a Global Terrorism Research Centre at Monash University.
- $1 million to install a public radio re-broadcasting system in the City Loop, facilitating the broadcast of emergency information to the public in the event of an incident.
- $486,000 to purchase 12 motorised rail trolleys for the City Loop, allowing emergency services workers and their equipment to reach the scene of any underground incident.
- $250,000 for a mobile Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) van for Victoria Police, giving the organisation the capability to send live footage from the scene of an emergency to a remote location.
- Around $650,000 for extra equipment and training for the Department of Human Services and the ambulance services.
- $1.8 million to establish an Emergency Management Exercise Group, which will organise and coordinate regular counter-terrorism and emergency management exercises.
- Extra funding of $267,000 for the Centre for Dialogue, at La Trobe University, which was opened in August this year.
- $200,000 to the National Research and Development Fund to assist with research into the most effective counter-terrorism technology and equipment.
The radio re-broadcasting system in the City Loop would be similar to the one installed in the Melbourne's City Link tunnels. In the event of an emergency, it can be used to provide emergency information and warnings to the travelling public.
The Global Terrorism Research Centre at Monash University will work with similar centres, including those in the United Kingdom and Israel to research the social forces behind terrorism. According to the premier, the establishment of the Centre would allow Victoria to not only participate in, but lead research into terrorism.
19 Victoria purchases a high speed police vessel
The high-tech vessel which tracked one of Australia’s most notorious drug smuggling boats has been purchased by Victoria Police and launched by Police & Emergency Services Minister Tim Holding.
Name Fearless, it aims to boost marine security along Victoria’s coastline. The 16 metre boat is strong and fast, with two massive 650 horse power diesel engines that enable a speed in excess of 23 knots. It carries some of the world’s best surveillance technology, including radar, satellite navigation, radio direction finding equipment, communication tools and a mobile data terminal, connecting the vessel to Victoria Police’s computer database.
Victoria’s water police will use the vessel to inspect recreational and commercial boats, and advance the work of other crime-fighting agencies, including the Department of Fisheries and Customs. Fearless is also a fire-fighter thanks to equipment designed to extinguish marine blazes.
The addition of Fearless to the water police fleet followed the purchase earlier this year of four 7.5 metre port security boats as well as two spectacular Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats. Victoria’s counter-terrorism capability has been further enhanced with the purchase of a range of sophisticated equipment, including:
- Three remotely-operated underwater vehicles that grab dangerous objects;
- Thermal imaging and night vision equipment; and
- Four side-scan sonar systems.
The WA Public Transport Authority’s Urban Security Initiatives Project (USIP) has taken out top honours at the WA Engineering Excellence Awards.
Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan said USIP was designed to help Transperth grow its customer base by ushering in a new standard of safety and security across the urban rail network.
“This project introduced a raft of innovative features to support our transit guard officers,” Ms MacTiernan said. “These include improved lighting, emergency call buttons on platforms, and linked public address and passenger information systems. “However, the jewel in the crown is a sophisticated CCTV surveillance system with a 24/7 monitoring centre capable of detecting, recording, and immediately responding to anti-social behaviour at stations across the network.
“This system is an outstanding success which has achieved an arrest rate of almost 100 per cent of serious offenders.
The four-year, $27million project won the Engineers Australia Award 2006 – given to the entry which demonstrated the greatest level of engineering excellence, regardless of category.
A new 32-member specialist Revenue Protection Squad has started working on Perth’s passenger rail network, to back up the Transit Guard contingent while more were being trained.
The officers’ prime focus would be to check that passengers had valid tickets. The squad would operate on trains and conduct checks on station platforms.
“The overwhelming majority of train users do the right thing, but a stronger focus on fare checking will make our system better,” Minister Alannah MacTiernan said.
The Minister said there were currently 194 Transit Guards and 34 Passenger Ticketing Assistants.
The private contractors who made up the revenue protection squad would be deployed in addition to the guards and ticketing assistants.
“Like everywhere else in Western Australia’s booming economy, the Public Transport Authority is having trouble attracting and keeping transit guards; currently we are about 30 down on full strength,” Ms MacTiernan said.
“We have been able to keep two guards on every train after 7pm when trouble is most likely to occur. We also have guards on key stations during operating hours and our mobile Delta teams are always on patrol on each line, backed up by some of the best CCTV and security monitoring technology in the world.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) National Cyber Security Division (NCSD) successfully executed Cyber Storm, the first national cyber exercise on February 6-10, 2006. The exercise was the first government-led, full-scale cyber security exercise of its kind. NCSD, a division within the department’s Preparedness Directorate, provides the federal government with a centralized cyber security coordination and preparedness function called for in the National Strategy for Homeland Security, the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace and Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7.
Cyber Storm was designed to test communications, policies, and procedures in response to various cyber attacks and to identify where further planning and process improvements are needed. Participants included federal and state agencies and private sector partners from the IT, telecommunications, energy, and transportation industries, as well as foreign governments.
For more information about Cyber Storm, click here.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has completed the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness, Response, And Recovery Guide For Critical Infrastructure And Key Resources. Information about the guide is available here.
This report describes the development, planning, and execution of a series of linked exercises - collectively called Exercise Hawthorn - designed to review the government's contingency plans for an outbreak of avian influenza in Great Britain.
The full report is available here.
A report found that the emergency response to the 7/7 bombings in London was sound. The report also highlighted areas of response which could have been improved.
The full report is available here.
4-5th December, 2006, Edith Cowan University
Details are at scissec.scis.ecu.edu.au/conferences2006/
Canberra: 22 November 2006
Details are at www.homelandsecurity.org.au/events
30 November 2006
Details are at www.homelandsecurity.org.au/events
Brisbane: 4 - 5 December 2006
Visit: www.masstransportsecurity.org.au
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