Federal police take over Parliament House security after reported threat
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Version 0 of 1. The Australian Federal Police have been put back in charge of security at Parliament House in Canberra, amid reports of a planned terrorist attack. “There has been chatter among these networks,” about targeting government people, Tony Abbott told Channel Nine’s Today program on Friday. “One of the first consequences of the review of security has been moves to put Australian Federal Police back in charge of internal as well as external security,” he said. “It is happening almost immediately.” Parliament House had been “specifically mentioned”, Abbott told ABC radio. Armed AFP officers have been redeployed to Parliament House, and more would join them in coming days. Asked if people visiting parliament would be safe, Abbott said: “it is a safe country but we have to be aware there are people ... who would do us harm.” Senior intelligence sources confirmed to News Corp Australia that spy, police and counter-terrorism agencies had intercepted information regarding a possible attack on Parliament House, and there were concerns the prime minister and other senior officials could be targeted. The news report said there were fears the building had been “scoped out” for a “Mumbai-style” attack using automatic weapons. Airport level security checks for visitors and barriers are also being considered. In the wake of Thursday’s counter-terrorism raids in Sydney and Brisbane, the Grand Mufti of Australia, Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammad, and leaders of a number of Muslim organisations called for calm. They released a statement to “reassure all Australians that they have nothing to fear from their Muslim neighbours who want peace and security for everyone regardless of religion”. “We have a vested interest in the safety and security of Australia,” Mohammad said. The statement said those arrested and charged in Thursday’s raids must be afforded the presumption of innocence so the judicial process could take its course without prejudice. The leaders noted a dramatic increase of abuse and discrimination against Muslim Australians in recent weeks, and revealed a Facebook page had been set up in response. The grand mufti said politicians and the media must not use the raids to inflame hatred of certain segments of the community. “The focus of attention should be on the alleged criminality of those involved and not on rhetoric which serves only to promote disharmony,” Mohammad said. “Fair-minded Australians should not allow bigots and media shock jocks to undermine the cohesion within society.” Asked on ABC radio whether Australian Muslims were feeling isolated by the scale of the raids, Abbott said: “I certainly don’t want to isolate any community. I want to wrap up the extended family of the Australian community in an embrace. We would all be the victims of any terrorist attack in Australia.” He said he was very encouraged that the “overwhelming majority” of Muslims were enthusiastic about Australia and had “no truck whatever with the bloodthirsty extremists we see on our screens”. |