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Questions On Notice Questions on notice are usually asked when a more detailed answer is required and are in writing, and are forwarded by the Clerk of the Parliament to the relevant Minister who prepares a written answer which is presented to Parliament.
Mr LAWLOR: My question is directed to the Minister for Police and Corrective Services. Preparations are well underway for the Indy on the Gold Coast next month. Organisers are expecting crowds to be even bigger than last year. What are the police doing to ensure public safety at this event?
Ms SPENCE: I thank the member for Southport for the question. I am sure that he is looking forward to being part of the crowd at this world famous tourist drawcard. Last year over 300,000 people attended the Indy and police tell me that there were no significant adverse events there, that the Indy was a very safe event and that they were pleased with the behaviour of most of the patrons at that event. I think sometimes we forget just how fortunate we are to live in a state that is as safe as Queensland. Many countries around the world are not as safe as Australia. In fact, many states in this country are not as safe as Queensland. The fact that we can put on a world-class event like Indy in a safe environment is certainly very important for tourism and the sport in this state.
One of the reasons we have such a safe state is that we have some very proactive police. On Monday, cabinet decided and the Premier and I announced that we would give our police special event powers for this year's Indy. The Indy at this stage is still rated as a low-risk event, but of course that may change at any time so it is important that the police have these powers if they become necessary.
This means that police will be able to randomly inspect cars, persons and their belongings not only in the Indy precinct but also in the precinct surrounding the Indy event. That is not all, of course.
Police have been preparing with other agencies, such as Transport, to make sure that traffic moves freely during the event. They have been working with Main Roads, Queensland Transport, Queensland Rail, Liquor Licensing and the Gold Coast City Council to identify issues and coordinate risks.
Last week, a series of desktop exercises were successfully held involving all agencies and event organisers to test their response to potential major incidents. To best manage joint responses to incidents from both inside and outside the race, police have established a joint emergency services coordination centre in Surfers Paradise. Also, a large contingency of police, including specialist officers from SERT, the Public Safety Response Team, tactical crime squads and general duties officers from police regions across the state will be deployed to the Gold Coast during the Indy festivities.
As well, the Gold Coast Intelligence Unit will work in conjunction with the Queensland Police Security Intelligence Branch and the Australian Federal Police Joint Counter-Terrorism Team to provide daily intelligence briefings. In addition, a traffic transport advisory committee, which includes police representation, has been developing contingency plans.
Last changed: [PUBLISHED_DATE] at 1:31 PM
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