Russell Broadbent (McMillan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Attorney-General. Would you inform the House what the government is doing to ensure the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games will be as safe and secure as they can possibly be?

Philip Ruddock (Berowra, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for McMillan for his question. I know that he, like me, is truly excited by the fact that Melbourne, one of the great sporting cities of the world—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Philip Ruddock (Berowra, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I say that coming from Sydney! I have always recognised that Sydney is the city of participants and Melbourne is the city of enthusiastic spectators of great sports. That is why it has those marvellous facilities. Seriously, 5,000 athletes from around 71 countries are expected to converge on Melbourne for the Commonwealth Games. In total, more than one million people from Australia and around the world will be involved. Up to 100,000 spectators are expected to take part in the colour and excitement of the opening ceremony. I am sure that it will be a wonderful sporting vocation.

However, in the post-September 11 environment, it is important that the government take every step necessary to ensure that the games are not only successful but also as safe as possible. The security preparations for the games, I think, demonstrate at a practical level the way in which the Commonwealth and the government of Victoria have worked together to protect our community from terrorism. To ensure that these activities are properly supported, we will be providing $85 million worth of security for the games as part of a broader contribution of over $300 million.

During the games, the Australian government as a whole will support Victoria in a number of different ways: through our intelligence agency and the Australian Federal Police; using the specialist capabilities of the Australian Defence Force, including a forward deployment to Melbourne for quick activation should a terrorist threat emerge; and maintaining a high level of security for transport infrastructure, including air, maritime and ground.

The relationship between the Australian and Victorian governments on security matters is built on the sound history of cooperation that we have seen amongst Australian governments generally. I am sure the end result will be one of the best Commonwealth Games ever and a demonstration of the robust and effective security capability that we have been building in recent years.