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Armed Australian Federal Police officers will soon be patrolling the corridors of the Australian Parliament's press gallery and security agencies plan to jam telephone and internet links in the event of a terrorist threat as part of a further ramping up of security at the national legislature.
Following discussions between the Federal Police, parliamentary officials and media bureau representatives last week, press gallery president David Speers told journalists that police patrols inside the Parliament will "soon" extend to the press gallery, which is located on the upper, third floor of the Senate wing of Parliament House.
Mr Speers said AFP officers patrolling the gallery would not enter media offices and have no role in policing parliamentary rules governing the media, including restrictions on photography. However, the presence of the AFP remains a sensitive issue in relation to the protection of journalists' confidential sources and the AFP's role in investigating alleged leaks of government information.
National security sources have also confirmed to Fairfax Media that security planning contemplates use of mobile phone jammers and blocking other outwards non-government telecommunications links from Parliament House in the event of a terrorist attack or major security incident. Such measures would severely limit if not prevent the ability of journalists inside Parliament House to report on events.
"Lock down" exercises have been held in the Parliament in recent weeks with parliamentary and media personnel expected to lock themselves in their offices in the event of a major security incident.
Mr Speers said that following talks with security officials "obviously there's a long way to go in these discussions to work out exactly how the AFP can protect us while allowing us to do our jobs".
Federal Parliament has approved a $2 million to upgrade perimeter security around Parliament's ministerial wing with a 2.6-metre-high steel fence and two bulletproof, concrete gatehouses. The latest "security enhancements" follow the deployment of heavily armed AFP officers outside and inside the building after the national counter-terrorism alert level was raised last September and the Canadian Parliament was attacked by a gunman in October.
National security sources say the government has also reviewed its top secret "continuity of government" arrangements, originally codenamed "Plan Mercator", which provide for the maintenance of communications in an emergency and, if necessary, evacuation of the Prime Minister, key ministers and staff from Parliament House to other secure facilities equipped with advanced communications links including broadcast facilities – one such location being the Defence Department's Joint Operations Command headquarters at Bungendore, 35 kilometres from Canberra.
In the last parliamentary sitting week the Coalition government and Labor opposition also passed legislation to make a senior AFP officer a member of the Parliament House security board, formalising the AFP's effective takeover of security management of the building, including control over internal CCTV cameras. Australian Greens senator Penny Wright complained the law was another step "towards the militarisation of our public spaces, including the Parliament".
Further security measures under consideration include widespread installation of bulletproof glass, a highly costly project that would include replacement of window frames, and more security barriers and fencing screening the Senate and House of Representatives wings of Parliament House.
