AFTER earmarking $A10 million for automated security bollards in Melbourne’s CBD, the Victorian Government has not waited for them to be installed, instead positioning dozens of concrete blocks around Federation Square and Bourke St.
As well as automated bollards, the proposed security measures include an expansion of the existing video surveillance system that Melbourne City Council manages in partnership with Victoria Police.
According to Premier Daniel Andrews, state government security advisers accelerated plans for barriers after the attack on London Bridge and a fatal siege at Brighton in Melbourne recently.
"Constructing permanent bollards will take some time…I have directed that temporary bollards will be put in place at Federation Square and Bourke Street and a number of other sites," Premier Andrew said.
"There's no time to be wasted here when we think about London and…other tragic events on the other side of the world and…very close to home. We needed to take these steps."
According to Andrews, the concrete blocks would also be located at a number of other CBD locations.
"For a range of security reasons, we don't necessarily want to highlight where there might be points of weakness," he said. "I do want to stress though, we're not about changing the way people go about their business, this is a beautiful city and we should cherish every part of it."
On January 21, 6 people were murdered by a driver who drove at high speed along the Bourke St Mall in Melbourne, deliberately targeting pedestrians, including a 3-month old baby boy. ♦
