Key Dates:
The G20 Leaders Summit is a Commonwealth led event being held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Southbank on November 15th and 16th, 2014.
The Queensland Police Service (QPS) is working with Commonwealth, State and Local Government agencies along with a wide range of businesses and community members in the planning and execution of the event.
A public holiday has been declared on Friday November 14th. The public holiday is restricted to the Brisbane Local Government Area (same as the RNA Show Holiday).
Size and complexity:
The G20 is the most significant meeting of world leaders ever to be hosted in Australia, bringing together 26 World Leaders, 7 internationally protected persons and 4000 delegates over two days.
The eyes of the world will be clearly focused on Brisbane during this period with 3000 international media in Brisbane reporting on the G20 Leaders Summit.
The security operation around this event is the most significant seen in Australia’s history and will have entailed two years of planning from a QPS perspective, by the time the world leaders arrive. In excess of 5000 police officers from Queensland, interstate and NZ will provide security for the leaders, delegates and community within the declared and restricted areas.
As part of the delivery of the G20 Leaders’ Summit parts of South Brisbane and the CBD can expect some impact on local facilities in order to ensure a safe and secure environment.
Brisbane ‘open for business’:
A key message being delivered by all key partners involved in the planning and delivery of the G20 is that Brisbane is open for business during the event, particularly across the long weekend of November 14th-16th.
This means that businesses in the South Bank and CBD area that facilitate the sale of goods and services such as shopping precincts, entertainment precincts, restaurants’, licenced premises etc are able to trade.
Queensland Police Service Business Engagement and Communication Strategy:
It is the priority of the Queensland Police Service (QPS) to ensure the safety and security of the community, dignitaries and delegates during the G20 Leaders Summit. To ensure that this is achieved, the QPS is committed to engaging with businesses, residents and community groups around possible G20 impacts.
Members of the QPS G20 engagement team are undertaking prolific engagement with precincts, office accommodation, residents and community groups within the declared area to ensure that the greatest audience possible is reached.
QPS will be utilising facebook, twitter and a specific mypolice blog to communicate key messages in the lead up to and during the G20 Leaders Summit. It is critical that a member of your organisation monitors these sites in the lead up to the event and particularly for the week leading up to and including the Leaders Summit.
G20 Safety and Security Act (including security precincts):
New legislation was passed in State Parliament late last year that will assist in ensuring that police will be in a position to effectively deliver a safe, secure, dignified and effective security operation to secure the G20 Leaders Summit. Detailed within this legislation are two specific security areas, declared and restricted.
Declared area:
The large declared area (refer to declared area map at www.police.qld.gov.au/G20 ) is a security area by definition only in that it won’t be delineated by fencing, signage or ‘flashing lights’ restricting entry. Movement throughout the declared area for residents and members of the community will be unrestricted in the main unless motorcades are travelling on roads which will require those roads to be secured for the duration of those motorcade movements.
The purpose of the declared area is to:
- facilitate the movement of official motorcades,
- prohibit specific people from entering the area,
- restrict items,
- manage protest activity.
Restricted areas
There are currently 12 Restricted Areas (refer to restricted area maps at www.police.qld.gov.au/G20 ) which includes the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre (BCEC), The Royal International Convention Centre and nine premier hotels that will accommodate the world leaders and internationally protected persons. The restricted areas will be clearly delineated and in some cases, secured by some form of fencing and a policing element preventing persons who are not ‘accredited’ from entering. Only people who have a genuine reason to enter a restricted area i.e. foreign delegation residing in restricted area; people working in the restricted area; people required to deliver goods or services into the restricted area, will be considered for accreditation.
People who consider that they will require accreditation because the will have to enter a restricted area should go to the Commonwealth G20 website www.G20.org to seek information on the accreditation process.
Protest Activity
Historically, events of this significance tend to attract protest activity in the lead up to, and during the event. Previous major events around the world have seen protest activity commencing some 10 days out from the particular event.
The QPS understands and respects the right of citizens to protest lawfully in Queensland however we will not tolerate any unlawful behaviour which threatens the safety and security of the communities in Brisbane or Cairns, or actions that pose a risk to the safety and dignity of those attending G20 related activities.
As a part of our commitment to support peaceful protest, the QPS has liaison officers available to discuss planned protest activities with assembly organisers.
Queensland Police are well placed to deal with any potential protest that may occur as a result of the G20 Leaders Summit and in fact are planning for all contingencies.
It is recommended that businesses consider their organisational resilience as it will not be possible for police to provide a physical presence outside all businesses within the declared area.
Overview of event and predicted impacts:
The main impacts will occur from Friday the 14th of November, through to Sunday the 16th of November 2014. This includes impacts to transport due to security measures and people can expect some impacts around journey time, parking and public transport.
Roads, bridge access and public transport in and out of the city will be operating for the Thursday evening peak period. All transport arrangements should return to business-as-usual in time for the Monday morning peak, unless exceptional circumstances arise.
You will be able to go about your usual business over that long weekend, although you may need to go about your business in a different way.
Final arrangements regarding road closures and public transport changes may not be known until six weeks prior to the Summit. Information will be communicated to Brisbane locals through a public awareness campaign from October 2014. This will include information in newspapers, online and on the radio.
Friday November 14:
It is anticipated that the majority of world leaders will arrive at the Brisbane airport on Friday November 14th and will travel by motorcade from the airport along declared routes to their hotel accommodation within the CBD. All traffic will be prevented from entering the motorcade route whilst it’s declared and motorcade routes will not be made public until shortly before those routes are declared.
November 15 and 16:
Motorcades will travel between the restricted accommodation within the CBD to the BCEC each morning and return at some point in the afternoon / evening on the Saturday and to Brisbane airport Sunday afternoon / evening.
Impacts:
Public transport:
- Changes to public transport timetabling in the Brisbane CBD and South Bank should be expected. The re-routing of services and the early termination of services may cause delays and people should allow extra time for their proposed journey.
- Trains will not stop at South Brisbane Train Station from around November 10 whilst trains will not travel through South Brisbane Station on November 14, 15 and 16.
- Buses will run as normal up until end of peak hour on Thursday evening along the busway under the BCEC however they will not travel along the busway under the BCEC on November 14, 15 and 16.
- Notifications about changes to public transport routes and timetables will be communicated by Translink and State Government prior to the event.
Car parking:
- Changes to on-street parking arrangements, taxi ranks and bus stops should be expected in the week leading up to the Leaders Summit.
- The car park in the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre will be the only car park that is anticipated to close in the lead-up to and during the G20 Summit. People should plan to use alternative car parks or take public transport.
Road / Lane closures:
- Expect closures to Merivale, Grey, Glenelg and Melbourne streets directly around the BCEC on November 14, 15 and 16 and in some instances in the lead-up to the Summit.
- It is not anticipated that there will be widespread permanent road closures throughout the declared area in the lead up to and during the event however the following impacts to lanes is to be expected
- Motorcade routes (including roads from the Brisbane airport and within the CBD and South Brisbane area) will be closed for the duration of motorcades and reopen at the conclusion of the motorcade.
- Potential closure of a lane will occur around each of the accommodation venues (premier hotels) whilst the leader/s is in residence across.
Organisational resilience:
To ensure that you are prepared for G20, it is essential that your organisation and building management considers, reviews and implements where non existent, the following activities and procedures: (Note – these items are not G20 specific and should be considered at all times)
Continuity Planning
There will be a potential for protest activity within the declared area in the lead up to and during the G20 Leaders Summit and at times, these protests might temporarily impact on access to businesses or impact access along roads. It is important to ensure that your organisations Continuity Procedures are up to date.
Risk Assessment / Profiling
Businesses and organisations need to consider their individual risk profiles to establish whether additional security may be required.
For example
- Emergency Procedures
Evacuation
It is important to consider your evacuation procedures in the context of potential incidents occurring (eg protests) in the vicinity of your evacuation point at the time of an evacuation. Responsibilities and roles must be clearly communicated to staff/residents, routes and exits well defined and evacuation plans exercised regularly.
Armed Person / Active Shooter
In circumstances where an armed person is in the vicinity of your business/residence or precinct, the safety of your tenants/staff and clients/visitors is paramount. Secure your premises, notify occupants and find a safe location to shelter in place until QPS have dealt with the incident. Where it is not possible to secure your premises, for example, a coffee cart or similar, immediately evacuate to a place of safety.
Bomb Hoax
Please ensure that your staff or residents are aware of correct procedures for bomb hoax calls.
- Vigilance
Report suspicious activity to your building management/security and police. If you have information that requires urgent or immediate police response, always dial Triple Zero (000).
- Police reporting procedures – business as usual
Queensland Police will still be conducting business as usual in the lead up to and during the G20 event. Where an incident or offence occurs that is unrelated to G20 (ie. not a protest activity or suspicious person in the immediate vicinity of a restricted area) it will be necessary to contact your local police. Where an incident requires urgent or immediate police response, dial Triple Zero (000).
- CCTV / Lighting
CCTV can assist police both during an incident, or during post incident investigation. Please ensure that your systems are operating and well maintained and that images of people or vehicles are clearly identifiable. It is important to ensure that external lighting that compliments CCTV footage is appropriate for the system.
If you have any further questions or concerns about possible impacts around the G20 Leaders Summit, you can members of the QPS External Engagement Team on 3015 3461 or go to www.police.qld.gov.au/G20 where you can see the latest QPS updates on G20.
The G20 Taskforce will be coordinating Public forums as the event gets nearer so for further information please visit the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet website at www.dpmc.gov.au/g20
Stay abreast of G20 current affairs by signing up for the G20 Blog site and receive email updates from the site. You can access the blog at mypolice.qld.gov.au/g20
For G20 updates and news that may impact you, like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/QueenslandPolice and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/QPSmedia
