POLITICIANS, staff and visitors will be faced with heightened security measures at Parliament House in Hobart following a deadly terrorist attack on Canada’s Parliament.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Speaker Elise Archer said increased steps would be taken to guarantee safety when Tasmania’s Parliament returned next week.
Ms Archer said ramping up security was an appropriate step in the wake of two deadly Ottawa shootings.
‘‘It serves as a reminder to Australians and indeed Tasmanians that we are not immune,’’ she said.
‘‘We certainly don’t want to be alarmed and we don’t want people to feel that they can’t go about their daily business but we’ve taken necessary steps we think are appropriate in the circumstances.’’
Ms Archer said there was no direct threat to Parliament House, but visitors would notice a difference.
Ms Archer would not be drawn on specific security arrangements.
‘‘I don’t want to go into specifics because I think that of itself can be some sort of security risk,’’ she said.
‘‘But can I assure Tasmanians we have taken necessary measures should they be needed.’’
Canada has been left reeling after a 24-year-old reservist soldier was shot dead in a terrorist attack at Ottawa’s national war memorial on Thursday.
The gunman then stormed the nearby Parliament building, where he was shot dead by its sergeant-at-arms.
It was the second lone-wolf attack on Canadian military personnel within a week.
The incident has prompted security reviews across Australian parliamentary and defence facilities.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott said security would be stepped up at Parliament House and the Australian War Memorial in Canberra to prevent copycat attacks.
Mr Abbott said that because the war memorial was a national symbol, it could present as a potential target.
‘‘There’s the Last Post at our War Memorial every day and I guess if someone wanted to do something gruesome that’s the kind of thing that could be looked at,’’ Mr Abbott said.
Premier Will Hodgman said the government had received a significant amount of information and intelligence from local and federal agencies following the Canadian terrorist attack.
‘‘In response to the horrific events in Ottawa there is, of course, an ongoing interest in ensuring public buildings in Tasmania, including Parliament House, are properly secure,’’ Mr Hodgman said.
‘‘And for all those who work in or around them to be afforded appropriate protection ... that work is going on as we speak.’’
Former Labor premier Lara Giddings said the shooting had prompted natural questions about security at the Tasmanian Parliament.
‘‘I’m sure that when you see these sorts of events occur, you do wonder about your own Parliament in that respect,’’ Ms Giddings said.
‘‘But I have full confidence in the Parliament itself, in our clerks, in our speaker and our president that they will ensure that any security that is required is available to us.’’