Counterterrorism The Australian 21 September 2006

21 SEPTEMBER 2006.

John Stapleton

THE NSW and Federal governments have launched a major counter-terrorism exercise at Sydney airport ahead of an APEC meeting of world leaders next year.

A public holiday has been declared in NSW for the 2007 APEC leaders forum next September, the largest international meeting ever held in Australia. World leaders are expected to include US President George Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Attorney General Philip Ruddock said 30 Australian and NSW government agencies, as well as Qantas and the Sydney Airport Corporation, were involved in testing the response to a terrorist situation. He said it was impossible to exactly replicate a attack, but planes had been a traditional terrorist target.

``Securing the personal safety of people on board aircrafts is a common scenario for overseas security agencies,'' he said. ``These are events that have occurred elsewhere in the world.''

The Exercise ``Blue Luminary'' began on Tuesday night and will continue for three weeks with a series of terrorism ``crises'' designed to be as realistic as possible. The first exercise involved the hijacking of a jet containing dignitaries as it prepared to take off from Sydney Airport.

Ruddock said about $70 million had been allocated to ensure the safety and security of leaders at next year's APEC forum. Experience from the London bombings in July 2005 demonstrated that continuous testing of anti-terrorist strategies was crucial. ``Virtually every APEC leader will be arriving via Sydney Airport,'' he said.

NSW Deputy Police Commissioner Terry Collins said it was impossible to set up every scenario known to man, but to be able to act out situations at Sydney Airport was vital. ``We have some insidious writers who put out some very strange scenarios,'' he said. ``The exercise will give us the unique opportunity to test our preparedness for an incident at Sydney Airport using a plane, a terminal and other aviation elements.

NSW Premier Morris Iemma said that as the gateway to country's only truly global city Sydney Airport was a natural target. ``While there is no specific threat to the airport, we must remain ever vigilant against attack,'' he said. ``Our team will include more than 250 NSW police officers who will work in conjunction with our Emergency Services and the Australian Defence Force.

``NSW Police Tactical Operations Unit officers and ADF personnel stormed the aircraft to end the mock threat and ensure the hostages were released safe and well.''

He said excellent coordination had developed with state and federal agencies and overseas intelligence units as a result of the counter-terrorism exercises of the past couple of years.