Counter-terrorism Exercise Neighbour 18 links Commonwealth, Western Australia and South Australia

Police and other emergency services in South Australia and Western Australia are this week working together with Commonwealth national security agencies in a three-day counter-terrorism exercise called Neighbour 18.

Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton, Assistant Minister for Home Affairs Linda Reynolds, South Australian Minister for Police Corey Wingard, and Western Australian Minister for Police Michelle Roberts have today re-emphasised the importance of national cooperation in responding to terrorism that this exercise demonstrates.

“It is vital for all of Australia’s response agencies to maintain and practice their readiness,” Minister Dutton said.

“The terrorist attack in Melbourne less than a fortnight ago was a terrible reminder of the reality of the current threat environment.

“Police and security officials around the country have helped to disrupt 15 potential terror attacks, but if an attack does occur we need police and other emergency services to be well-rehearsed and coordinated with national security agencies when they go into action.

“Regular counter-terrorism exercises such as Neighbour 18 are vital to test and rehearse those national arrangements.”

Exercise Neighbour 18, which runs from November 20 -22, features scenarios drawn from contemporary threats including chemical and explosive devices, attacks on crowded places, and attacks on government facilities.

South Australian Minister for Police Corey Wingard said the South Australian agencies were very pleased to be able to exercise their local arrangements and response to a terrorist incident, or series of incidents.

“Exercise Neighbour 18 is an excellent demonstration of multi-agency and multi-jurisdictional cooperation in a time when the security environment poses significant challenges for police and the community,” Minister Wingard said.

“Part of what is being exercised is SAPOL’s rapid response capability. Recently the state government funded SAPOL for more non-sworn positions so that operational police could come out of police stations and help form a new rapid response capability.

“SA Police Commissioner Grant Stevens is still developing the model and this exercise will work some way toward developing an effective and efficient rapid response capability for similar type incidents.”

On November 1 the South Australian government also introduced new legislation which permitted protection of police officers in certain situations when using force or lethal force in declared terrorist situations.

“This includes protecting the identities of police officers from being revealed in court or published by the media in situations where lethal force has been used,” Minister Wingard said.

“The State Government continues to examine the use of bollards in a range of major event sites and significant public areas such as Rundle Mall.

Western Australia Minister for Police Michelle Roberts said exercises such as Neighbour 18 made a valuable contribution to the preparedness of the Western Australian Police Force.

“It’s essential our police and other agencies are adequately prepared in the event of a terrorist threat or incident,” Minister Roberts said.

“Training exercises like the one we’ve seen over the past two days help to test and validate that preparedness.

“The Western Australian Police Force is well placed to effectively manage and respond to any threat to community safety.”

Assistant Minister for Home Affairs Linda Reynolds, who attended the exercise in Adelaide today, said the annual exercise program was just one component of the Australian Government’s counter-terrorism investment through the Australia-New Zealand Counter-Terrorism Committee (ANZCTC).

“The Australian Government’s first priority is keeping Australia safe,” Assistant Minister Reynolds said.

“The ANZCTC allocates around $1.88 million a year to conduct counter-terrorism exercises nationally, to help ensure the response to terrorism is as effective as possible.

“Together as a nation, at all levels of government, we are absolutely committed to working together to counter the threat of terrorism.”

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