The final session of a counter-terrorism exercise will be conducted in Sydney, the Hunter and Northern NSW today, to test the emergency response in multiple terrorist threat scenarios.
Exercise ‘Blue Bottle IV’ has been developed by the Counter Terrorism and Special Tactics Command as part of the Australia-New Zealand Counter-Terrorism Committee (ANZCTC) to evaluate the response to contemporary mixed-mode attacks across NSW.
The Blue Bottle series – the NSW commitment to the ongoing testing and refinement of counter terrorism arrangements – has been running since 2018 as desktop exercises and this evolution is designed to build on those learnings and incorporate additional counter terrorism stakeholders from across the state.
The NSW Police Force-led exercise includes officers and resources from the NSW Police Force, Fire and Rescue NSW, NSW Ambulance and the NSW Rural Fire Service.
Police and emergency services personnel will test their preparedness for a number of scenarios, including chemical/biological/radiological/nuclear (CBRN) threats, active armed offenders, and barricade/siege incidents.
In the last of four sessions, today’s (Saturday 19 June 2021) exercise will be conducted at the Alternate State Operations Centre at NSW Police Headquarters, Fire and Rescue NSW Emergency Services Academy, the Regional Operations Centre (Newcastle), and training facilities at Mayfield and Lennox Head.
Previously, the exercise was also conducted at training facilities in the Illawarra, Dubbo, and Wagga Wagga, and tested the capability and response of emergency services in major regional hubs.
While there is no current or impending threat to the community, anyone with information about extremist activity or possible threats to the community is urged to come forward, no matter how small or insignificant you may think the information may be. The National Security Hotline is 1800 123 400.
Further, information relating to any criminal activity in the community can be reported to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence.
For more information on countering terrorism in NSW, including national and state arrangements, legislation, and policy, visit: https://www.secure.nsw.gov.au.
