 So, just as a way of introduction, I'd just like to welcome the Honourable Joss Frydenburg here representing the Prime Minister here today for this significant announcement and the obviously this significant partnership and support that we have from our federal colleagues. Also, we have Deputy Commissioner Ross Barnett who will be able to speak to you on some operational matters as well as Assistant Commissioner Katerina Carroll who is in charge of the G20 operational facilities but also the major operation over the coming months and Queensland certainly is well ahead of our G20 preparations ensuring that we've already had the legislation in place. We have the, as you'll see today, the infrastructure in place and more than important, we have the partnerships and as well as the communication strategies to ensure that Queensland has a safe G20 but also a friendly G20 to the many thousands of delegates that will come from all around the world. So we've got approximately 4,000 officials and 3,000 media representatives coming here to showcase Brisbane and Queensland as a safe state, a great state, also a great economy for them to invest in the future and we want to ensure that not just our visitors in G20 but also all Queenslanders in the rest of Australia can see this event as a showcase to exhibit to the rest of the world. This particular operational communication command centre that we have here is world first, it's state of the art and as a government we said that we would be revitalising frontline services and this is the continuation of that revitalisation of bringing the Queensland Police Service into the 21st century and ensuring that we are ahead of many police services right around the whole of the world. You'll see here today is the partnership as I said between the Queensland Police Service, the Australian Federal Police Services, the Australian Defence Services as well as other agencies both on a state, federal and local government level including the Brisbane City Council where we have those direct linkages into what's happening on the streets of Brisbane. But not just what's happening on the streets of Brisbane but how police and obviously other officials can ensure that those dangers are reduced for the benefit of the whole of the community. I'll just ask the Honourable Josh Bridenberg to say some words please. Well thank you very much Minister, it's a great pleasure to join you here for this announcement and Deputy Commissioner Barnett and Assistant Commissioner Carroll representing my parliamentary colleague Michael Keenan and also my good friend and Brisbane member Theresa Gambaro. Today is an important day because we are making good strides forward in ensuring that the G20, the most important meeting, international meeting that Australia has ever held is done in a way that is secure and safe for not just the leaders but for the people of Brisbane and for Queensland. As the Minister said this is a huge gathering, 4,000 delegates, 3,000 media representatives, the world's 20 leading political leaders from around the world including President Obama from the United States and President Xi Jinping from China and many, many others. It is a great opportunity for Brisbane, it's a great opportunity for Queensland and it's a great opportunity for Australia. Just like with other major meetings whether it's been APEC or Chogham or international events like the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games, the security component of those events have been extremely important. The opening, the official opening today of this QPS Major Facility Coordination Centre is extremely important in ensuring the safety of the event. It's also a major financial commitment for the federal government. We have contributed more than $97 million to ensure the security of the G20. $4.5 million has gone towards this facility and as you can see it's state of the art linking into CCTV, providing networking within the various conference rooms and ensuring that the various law enforcement agencies and intelligence agencies that will operate out of here, the Australian Federal Police, the Defence Force, ASIO and of course Queensland Police and more than 5,000 may I say police officers and law enforcement personnel from not just around Australia but also internationally. It's a major gathering, it needs to be safe and secure, it will be as a result of a facility like this. I'd like to thank the Queensland Government and particularly the Premier Campbell Newman who's worked very closely with the Prime Minister Tony Abbott in the preparations for this event as well as with the Mayor of the Brisbane City Council because they're an important part of the organisation for the G20. It's an exciting time and we look forward to working with Jack, with you, with your colleagues to ensure a great success for Australia and for Queensland when the G20 arrives. Thank you Josh, I'll just put it on to Deputy Commissioner in the short period of time but this is a world class leading facility that will stay the test of time through the G20 and showcase Australia as a leader in the security of major events but it will also give a great deal of peace of mind for Queenslanders and Australia leading forward and I'd just like to particularly commend and thank the Australian Federal Government, the Prime Minister yourself Josh for this commitment not just in funding but as you'll see through this Centre it's the partnership in relation to working together as a team to get the safest result for all the people in our different communities. It's about that information sharing, it's also about ensuring that the different departments are working together and linked together for the first time. You won't have people in different rooms trying to communicate, they'll be linked directly to each other for the first time which will see a distinctive advantage and a distinctive driven force of coordination to ensure that these games are kept in a safe as possible manner but also ensure that the rest of the world looking in will see the quality of the events that are able to be held here in Australia but also the type of security and the sense of safety that individuals will have and it will showcase Queensland and Australia as a safe place to do business with but also to come and visit. So Deputy Commissioner if you've got any operational? Thank you Minister. Operations across will be the largest peace time security operation in Australia's history as has already been mentioned that will require a commitment of over five and a half thousand police officers. The vast majority of those will be drawn from across the QPS but I want to acknowledge we've had significant support from the Australian Federal Police, every other state jurisdiction and New Zealand in contributing staff to that commitment. A significant part of the security responsibility that has been placed upon us in which we welcome, we understand the gravity of the situation, the ability to be able to discharge that function effectively will be helped significantly by this facility in which we are meeting today. I want to thank and acknowledge the federal government and the state government for their financial and other support in making this facility a reality. This police operation centre is, as the Minister said, absolutely state of the art and the best in Australia. We're very proud of it. We look forward to showing it to you the many facilities that it does have. What it does give us as a permanent legacy benefit for the Queensland Police once G20 is over is an integrated communications and command centre that has hardwired in our connections to all of the other major agencies with whom we do business. So for instance, when we need to gather for a major exercise or a major event, agencies such as ambulance, fire, ADF, ASIO and a range of other partners that we do business with on a daily basis will already have secure communications wired in to this facility. So when you get the opportunity to see it, it is fantastic to stay to the art and we look forward to being able to showcase it to you. Thank you. Any questions? I'll definitely commission on it. To our Sydney's 2007 APEC summit, there was also a $100 million fair to criticise because too many streets were blocked off. What lessons have you learned from the 2007 APEC summit in preparing for Brisbane? Well in our security preparations for this event, we have looked at similar events that have been held not only in Australia but around the world and have learnt the lessons from the way that those events have been conducted and all of the lessons from APEC and every other G20 and every other significant event, security events that have been held has been carefully considered in our security planning for this event. Carl, but on that point though, I mean APEC was breached by the Chasers team. What was the major mistake of APEC which won't be repeated in Brisbane? Well I'm not going to look backwards at what mistakes if they were made by other jurisdictions in other events. All I'll say to you is that we have examined all of those and our security planning we think is an amalgamation of best practice from around the world and we're confident that we'll be able to provide a safe, secure and dignified environment for the top leaders of the world when they come to Brisbane in mid-November. How will this set up in use after the G20? It's a great legacy benefit for us so that when we have usual events like river fire, insect day, New Year's Eve, those sorts of things, we have the most fantastic command and control facility with CCTV and other outreach throughout the south-east Queensland and we'll be able to use this regularly and for the decades to come. That won't be my fault. No, definitely not. No, just for your bit there Robin, if you would have seen the communication centre which we inherited two years ago, it was like from a scene from Solo 1, you know, with the old motorbike riders with the police departments, whereas you're actually coming into a, you know, a most state-of-the-art scene from Battlestar Galactic Area to say the least and that's what it's all about. As we said there, it's about making sure that we keep working on revitalising frontline services and this here today will showcase as well as what we're doing with G20 but what we are doing with the whole revitalisation and technology now that the QPS has and we're now becoming world leaders in investigation and that's been seen in the results that we have in very serious crimes being solved recently. Ross, will there be snipers in the roof? You can rest assured that the security overlay that we put in place will have elements from the Commonwealth and the state. We're not going to broadcast all of our security planning for obvious incidents but can I say that we recognise the terrorist threat that currently exists in this country and we'll take all the necessary precautions but we're not going to make all of those precautions available to the public and I'm sure you understand the reasons why. But snipers are normally stationed on roofs though, aren't they? As I said, this is not a how-to session for people who are looking to breach the security at G20. I just want to give reassurance that we have carefully considered all of our contingencies and have factored all of those elements into our planning. How valuable address rehearsal was the recent roll visit? Considering that it was going to occur in the same environment around the BCEC, it was very valuable for us. We'll also be doing a range of exercises to test our capabilities here both in the Joint Intelligence Centre downstairs and in the Police Operations Centre here. They'll be rolling exercises over the next few months to make sure that when we get to G20 we're as fully prepared and exercised as we possibly can be. You're running out scenarios at the moment, Claire, with saying in a nerve centre, can you tell us... I mean, these are real-life scenarios, supposedly. Look, we've been doing scenario training around possible but fictitious events. Today and tomorrow is to familiarise our commanders with the new technology they'll have access to here and then over the weekend we'll be doing...we'll be running scenario exercise. Just to try to replicate the feel and tempo of activity that will be occurring during the G20, which will be significant. So security breaches or a possible attack or anti-government protests, all that kind of stuff? Yeah, look, in concert with the Commonwealth Government, they funded a range of exercise for us as well. So that's been rolling for about the last 12 months. We've had discussion exercises and we will increase the intensity and frequency of those exercises as we get closer to the event. Once the G20 is under way with the lead-up week, I'm guessing, how will the command round the clock and what agency will be in there? Look, I'm happy... I just want to acknowledge Assistant Commissioner Katerina Carroll, who is...well, I'll be the overall commander, but Katerina is the operational commander for G20, has been working on the planning for this event for the last two years with a large and highly dedicated team, including also we have partners at the Commonwealth G20 Task Force who have been invaluable in assisting our planning and also the state government coordination unit. So we have representatives from all of those people here. But Katerina has done an outstanding job in getting our preparations to this date. We were comfortable with where we're at. We're in no way complacent, but we feel that we're on track with our security planning. So I'll hand over to Katerina for my questions. Katerina, let's get you to come in the middle here, please. Just to answer who will be in this Police Operations Centre, it's literally every agency that we deal with. So the boss has already touched on Queensland Fire, ambulance, ADF, AFP, ASIO. So every law enforcement, every security agency, and all levels of government. And just to add, it is the Prime Minister and Cabinet event and obviously funded by them, and the relationship has been quite exceptional. And for us, I think the most pleasing part about this is we've been able to work quite quickly to get to this point, and we still have some six and a half months that we can test and exercise before we deliver the operation. How much pressure is being felt considering the magnitude of the leaders who are coming? How much pressure is being felt to get this far? I think there is a lot of pressure to get this right. We've been all over the world to look at past events similar to this, not only within our country, as APEC was mentioned, but also other G20s. But certainly planning has been well underway now for 18 months, and there's still six and a half months to go. We're quite confident that we are travelling along very well, but as you know, six months will go very, very quickly, and the event will be upon us. The Prime Minister mentioned that $97 million was going towards security. The overall cost for the G20s is relatively about $400 million. What's the rest of that? What's the other $300 million? Oh, there is lots of expenses that are incurred in promoting the event, ensuring that the proper facilities here, because as we talked about, you've got 4,000 delegates, you've got to find accommodation for them, as well as the media centre, and as you know, it's going to be held at the convention centre, where there's just going to be a huge amount of preparation. So the cost set up, but the security component of it is significant. I just want to emphasise that the Prime Minister recently had a briefing on the security preparations for the G20 from the Deputy Commissioner and the Assistant Commissioner and the various other federal agencies that were involved, and he was very comfortable and pleased with the progress that has been made today. But he also wanted to emphasise to the people of Queensland that we're not seeking to lockdown Brisbane, far from it. This is a wonderful event to showcase Brisbane and Queensland and Australia. And so we very much want to ensure that the people of Brisbane can go about their normal business. But at the same time, we can have these Heads of State join us for these very important discussions around how they're going to improve the economic governance around the world, how they're going to deal with some of the other major fiscal challenges that will be discussed around that table. So it's a very important point to emphasise. This is going to be done in conjunction with the people of Brisbane. The law enforcement agencies are bearing that in mind and that is very much the wish of the Prime Minister. I mean, Sydney was criticised seven years ago for blocking off so many streets. It got ridiculous. You couldn't walk in the city centre. Would you try and not make it so ridiculous like it was in Sydney seven years ago? Well, I understand there's going to be a public holiday in the lead up and various arrangements will be made. I mean, of course, there are going to have to be some restrictions that you're going to need to put in place to ensure that the various leaders are able to move within the area and between events. But as far as possible we are going to ensure that normal business can be done and that the people of Brisbane do not find that this is a major imposition. And may I say that the importance of this meeting on that weekend November 15, 16 in Brisbane is going to produce lasting benefits to the State of Queensland. We are looking to showcase Queensland and showcase Australia to the thousands of people that are here focusing on our resource sector, focusing on our agriculture sector, focusing on our tourism and education sector. It is hoped that the messages that will be conveyed, that the information that will be given will lead to multi-million dollar contracts in time, hundreds of thousands of visitors coming to Australia in time and that will produce lasting benefits for not just this State but for the country. We have been told that 5000 police will be based here for G20. How many defence personnel? Well that might be kept under wraps in terms of the security preparations but the front line is the police and they are the ones who are going to be responsible for ensuring that the security of the G20 event is guaranteed. The new international presidents in October this is the first major event where the new Indonesian president is. How important will this G20 be for Australia's ties with Indonesia? Well as you know there is also the East Asia summit and the APEC meeting around the fortnight that involves also the G20 so it may not be the first event that the new Indonesian president attends but indeed it may be the first time they visit Australia. The Indonesia-Australia bilateral relationship is very important. SBY, Cecilio Bang Bang Udiono, the current president of Indonesia has been a great friend of Australia, has visited here like his predecessors and the Prime Minister has obviously visited Jakarta since assuming office. So we look forward to continuing that relationship and very much welcoming our friends from Indonesia for the G20. Next you have got some community forums coming up today and tomorrow. What are they for? What questions do you think people need answers to? We're going to continue our community forums and what we're wanting is as well as we understand there will be certain levels of protest at a G20 event and that's why we're getting out there and informing the community letting them know where there is places for them to go, where there are areas that they can feel also safe in there as well to have their free speech but also the most important thing is to know that they are part of our community as well and they will be certainly catered for in a way and as the honourable member just stated is this will be a special G20 event for the whole of Australia to showcase this great nation but it will be a great opportunity for the Queensland Police Service and the assisting agencies to shine as well. So whilst it is going to be obviously an interesting and a nervous time as you would imagine for all services it is a great time for them to be able to showcase the great talent and security measures that we have in place. So protests like we saw with the small Aboriginal group during the royal visit what you're saying is you're going to be planning they can plan those and be in a certain place to democratically say what they want. That's correct but I'll get the operas Catarina is also looking at that. We have a great meeting with all protest groups at the moment so there is a committee in place between the Queensland Police Service and the Brisbane City Council who are working together to accommodate those needs. From the very outset it has been our philosophy to engage with everyone that will be impacted by G20. So protest groups residents, businesses you name it and that's one of the reasons why we're having this public forum that's been hosted by Prime Minister and Cabinet is for people that really want to know how they're going to be impacted they really should come to that forum. What we're saying is we will meet with these groups and try and ensure as much as we can that all protests are lawful and peaceful. However, there will become a point though if there is disruption there is damage and there is destruction that we will take affirmative action. I think it's important that we make sure that all protests are lawful and peaceful. However, there will become a point though when we take affirmative action. I think everyone knows that doesn't matter what you do these days you are under some sort of surveillance, some sort of CCTV, whether it be on your cameras whether it be the cameras that are provided by the City Council or other agencies people do need to know that we all want a safe and secure G20. Not just for the delegations but for the community and the residents of Brisbane as well. We saw in Toronto and London that not all of those protestors will be taken to the table beforehand. Will there be kettling? If things go, you know, if they become violent and aggressive, will there be kettling or will you go... We don't use the term kettling in Queensland in fact it's a form of containment we don't intend using that. You know, we're very upfront about how we want to go about business we want to engage, we want to communicate we want to have that trust when we go into this operation with those groups that don't want to engage with us we'll be out engaging with them. Look, we just have to wait and see what transpires. I mean, you're right in terms of recent developments in the Crimea and in the sanctions that have followed but let's just wait and see what happens. I mean, primarily he focuses on economic issues and the treasurer Joe Hockey has been meeting with his finance counterparts and we have a very advanced and comprehensive agenda around trade around tax reform around financial governance but as we saw in the last G20 meeting which was in Russia the Syrian conflict became a major issue for discussion so we just do not know what will be the major issue come in November but as you say Vladimir Putin and Russia a member of the G20 and I suppose if they want to come they'll all come. Should we expect to see tanks in the street? I'd absolutely say no to that look, I just want to emphasise here that this is a great opportunity for Queensland and when we hear about potential protesters and the like sure people can voice their opinions but the vast majority of Queenslanders should be celebrating this opportunity and encouraging the community to get behind it and saying to those protesters don't hijack our event don't hijack our opportunity to put Brisbane on the international map and that's what this is is an incredible opportunity for this state and for the country to host the 20 leaders from the United Nations as well as the European Union the heads of international organisations like the United Nations like the IMF, like the World Bank will all be here in Brisbane together with a vast array of media representatives from around the world we are taking the necessary precautions it's our responsibility as a federal government to ensure that these international leaders are able to conduct their business in a safe and secure environment we're working very effectively with our state counterparts in that regard but I want to just emphasise this is a celebration this event is a great opportunity this is not going to be an overbearing security, ADF type environment this is not that this is an opportunity to have world leaders come together for constructive discussions in this great city of Brisbane how do you have us being the criticised for breaking an election promise with the deficit levy how concerned are you about that should it be scrapped? well let's not get ahead of ourselves the budget is still to come there's obviously been a lot of speculation in the media about what will or will not be contained in the budget we have a big task ahead of us we were given cumulative deficits totaling $123 billion projected deficits out to $667 billion the Australian people elected us to fix this mess we will announce a number of initiatives in the budget which will go towards that aim of bringing the budget back into balance it's a long and arduous task it's not popular, if you go back to 1996 when John Howard came into office in his first budget he cut spending across the board 1% of GDP and in 1997 1.2% of GDP while quarantining defences the only area that was saved from those spending cuts this is tough but necessary action for Australia and in doing so we will ensure that the economic environment for Australians the job opportunity for Australians in the future will be much better as a result can you have on you that it's a terrible idea to just cut spending rather than putting it in government we just quickly stick to that question I just wanted to ask Katrina we've seen protests in Melbourne for example that have gone out of control really quickly spikes in police forces obviously as you said you've prepared for anything that case you're obviously talking from the G 2006 I suppose we certainly have studied all those and learnt from them we're prepared for those actions the environment has changed a lot since then so I keep harping on about the fact that we are engaging in groups already we know people that want to protest we also keep reiterating that lawful and peaceful protests will be supported however if there is that certain line in the sand that is drawn and they step over that there has to be action taken the reality is we have 20 of world leaders in our city to protect and we have an obligation to do so so people need to understand that but we have made every effort to engage with anyone that's going to be affected and we will continue to do so can I just follow up on that just in terms of the comments we've made earlier on Mr. Freiberberg the QPS clearly understands the Prime Minister's intent about how we like this event to be run, the look and feel of it so you can rest assured that the security measures that are put in place will be necessary but they will not be oppressive and will be very disappointed after the event if there is criticism that the security overlay that's put in place wasn't deemed appropriate for the circumstances what did you think when you saw recent pursuit of yesterday and the day before that I'm happy to do that but is there anything else just on G20? I'll come to that in the economic environment in the economic environment that's so abominable how affordable is the G20? well let's say it is absolutely affordable and as you know as a commitment by the previous government because the spin-offs for the Australian economy and for the community will be much greater than that particular expenditure that has been committed this is a unique opportunity countries all around the world are jealous of Australia for being able to host such a great meeting of world leaders so I'm very confident that this meeting will go off successfully that the discussions will be constructive and productive and that the benefits to the people of Queensland and Australia will be both lasting and real