Released 13/02/2018 - Joint media release
The ACT Government is planning for another successful National Multicultural Festival with strong safety and security measures in place for the three day event.
Minister for Multicultural Affairs Rachel Stephen-Smith said last year’s Festival drew 280,000 people to Civic and festival organisers have been planning and testing safety and security measures ahead of the 2018 Festival .
“People coming to the National Multicultural Festival won’t see many visible or obvious changes, but can be assured there are strong public safety measures in place,” Ms Stephen-Smith said.
“Attracting so many people to Civic means we have to consider crowd and traffic management strategies so everyone can safely enjoy this vibrant event.
“The safety measures and plans in place this year build on the lessons from previous years. Hard work behind the scenes ensures everyone can celebrate our city’s cultural diversity in a safe and controlled environment.”
Minister for Police and Emergency Services Mick Gentleman said a remote CCTV monitoring station was now a permanent part of the event control centre after a successful trial last year.
“The ACT Government manages the public safety CCTV system including 28 cameras in Civic, many of which have been upgraded in time for this year’s National Multicultural Festival,” Mr Gentleman said.
“In the 2016-17 Budget, the Government invested $376,000 to upgrade the system which has boosted the quality and performance of the cameras.
“As an extension of last year’s trial of a remote CCTV monitoring station, this year we will continue to have full-time monitoring for the entire festival.
“The station will provide real-time and recorded information for our emergency and health offices to monitor public safety as well as provide essential advice to agencies to assist with crowd management, traffic flow and other amenity services.
“Some of the cameras being used have been upgraded in the past year provide operators with improved coverage. That is 360 degree vision at all times and advanced vision at night, in many cases using a full colour night image.
“ACT Policing actively monitors the Civic CCTV feed from the Winchester Police Station and this will continue on Friday and Saturday night as part of usual network monitoring.
“The community can be confident and feel safe while they are enjoying this year’s National Multicultural Festival. The event is being managed in line with national best-practice incident management principles that our emergency services use everyday.”
If anybody sees anything they think is of a suspicious nature, they should report it to ACT Policing in the first instance on 131 444 or Emergency Triple Zero ‘000’ if the issue is life-threatening.
Find the official program guide to this year’s festival at https://www.multiculturalfestival.com.au/ and don’t forget to download the Festival app, available now on iOS and Android.
- Statement ends -
Rachel Stephen-Smith, MLA | Mick Gentleman, MLA | Media Releases
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