Victoria Police officers in Melbourne, Australia. Photo / Getty Images
Victoria Police officers in Melbourne, Australia. Photo / Getty Images
Victoria Police announcing heavily armed officers will be deployed at the Australian Open is a “sad sign of the times”, Nationals leader David Littleproud says.
Specialist police armed with semiautomatic rifles have become commonplace at major events since the Bondi terror attack.
They were deployed across Sydney on New Year’sEve and Melbourne during the Boxing Day Test.
Declaring the beefed-up Boxing Day Test security measures a success, Victoria Police this week confirmed it would do the same for the Australian Open, which is tipped to attract more than 1.1 million tennis fans to Melbourne Park between January 18 and February 1.
Littleproud said on Sunday it was the right decision.
Nationals leader David Littleproud. Photo / Getty Images
“Look, it is a sad sign of the times that we have now reached a point where police need long arm weapons,” he told Nine’s Weekend Today.
“The reason is that side-arms have about a 15m effective accuracy range, so these longer weapons keep police safer and also allow them to respond more quickly.
“I think it is a precautionary measure and it is the right one to take, but it is sad that our society has reached this point.”
He pointed to the Bondi attack to show “why [these] precautions are necessary”.
Fifteen people were killed in the shooting at a Chanukah gathering on December 14, with dozens more injured and tears ripped in Australia’s multicultural social fabric.
Many have questioned why only three police officers were on duty at the time, especially after a Jewish security group revealed it wrote to NSW Police expressing their concern.
With the country’s law enforcement and intelligence agencies under scrutiny, the Albanese government has announced a departmental probe into how federal and state services co-operate.
Littleproud said Victoria Police’s decision “gives people extra confidence”.
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