Kindgo
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http://www.dailytelegraph.news.com....255E701,00.html
By SIMON KEARNEY and SARAH BLAKE
13oct02
ENERGY facilities across Australia are on their highest alert ever after being threatened by terrorist Osama bin Laden.
For the first time September 11, specific types of sites on Australian soil had been targeted, Attorney-General Daryl Williams revealed yesterday.
Electricity, gas, oil and water suppliers yesterday increased security and police patrols were ordered to monitor utilities fixtures.
"The information we've been provided with relates to the energy production and distribution infrastructure," Mr Williams said yesterday.
"That can include power plants, it might include oil refineries, it might include gas transmission lines."
NSW's main power plants are in the Hunter Valley and at Lithgow while the Kurnell oil refinery on Botany Bay is the largest in metropolitan Sydney.
Mr Williams said the Government had been warned by the United States that "a number of sources" had indicated Australia and five other countries would be targeted.
NSW Police counter-terrorism expert, Deputy Commissioner Andrew Scipione, said yesterday chief executives of the State's utilities had been notified of the warning.
"We don't talk about our security arrangements, but we are on heightened security and will remain to be so," Deputy Commissioner Scipione said.
"We are treating this very, very seriously, as we do all of these threats."
A spokesman for Energy Minister Kim Yeadon said yesterday electricity and gas suppliers had increased security measures.
"We have beefed up security and are more than aware of the potential threat," he said.
"There are a lot of generators and transmitters in NSW and they have their own security, usually involving surveillance and security guards.
"All of those are on full alert at the moment and will continue to be so for some time."
The State's two main electricity generators – Macquarie Generation in the Hunter Valley, and Delta Electricity at Lithgow – have upgraded security.
A spokeswoman for Telstra said staff at its monitoring Global Operations Centre in Melbourne had been drilled over the past three months on what do in the event of an attack.
"The staff have been rehearsing in evacuations to our back-up system (at an undisclosed location) and we are confident we could cope," she said.
"With this new warning, it's a case of heightened vigilance and working in cooperation with law enforcement and emergency services."
An Australian Nuclear Science and Technology spokesman said yesterday security at the Lucas Heights reactor had been on a heightened level for the past year.
The Federal Government yesterday called for Australians to be more alert than ever before.
"The Australian Government has been advised by the United States Government that there is the possibility of terrorist attacks in the sector of energy production and transmission," Mr Williams said.
"There's a range of facilities that are covered by that description. To give an example, the attack on the French oil tanker in Yemen is believed to be by terrorists and that is consistent with the warning we've been given."
Mr Williams called on Australians to report anything they considered suspicious.
"What we want people to do is to be aware there is a threat and they should be more than usually vigilant in looking for suspicious activity," Mr Williams said.
Overseas posts, particularly in Asia, were reminded to maintain the high alert status they have been on since December last year, when several posts were targeted by Al Qaeda.
Mr Williams revealed Osama bin Laden had mentioned Australia specifically on two occasions, the most recent being the Al Qaeda leader's purported statement on October 6.
"It's important that the Australian public understands that Australia is not immune from the possibility of terrorist attack, we are part of the war against terrorism, we have seen Australian interests threatened," Mr Williams said.
"The arrest in Singapore of Jemaah Islamiyah who were planning an attack on, among others, the Australian High Commission building, is evidence that Australia is not immune.
"We've seen Osama bin Laden in two statements refer to Australia specifically. We can't be complacent."
The warning comes after terror expert Rohan Gunaratna – who has interviewed Al Qaeda prisoners – said last week that Osama bin Laden had a support cell operating in Australia.
Yesterday, CNN was reporting the cell, called Mantiqi 4, also worked out of Papua New Guinea and was linked to the same Jemaah Islamiyah arm of Al Qaeda that had plotted to blow up Australia's High Commission in Singapore last year.
Prime Minister John Howard yesterday pleaded with Australians to support the stance of US President George W. Bush on Iraq.
"The easy thing to do would be to say 'let's take a risk, lets not do anything'," he told a Liberal party conference in Victoria.
"I detect an unreasoned desire to unfairly attack and criticise American behaviour against a background of always assuming that the protection and support of the US will always be there. This issue is not going to go away and cannot go unaddressed." Australia's response to the new threat is being coordinated by the Security Incident Taskforce, staffed by representatives of all Australia's security and intelligence agencies.
At this stage local police will increase security around power infrastructure but on site security will remain in the hands of the operators, Mr Williams said.
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God bless,
Kindgo
Inside the will of God there is no failure. Outside the will of God there is no success.
Posts: 4320 | From: Sunny Florida | Registered: Jun 2002
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