Hotels locked down as Brisbane prepares to host G20
Queensland police officers patrol around the Marriott Hotel today where Barack Obama will stay. Picture: Jack Tran Source: News Corp Australia
THE Russians have arrived. A cargo plane carrying the hardware and vehicles for Russian president Vladimir Putin’s motorcade has landed in Brisbane as the city ramps up security for this weekend’s G20 leaders’ summit.
The five-star Marriott Hotel, which is hosting US president Barack Obama and his hundreds-strong entourage, and the celebrity-favoured Stamford Plaza — accommodating Chinese president Xi Jingping — are being locked down today. Only those with security clearance and Commonwealth accreditation will have access.
Under special G20 legislation, 13 hotels in Brisbane’s CBD and on the Gold Coast will be surrounded by steel fences and join the “red zone” restricted areas.
From Friday until Monday, police will have extraordinary powers to declare motorcade areas, which gives special traffic protection and isolation for dignitaries’ cars and entourages.
Vladimir Putin's official cars arrive in Brisbane ahead of the G20. Picture: Peter Wallis
The G20 legislation also bans people from suspiciously carrying certain items in the “declared” zone, which extends through most of Brisbane’s innercity and South Bank, where the leaders’ summit will be held.
The prohibited items are (among other things): weapons, an antique firearm, a knife, a shanghai, a slingshot, a sword, a captive bolt humane killer, an explosive tool, a bow, a spear gun, a replica gun, an arrow, a blowpipe, handcuffs, a whip, a mobile phone jammer, a cattle prod, fireworks, glass bottles or jars, metal cans, stones, eggs, nails, tacks, large placards, urine, a fence paling, a reptile, an insect or a flotation device.
Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said he was “apprehensive” about Brisbane hosting the G20, despite the years of planning.
The plane carrying Vladimir Putin's official cars arrives in Brisbane. Picture: Peter Wallis
“I’m apprehensive because I often joke about this ... we are paid to worry,” Mr Newman told ABC radio today.
“It doesn’t matter whether it’s the G20 or it’s planning for the next storm season or cyclone season for Queensland ... we’re paid to think about what we need to do next and to literally anticipate problems and try to deal with them.”
From tomorrow the premier, his ministers and the governor will start formally welcoming world leaders as they touch down at Brisbane’s international airport.
G20 protesters march towards Southbank today. Picture: Jack Tran
And also from tomorrow, activists are running an alternative “peoples’ summit”, dubbed as a “three-day festival of symposiums, idea-sharing, art, creative activities, education and action”.
Prominent Brisbane barrister Stephen Keim will address the gathering on “attacks on civil liberties and democratic rights”, while at a different session, the Brisbane Solidarity Network will present “Anarchist Critique G20: No Borders, No Leaders”.
There are 26 protest groups registered with police for action during the G20, including 13 scheduled for Saturday. Police say they are prepared for violence, but are not expecting it.
Today indigenous groups angry about mining-related environmental damage marched through Brisbane. More than 100 protesters, some draped in the Aboriginal flag, marched from Roma Street to South Brisbane’s Musgrave Park. Rally organiser Debbie Jones said the protest, dubbed “Our Land, Our Water, Our Future,” was about environmental destruction, including the controversial process of fracking to extract coal seam gas.
Source : The Australian Business Review Sarah Elks November 11th, 2014
