Mercury rises as biggest terror exercise


Australia was preparing for its most ambitious counter-terrorism operation to date in a multi-million dollar joint federal and state training exercise targeting chemical attacks, federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said.

Known as Mercury 04, or major national multi-jurisdictional counter terrorism exercise, the four-part drill will begin in March.

Mr Ruddock said the preparations, involving several federal and state law-enforcement and emergency bodies, were unmatched in scope.

"This is the first time that the chemical radiological and biological equipment that we've purchased will be tested in scenarios of potential threats," he told reporters in Sydney.

The exercises would position Australia to act quickly in the event of a chemical, biological or radiological threat, he said.

Mr Ruddock said personnel and deployment needs and the execution of orders would be determined, while any responsive weaknesses would be revealed.

"If you are not prepared, and if you do not take appropriate precautions to avoid incidents and threats, then you look vulnerable," he said.

"One of the concerns that we have is that the people who are involved with having to respond to particular emergencies are sufficiently practised in the skills that they are going to need."

The training would ensure "each person who has to play a role in relation to reacting to a particular emergency understands what is required of them", he said.

Mr Ruddock said in a world where terrorism was a very real concern, it was important to be prepared.

But while Australia faced a medium-level terrorist threat, he said people should not be alarmed.

"People should be reassured that there is a high level of cooperation between the governments of Australia and a determination to ensure that the people who are required to respond are appropriately trained and skilled," he said.

Meanwhile, federal Opposition leader Mark Latham said a single agency should coordinate Australia's national security.

Mr Latham said too many authorities and agencies dealt with security issues.

"The federal government really should embrace our idea of a department of homeland security dedicated to this important task," he said.

"The difficulty that we've got is that in Canberra there are 11 watch and control agencies in the event of a terrorist incident in this country - God forbid."

The federal government said three other exercises would be held later in the year as part of the $15.7 million national counter-Terrorism Committee Program.

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Half of a set :halo: