MELBOURNE, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Australian state of Victoria on Thursday called for specialist counter-terrorism police officers to be based at all major Australian airports.
Daniel Andrews, premier of the Victorian government, said that raising security at Australia's airports to combat terrorism would be a priority at the Coalition of Australian governments (COAG) meeting in Tasmania on Friday.
Asking for support of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) at airports, Andrews will also request that state authorities are granted further access to telecommunications systems and defence facilities for training.
The COAG meeting will take place just days after a gunman killed one man and took a woman hostage at an apartment building in a Melbourne suburb in what has been described as an act of terror.
In a separate incident, a man forced a Malaysia Airlines flight to return to Melbourne earlier in June when he demanded access to the cockpit, claiming he had an explosive device.
"The Tullamarine airport, the Avalon airport, these are federal assets and I think the time has come for us to have dedicated 24/7 tactical response provided by the Australian Federal Police," Andrews told reporters in Melbourne.
"We stand ready to support them as we always have."
"Across the world airports have so often been the target. We need to take the next step."
Lisa Neville, Victoria's police minister, said she expected leaders of other Australian states to support the idea.
"Having (a) tactical response group based at the airport makes sense (and)... I think improves safety and surety for all passengers," Neville said.
"The premier is in discussions with other states about these measures... and we think these are measures that will assist other states in response to counter-terrorism as well."
"We're going to COAG with every intention to maximise and improve the counter-terrorism response across the country and work very closely with the Commonwealth on the ground," Neville added.
