OPERATION NORTHERN STRIKE

Dr CLOSE (Port Adelaide) (14:28): My question is to the Minister for Transport Services. Can the minister inform the house about the emergency response exercise, Operation Northern Strike, being held at the Dry Creek Railcar Depot today?

The Hon. C.C. FOX (Bright—Minister for Transport Services) (14:28): I thank the member for Port Adelaide for her question. The Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure's Public Transport Services Division today ran its biggest emergency response exercise to date with Operation Northern Strike at the Dry Creek Railcar Depot. As DPTI moves to consolidate public transport operations to the Dry Creek facility, Northern Strike is focusing on a preparedness and response to a terrorism incident centred on the state's public transport infrastructure.

Northern Strike incorporated bus, train, tram and taxi operations, along with involvement from private firms Bombardier and Wilson Security. Today I had the pleasure of launching this exercise with South Australia Police Deputy Commissioner Gary Burns, along with representatives from other participating agencies, including the South Australian Ambulance Service, the South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service, the State Emergency Service, Country Fire Service, Bombardier Transport Australia and Wilson Security.

This was a field exercise which consisted of two scenarios. The first involved a train crash and the second involved a hostage and siege situation. As the Dry Creek rail facility has only been in operation for less than 12 months, today's exercise provided an unique opportunity to test the site and its security measures. Operation Northern Strike tested the individual performance of agencies and assessed the communication and collaboration between agencies.

Funding was secured through the National Counter-Terrorism Committee and it is a program which is happening Australia-wide. Operation Northern Strike is a very important exercise to ensure that our public transport network can respond to any potential incidents effectively and to ensure the safety of our commuters. I would like to thank everyone involved and I commend their hard work and efforts in organising and carrying out this extremely important exercise.