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A 16-kilometre ring of steel is being erected to secure the Beijing Olympics torch relay route in Canberra, with the cost of hosting the event doubling to almost $2 million as police beef up security. The steel would surround landmarks including Parliament House, the National Art Gallery and the War Memorial. Hundred of Australian Federal Police officers are preparing the city for violent protests similar to those overseas. Scores of activists abroad were pushed to the ground and arrested after making attempts to snatch the torch in relay routes in London and Paris. "We've always got a couple of ratbags that want to jump on as individuals do something stupid," ACT police chief Michael Phelan said. "ACT policing is preparing for all sorts of contingencies that may occur." Thousands of demonstrators from interstate, and supporting rival causes, are expected to converge on hotspots along the route. They included Parliament House, the start of the relay and the end. The torch relay organiser, Ted Quinlan, could not rule out smuggling the torch onto a bus if demonstrations got out of control. "The flame has to be mobile," Mr Quinlan said. "Any major disruption could kill it so if that means going to contingency plan D, or whatever, that's what will happen." As confusion surrounds the role of Chinese paramilitaries, who were labelled "thugs" by the 2012 London Olympics chief Sebastian Coe during the UK leg of the relay, another detail emerged today. A "so-called" flame attendant will trail the torchbearer, riding pillion on an ACT police motorbike, said ACT Chief Minister John Stanhope. Another blue-tracksuit Chinese official would go ahead of the flame to prepare future torches for lighting. And another security officer will run alongside the flame. The cost of hosting the torch in Canberra was budgeted at $900,000, split equally between the ACT and the Federal Government. Taxpayers can now expect that figure to be closer to $2 million, Mr Stanhope said. "The additional cost wholly in relation to security will have increased substantially," Mr Stanhope said. "Initially we didn't anticipate a barricade along the entire route. We didn't anticipate there would be hundreds of police involved in the event ... the costs might possibly have doubled." The torch will arrive in Canberra on Wednesday, April 23 ahead of the relay on Thursday. |
