New security conference planned for Melbourne

Australia’s civil defence and civil security will be the subject of a new conference to be held in Melbourne at the end of May.

The event, called CIVSEC 2016, is being organised by the Aerospace, Maritime and Defence Foundation of Australia (AMDA), which is also behind the Avalon Airshow, Pacific Maritime Exposition and Land Forces.

AMDA chief executive Ian Honnery said CIVSEC would feature the latest ideas and technology, as well as presentations, seminars and workshops, on topics such as border control, law and order, terrorism prevention, disaster response and relief management.

“In many ways it is a reflection of the changing times,” Honnery said in a statement.

“Never before has such a wide variety of security and civil defence issues been so high on the national agenda simultaneously.

“CIVSEC will address the security challenges of the modern era in terms of philosophy, strategy and hardware.”

The BORDER 21 International Conference, The First and Last Line of Defence: Border Security Challenges in the Evolving World, organised by Curtin University, would also part of CIVSEC 2016.

AMDA said there would be speakers from Australia, the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, the European Union and US during sessions covering counter terrorism, infrastructure protection, cyber security, resilience and business continuity.

CIVSEC will be held every two years. The 2016 event is scheduled for May 31 – June 1 at the Melbourne convention and Exhibition Centre.