Brisbane in lockdown ahead of G20
It is the most high-powered gathering of world leaders assembled in Australia.
And an unprecedented level of security will protect the prime ministers and presidents from protesters through to possible terrorist attacks when they arrive for the G20 summit in Brisbane at the weekend.
The central part of Brisbane has effectively gone into lockdown, with steel fences erected, roads closed, thousands of police given extra powers and the public told to stay away.
Known as the Group of 20, it is the main forum for the governments and central bankers of 19 major economies, plus the European Union.
Membership is not based on historical or regional ties such as APEC, and the G20 encompasses advanced and developing countries.
Brisbane CBD, nearby suburbs and the airport have been made a "declared area" for the event, where people can still come and go but extra police are on patrol.
There are restricted areas around the luxury hotels where leaders will stay as well as at the Convention Centre at Southbank on the Brisbane River.
About 6000 police are on patrol, including 200 from WA. Among the extra powers police have are the right to do strip searches, stop people entering declared areas and demand their name and reason for being in the security zone.
People have been banned from carrying "prohibited items" in these zones. Naturally, weapons such as guns, knives and bows and explosives such as flares are banned, along with electronic communication jammers.
Eggs, metal cans, glass bottles, remote-controlled cars and planes, kayaks, kites, animals capable of harming a person and masks and face coverings are all prohibited.One man was arrested on Friday after he refused to give his name to officers who caught him taking photos of the convention centre without permission. Thousands of cameras have been set up around the city feeding vision around-the-clock to a police command centre.
Fighter jets will enforce no-fly zones and special forces soldiers are on standby for any hostage rescue missions.
One of the biggest logistical and security headaches will be the 35 motorcades planned for leaders to move around the city.
Streets will be blocked off and the bulletproof limousines given a green-light run.
US President Barack Obama is expected to land in Air Force One at Amberley RAAF base before catching a helicopter to his hotel on Saturday. The Secret Service has taken over whole floors for the President and his entourage at the Marriott Hotel.
One floor has reportedly been stripped virtually of all furniture and fixtures and swept for bugs.
