Trump assassination attempt a wake-up call for SA pollies
Another Trump near miss has Mike Smithson issuing a warning, telling how another threatening man stormed SA parliament some years back.
The latest assassination attempt on US president Donald Trump should serve as another wake-up call for the potentially high risks involved in public office.
As someone who regularly attends media conferences in public places, I always have a nagging concern about the safety of high and lower-profile people.
The Premier’s personal security is subtle but ever-present, but the same doesn’t always apply to others.
It’s a fine line between politicians being wrapped in cotton wool or having a public-facing image which is easily accessible to those who put them in office, namely you and me.
It’s easy to see how coveted events, such as the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, can quickly descend into mayhem if security is breached.
Even people most attuned to potential dangers can let their guard down during a glitzy get together and a few drinks.
Far away from the cut and thrust of everyday political reporting, these are social events where politicians, journalists and corporate heads congregate to share food, wine and “war stories” in a different setting.
The closest event we have to the Washington dinner in Adelaide is the annual Mid-Winter Charity Ball where black-tie dress code is the order of the night and partners are also dressed to the nines.
It all sounds elitist, but those in attendance are largely paying their own way and often sort out differences or exchange political views which many members of the public may find tedious or even boring.
But many will have half a thought on what they would do if a security incident was to unfold.
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The same principles should apply to everyone who attends a public event in familiar or unfamiliar surroundings.
Do you have any plan to exit the venue in a hurry and how would you handle a serious situation in a calm and orderly manner?
It might sound alarmist, but it could also save your life and those of your loved ones.
The most disturbing security breach I can remember happened at state parliament.
It led to a much tougher security protocol on North Terrace as was urgently needed.
Notorious serial pest Peter Hore had bypassed several levels of so-called security and then made his point in dramatic fashion, but at the time it left politicians in a state of shock.
Hore had disrupted previous major events such as the 1997 Melbourne Cup by running onto the straight, the Australian Open tennis, World Cup football, ICAC and various celebrity funerals among others.
But he’d never taken aim at parliament.
It occurred on the first sitting day in 2000.
After each holiday break events such as Question Time happen slowly due to procedural matters, such as condolence motions for former politicians who’ve recently died.
Other media had left the building, but I decided to stay and kept working on a dreary story in my equally dreary basement office.
Over the in-house speaker I heard an unfamiliar commotion coming from the House of Assembly.
My instant reaction was to run up two flights of stairs to the media gallery, but only got halfway as a topless, tattooed, undesirable male was being dragged down the stairs by panicked parliamentary staff doing the best they could.
A Channel 7 cameraman, also in pursuit, assured me that he’d filmed some remarkably disturbing images of Hore storming the floor of parliament, and running to the Speaker’s chair screaming obscenities
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Then Premier John Olsen was just two metres away, as was his entire cabinet team.
Not knowing it was Hore, or if he was armed, everyone froze until former police officer-turned- Liberal MP Sam Bass jumped up and forcibly detained him, until reinforcements arrived.
It was a news scoop but was frowned upon by the Speaker at the time, who faxed my News Director directing us that as “a matter of parliamentary standing orders and in the public interest” we were not to run the vision.
He added that we would be barred from parliament if we did.
We decided to disobey that directive as we considered that it definitely was a matter of public interest.
It clearly demonstrated a lack of security which could have harmed the state’s highest office bearer and others.
The fallout was cataclysmic, as expected, with other media using our images to highlight the same concerns.
As a result, substantial funding was set aside to beef up security resulting in a major inquiry and leading to protective service officers then being employed and supplied with firearms at parliament.
Hore had been able to the enter the very heart of our democratic precinct and verbally threaten those inside because a journalist, of all people, had a left an exterior door open.
It’s a far cry from the high-tech security these days, for obvious reasons.
And for the record, the Speaker didn’t ban us from parliament but merely sent us a “first warning” fax not to disobey his instructions again.
As I’d grappled with risking a lengthy ban, it was hard to turn back the tide of public concern once our television images had been aired.
A ban would only have appeared as unnecessary censorship.
But it was an early warning sign that lone wolf assailants, with a potentially dangerous axe to grind, can slip through security nets, however tight they should be.
In the past week I’ve had a coffee with two very prominent and senior state politicians in full view of anyone at the same venues.
There was no security at either location with it always a possibility that someone could cause trouble just to be noticed.
We’re living in a real world of political turmoil where a combination of troubled souls, anger, drugs and the prevalence of anti-social behaviour can quickly turn a calm environment into a serious trouble spot.
The would-be Trump attacker was armed with multiple weapons and virtually got to the last line of presidential defence, with two thousand innocent guests also under threat inside the venue.
Personal safety can’t be taken for granted these days and we can only hope that the security we see and, more importantly, which can’t see safeguards us against the intended mayhem which occurred in Washington.
Mike Smithson is weekend newsreader and political analyst for 7News
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