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Parliament House security to be tightened amid terror fears

An Australian Federal Police officer outside Parliament House in Canberra.

An Australian Federal Police officer outside Parliament House in Canberra. Photo: AAP

Security at Parliament House is reportedly set to be tightened as authorities worry about the building’s vulnerability to a terror attack.

New reinforcements are believed to include security barriers in public areas, fencing and gates around the Senate and House of Representatives entries, fewer pedestrian entry points and extra machine gun-equipped police, Fairfax Media reports.

Restricted access to the complex’s signature sloping lawns could stop people walking over the heads of their elected representatives, as the building was designed.

A number of changes have reportedly received support from the major parties in the lower house and will be put to senators this week, with a view to beginning the works over summer.

Security both inside and outside the 250,000sqm premises has been stepped up significantly since 2014, when intelligence services intercepted “chatter” in terror networks about an attack on the building.

Cabinet minister Mathias Cormann says he feels safe in Parliament House, but says he’s not an expert.

“I trust that the experts make sensible decisions, appropriately balancing the need for access with the need obviously for sensible security arrangements,” he told ABC TV.

Asked whether children should be allowed to roll on the grass hills, he said: “I think children rolling down the hill is a fantastic thing and I’m sure that children rolling down the hill is not a security risk to the Parliament.”

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