"I think that we will do that. But in Australia we have been used for a long time to living at a level of alertness," Doyle said when asked whether the city would boost the security.
Australia is expected to take a large number of Syrian migrants – 12,000 people – before Christmas in order to help Europe cope with the ongoing refugee crisis. As Australia's busiest port, Melbourne will play an important role in accepting newcomers.
"We do exercises with government very regularly that simulates a terrorist attack of some kind, and how all about emergency services can coordinate in order to deal with it. We will continue to do that. But we are not going to change the way we live," the official said.
On November 13, a series of coordinated attacks at various locations in the French capital left 129 dead and hundreds injured.
Fears resurfaced this week of extremists reaching Europe by posing as refugees after a Syrian passport has been recovered near the body of one of the suicide bombers in Paris. Greek and Serbian officials both said they had registered the passport holder as an asylum seeker at their respective reception centers last month.
"We are about to take a very large intake of Syrian immigrants – around 12,000 – and understand that they arrived with a proof. This is a very important thing to do,” Doyle said.
According to the mayor, the screening will take place in Jordan and Lebanon.
“I think it would be regrettable if the scale of human tragedy in Syria somehow hardened our hearts because of Paris. I think that we need as a planet to react to what has happened in Syria and offer a hand of help. Nevertheless, you do protect yourself on your borders, and you do it through rigorous screening,” Doyle said.
On November 13, a series of coordinated attacks at various locations in the French capital left 129 dead and hundreds injured. Fears resurfaced this week of extremists reaching Europe by posing as refugees after a Syrian passport has been recovered near the body of one of the suicide bombers in Paris.
