SIMON Corbell says the Government will conduct an emergency preparedness exercise today.

“The ACT Government has recognised the need to be well coordinated and practiced ahead of the major world sporting events that will come to the nation’s capital in 2015,” Simon said.

“Canberra is set to host seven AFC Asian Cup 2015 football matches and three ICC Cricket World Cup matches over the January to March 2015 period.

“Given the significance of these events in Canberra, the ACT Government decided to conduct a series of exercises that will practise and evaluate the whole-of-government response to an emergency incident.”

Today’s scenario will be conducted at the GIO Stadium in Bruce with support from various Government sites.

“There will be a number of ACT Ambulance Service vehicles at GIO Stadium, and we do not want the public to be concerned,” Mr Corbell said. “The training exercise is utilising volunteers to act as casualties to provide as much realism as possible for the exercise scenario.”

Mr Corbell said the exercise program, which continues through to December, is aimed at observing how the Territory responds to an incident at a place of mass gathering.

“The program will test ACT agencies’ plans, procedures, and response to an incident. The learnings from these exercises will be used in preparation for both the AFC Asian Cup and the ICC Cricket World Cup matches,” Mr Corbell said.

“I would like to reassure everyone that during this time there will not be a reduction in the normal operation of the emergency services.

“This exercise has been designed to ensure that the normal, day to day operations of emergency response agencies are able to continue to provide services to the ACT Community.”

If people are unsure about whether or not what they are witnessing is part of this exercise, they can contact Canberra Connect on 13 22 81.