All buses
and trains in Brisbane were stopped for half an hour between 4.45 and 5.15pm yesterday afternoon following an anonymous threat
made to police. Drivers were instructed to stop and discharge passengers at 4.45 and to move them
a safe distance away from the bus or train to wait out the threat time frame. Queensland
Premier Peter Beattie called on people not to panic, but says it was better
not to ignore the threat.

Meanwhile, a few Crikey subscribers have been keeping us abreast of what
was going on behind the scenes of the Brisbane bomb hoax yesterday afternoon:

Brisbane: a two tart town?
It seems that Premier Peter Beattie may have some serious
competition for the Queensland “media tart” of the year award. After
yesterday’s bomb hoax, “Pistol Pete” and “Can-do Campbell Newman” Brisbane Lord Mayor were both
right in the limelight. “Can-do” jumped on a bus in a busy Adelaide street to show his
solidarity with jangled commuters and “P-P” was the first to stride
manfully into Brisbane’s Central Station – after the 5.15pm “all
clear.”

Showing leadership on the streets
Meanwhile, as the “two tarts” were leading from in front of the
lenses, the story going around the crisis management centre was that
you’d never see them in the actual control room – “There’s no cameras
up here,” said one emergency services worker.

Are we there yet?
It seems that the Premier’s own elite disaster management team
was a bit slow off the mark during yesterday’s public transport
shut-down. According to one Crikey subscriber, Peter Beattie’s office
didn’t have its own “command and control” office up and running till
late in the afternoon. Apparently, senior officers from Brisbane City
Council had to get the ball rolling down on George Street to “make it
happen.”

You might think so, we couldn’t possibly comment
Sources say that it wasn’t all sweetness and light in the
Brisbane counter-terrorism bunker during yesterday’s emergency.
Protocol suggests the police should take charge in such situations, but
the Queensland rozzers were apparently reluctant to make the call.
Their advice to the “two tarts” was along the lines of “we think it’s a
hoax, but we’re not sure.” Unable to rely on a solid piece of advice
from his top cops, Premier Beattie eventually made the call after a
strategy conference with “Can-do.” Apparently, their decisive response
was well appreciated by Brisbanites.

A system in melt-down
At 7pm last night a bus driver pulled over his bus and alerted police to
the presence of a suspicious package. Subsequent investigations turned
up a box of melting paddle pops.

There’s a growing whisper north of the Tweed that “Can-do”
could be the next Liberal Premier of Queensland. He’s ambitious, and
his handling of yesterday’s crisis may well grow his stature, if not
his frame.