GAME PLAN IN SAFE HANDS
He wears fun shirts, but he’s serious about security
DANNY Baade won’t lie.
Little more than four months from the Commonwealth Games, the GOLDOC head of security concedes he is not sleeping well but he is adamant that’s a good thing for the people he is ultimately paid to protect.
“I’m not sleeping as well as I did three years ago but that’s to be expected,” says Mr Baade, a former high-ranking police officer who has been working towards the Games since the bidding stage.
“If I was to say ‘This job’s a breeze’, I’m clearly not taking it seriously. What we’re doing is important and everyone in my team has an edge.
“We have precious little minutes left (until the Games) and we have to make every single one of them count.”
For Mr Baade, those minutes have been ticking down for more than seven years, ever since he provided security advice for the bidding team as the superintendent in charge of Queensland Police’s Disaster and Major Event Branch.
With the Games won and in search of a new challenge, the father-of-two rolled the dice by quitting the police service and found himself on a winner in 2013 when he was appointed to one of the most crucial security jobs his home town has ever offered.
“I’m really pleased to be head of security but I honestly would’ve taken any role (at the Games) because it’s that important,” the 57-year-old says.
“The Gold Coast has been waiting for something this significant for such a long time to demonstrate we’ve got the capability of doing these types of events.”
Mr Baade’s role in the city delivering a successful Games cannot be underestimated.
For the past few years, he has been focused on the business of security – negotiating contracts, recruiting 4200 security personnel, building a CCTV network and developing strategies.
He has formed alliances with the other layers crucial for the security of any “significant event” – the police service and federal agencies such as ASIO and Australian Federal Police.
Then there is the X-factor that hangs over anyone in a role such as his: terrorism.
“When we first started planning, we said ‘What will the world look like in five years?’ and the writing was on the wall about where the global community was headed with risk,” Mr Baade says. “And what we said was we’d posture all our planning at the level we’ve now reached.
“That meant we were buying all the right kit (such as fencing, cameras and technology) and hiring all the right people. The only thing that changes is how we use that kit and how people work in that environment and that’s a dayto-day proposition.
“We keep taking advantage of any lessons we can learn (from overseas incidents) and that will keep happening until everyone has gone home and we’ve swept up and turned out the lights.”
And what is the current threat level?
“There’s absolutely no intelligence to suggest anything is being planned,” he says. “But the unfortunate thing, as we saw in (the recent) New York (attack), is someone who isn’t even known by authorities can decide to hire a ute and run people over.”
Manchester, London Bridge, Las Vegas, New York – how do such terror attacks affect his working day?
“The discussions start straight away,” he says.
“The second there’s an opportunity to say ‘Stop, recheck, do we need something extra, are we good to go on?’ that’s exactly what we do.”
Given the enormity of their task, one could be forgiven for thinking the security team’s office is filled with furrowed brows and stern voices. Reassuringly, nothing could be further from the truth.
“I’m actually wearing this shirt because today is Hawaii Five-0 day,” Mr Baade said of his team’s weekly tribute to the classic cop show. “We’re trying to show that we’re up for the celebration.
“Our team is as excited about these Games as anyone and you’ll find security will be part of the spectator experience. We’ll be high-fiving (people) because we want it to be a fun and successful event for everyone.
“That doesn’t impact on our professionalism – we won’t be cutting back on (maintaining) security – but we want people at the Games to be greeted by our people, not feel nervous.”
I’M NOT SLEEPING AS WELL AS I DID THREE YEARS AGO BUT THAT’S TO BE EXPECTED DANNY BAADE