Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says Melbourne and other Australian cities need to tighten up access to busy pedestrian areas to address a "concerning vulnerability" to incidents like the Bourke Street rampage, which has claimed five lives and injured dozens more.
Mr Turnbull said extensive discussions were continuing with the Victorian and other state governments about "hardening up" places where large groups of people gather to prevent attacks with vehicles, whether they are terrorist acts or triggered by other motives.
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Turnbull: Melbourne's 'concerning vulnerability'
Prime Minister calls for access to busy pedestrian areas to be tightened up in Melbourne, suggesting more bollards could help prevent future incidents like the Bourke Street rampage.
"This is a very concerning vulnerability we have in anywhere where you have a large number of people gathered together, we need to be able to ensure as much as we can, that it is not possible to get a vehicle in there," he told Melbourne radio station 3AW.
"You've got a wonderful, big open city with big streets, wide footpaths. The attack in Bourke Street is an example of a vulnerability that we have to address."
The Prime Minister pointed to boosting the number of bollards, which prevented the Bourke Street driver from entering a certain area, as a measure to be seriously considered.
He said that the efforts of authorities to secure mass gatherings were extensive but that hard structures should also stop it from being "relatively easy" to gain access with a vehicle.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said he spoke to Mr Turnbull about boosting community safety in the wake of the Bourke Street tragedy. While a lot of work had already been done to safeguard the city – including the use of bollards – "if we have to do more, then absolutely we will," he said.
"There is a balance to be struck here between keeping the city functional and doing everything we can to make attacks, events, crimes and evil acts like what we saw here on Friday ... much, much harder," Mr Andrews said.
"This is not Sydney though, it's not other cities around the world, it's not other Australian cities. We have trams that run through public spaces, and we have unique engineering challenges... A lot of bollards have gone in, in recent times, but if we have to do more, then absolutely we will."
Dimitrious Gargasoulas, 26, has been charged with five counts of murder after he allegedly mowed pedestrians down with a car in the Melbourne CBD last Friday.