MELBOURNE/LONDON — Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called on Sunday for developers to incorporate safety features into their projects to prevent militant attacks with vehicles and other weapons as he announced new plans to protect the public.

Turnbull unveiled Australia’s first national strategy to protect crowded places, which he said was initiated after a militant drove a truck into crowds in the French city of Nice in last year, killing 84 people.

It comes days after a similar attack in the Spanish city of Barcelona killed 14 and injuring more than 100, and follows a string of similar vehicle attacks around the world.

Turnbull told reporters the plan was designed for councils, businesses and venue operators to stop attacks with vehicles as well as with guns, knives, bombs or chemical devices.

Steps include the installation of bollards along main streets, and at shopping centers and outside sporting grounds.

Turnbull said while sites would be better protected, developers had to incorporate safety features into new projects on the drawing board.

“The best mitigation are done at the design,” he said. “The most important thing is that, as you get new developments, new plans, that security measures are put in place at that time.”

“The threat is constantly evolving, and so what we have to do is make sure that we too are constantly improving and updating the measures we have to keep Australians safe.”

Meanwhile, Britain is exploring ways to stop “the malicious use of hire vehicles,” including looking at what more rental companies can do, the transport ministry said on Sunday.

The police say that by using hire vehicles, any such attacks are very hard to prevent.

“The threat from terrorism is changing and so must our response. That is why we are reviewing our counter-terrorism strategy and powers and why we have ploughed extra resources into counter-terrorism,” a government spokesperson said.

“The Department for Transport is also working with the police and the vehicle rental industry to explore what more can be done to prevent the malicious use of hire vehicles. This includes looking at what more rental companies could do before an individual can hire a vehicle.”

Britain has increased the number of barriers at bridges and in certain locations in city centers to try to prevent such attacks. Since March, Britain has seen four attacks, three involving a vehicle deliberately driven at pedestrians.

British hire firms make various checks before granting a vehicle rental, including verifying that customers have a full driving license, additional identification and a valid credit card. — Aggencies