Cr Blackmore said RSL sub-branches should not be left with the bill and the council shouldn’t have to pay all of it either. 

He said the march along Church Street to the cenotaph at Maitland Park must continue and he hoped the cost to keep people safe would not halt the historic commemoration. 

“It’s been happening for years, it’s a national day of remembering,” Cr Blackmore said. “It could reach a point where it prices itself out because of something that’s happened somewhere else in the world.

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.The state and federal government will have to fund it, it can’t be put on local government or the RSL sub-branches.”

Police will incorporate anti-terrorism measures into the event’s traffic management plan in response to concerns about a vehicle-style attack similar to the ones that unfolded in Nice and Berlin last year.

Police implemented some of the measures at Maitland’s New Years Eve celebrations. 

Police would not be drawn on details about the measures but emphasised that no threats had been made against services. 

Maitland MP Jenny Aitchison said police had to create risk assessments for each event and should implement any precautions they felt were needed.

Cr Blackmore thought stopping traffic at the intersection of Ken Tubman Drive and Church Street, and on the highway, would be some of the concerns. 

He said the council had financially supported services in the past but could not say how much it would pay this year until it had a copy of the bill.

Acting NSW Premier John Barilaro has hit back against reports last week that the state government had instigated the precautions when it imposed new security measures. He said security arrangements for Anzac Day, and other major events, were a matter for police. 

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