The Australian Federal Police (AFP), together with Pacific Police Chiefs, have officially launched two key state-of-the-art training and development facilities in Queensland, as part of the Pacific Policing Initiative’s (PPI) commitment to supporting law enforcement across the region.
AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw and Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus officially opened the PPI Development and Coordination Pinkenba Hub and nearby Pinkenba Training Centre in Brisbane, with representatives from Pacific Island countries today.
Pacific representatives from Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga and Vanuatu attended the launch.
The launch included a flag raising ceremony of all 22 PICP members.
The Pinkenba Hub is an AFP-supported training and education facility created to support the PPI, the PPI’s Pacific Police Support Group (PPSG) and Pacific policing partners in further training and development. The Hub is a critical pillar of the PPI, alongside the Regional Centres of Excellence to be based in Pacific countries and the PPSG.
The PPI was endorsed by Pacific Islands Forum leaders in August 2024. The PPI’s design process, led by Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary (RPNGC) Commissioner David Manning, is continuing with members of the PICP.
The Hub will serve as the headquarters for the PPSG, a multinational deployment group designed to respond to planned and unplanned events across the Pacific. The PPSG has already deployed in October, 2024 to support Samoa’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
The Pinkenba Hub will offer secondments for officers across the Pacific, along with policing administration, management and leadership development opportunities.
The nearby Pinkenba Training Centre, which is a state-of-the-art global police training and education facility was also opened today.
Members of the PPSG will use the training centre as part of their training.
The Pinkenba Training Centre features an operational safety and practice warehouse with modern state-of-the art training capabilities.
The capabilities include a simulated house environment, a multi-floor training area and a dark scenario space, which all can be reconfigured to replicate multiple environments to enhance training for officers.
Additionally, the Pinkenba Training Centre facility features syndicate and training rooms to provide virtual training capabilities to reflect real-life emergency situations.
The Pinkenba Hub was made available to the PPI from the Australian Government in July, 2024, and since then, more than 200 Pacific police have attended and participated in training programs at the Pinkenba Training Centre. This includes operational safety training, public order management, investigations training and close personal protection.
AFP Commissioner Kershaw said the AFP was honoured to be joined by the Attorney-General and Pacific Chiefs of Police for the official opening of the Pinkenba Hub milestone.
“The AFP is incredibly proud to be part of the official opening of the Pinkenba Hub under the Pacific Policing Initiative and to deliver such a significant milestone in our efforts to support and enhance policing operations in the Pacific region,” Commissioner Kershaw said.
“This is a state-of-the art training facility that will boost the collective law enforcement capabilities of our policing partners across the region through crucial collaboration and learning opportunities.
“The Pinkenba Hub symbolises our unwavering commitment to enhancing security and law enforcement capabilities across the Pacific region based on shared values and shared cultures.”
Commissioner Kershaw said the facility provided a crucial space for the collaboration of law enforcement across the region to overcome current and future challenges across the Pacific.
“Sharing knowledge and resources, along with building stronger joint capabilities and existing relationships with our Pacific law enforcement partners is vital for enhancing the security of communities across the region and for collectively countering evolving regional security threats.
“On behalf of the AFP, we look forward to the results of the incredible work and training provided to all of our past, current and future participants at the Pinkenba Hub.”
Papua New Guinea Police Commissioner, David Manning said the Pacific Policing Initiative reflected the unity amongst police forces in the Pacific region.
“The Pacific Policing Initiative ensures that no matter the size of a jurisdiction, we can leverage our shared expertise and resources to secure our communities,” Commissioner Manning said.
“Through the PPI, police forces across our region are committing our resources and police officers to jointly combat our shared challenges and secure our communities. The challenges to policing across the Pacific are complex and evolving, and the PPI provides a critical platform from which our Pacific policing family will combat these challenges together,” he said.
