Police forces from more than 20 Pacific nations will be trained in Brisbane, following the opening of two purpose-built facilities.
Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw said the two key state-of-the-art training and development facilities were part of the Pacific Policing Initiative’s (PPI) commitment to supporting law enforcement across the region.
Commissioner Kershaw said the PPI Development and Coordination Pinkenba Hub and nearby Pinkenba Training Centre in Brisbane would support all 22 PICP member countries, with 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 attending this week’s launch.
He said the Pinkenba Hub was 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.”
Commissioner Kershaw said the Hub would 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.”
He said the nearby Pinkenba Training Centre, which was a state-of-the-art global police training and education facility, would be used by members of the PPSG 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.”
Commissioner Kershaw said the Pinkenba Training Centre facility also featured training rooms to provide virtual training capabilities to reflect real-life emergency situations.
“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,” he said.
