Login
iscover
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has joined other Pacific leaders to mark the first deployment of the new Pacific Police Support Group, part of the Pacific Policing Initiative.
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
The initiative was backed by Australia and endorsed by Pacific Island Forum (PIF) leaders in August 2024.
More than 40 police officers from 11 Pacific countries are part of the deployment, providing security support for Samoa’s hosting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). The deployment includes officers from Pacific partners trained at the Pacific Policing Initiative’s (PPI) Pinkenba training hub in Brisbane.
The Pacific Police Support Group (PPSG) is a new multi-country police capability ready to respond to emergencies or assist during major events, at the request of a Pacific Island Forum government.
Australia has committed approximately $400 million over five years to ensure the Pacific Policing Initiative delivers on the agreement by leaders that the security of the Pacific is the shared responsibility of the Pacific family.
The PPI is a Pacific-led initiative designed to strengthen policing capacity and coordination in the region. The PPI has three pillars – regional police training centres of excellence, the Pacific Police Support Group and a Pacific policing development and coordination hub, based in Brisbane.
In marking this first deployment, Prime Minister Albanese confirmed that Australia will support the establishment of four regional Centres of Excellence under the PPI. The centres of excellence will be purpose-built to train police from across the region in a range of specialist capabilities.
“Samoa is the first Pacific island country to host CHOGM. Australia is proud to join our Pacific family to provide police and security support for Samoa as host,” Prime Minister Albanese said.
“Two months since the Pacific Policing Initiative was endorsed by Pacific leaders, we are seeing it deliver for the region at CHOGM 2024.
“The Pacific Policing Initiative will play an important role in promoting regional security across the Pacific region.
“This is about Pacific security, delivered by the Pacific, in support of Pacific sovereignty.”
Prime Minister Albanese confirmed that the security of the Pacific should be designed for the Pacific, led and delivered by the Pacific.
“The work of the Pacific Police Support Group will be backed by a training and coordination hub based in Brisbane and four new centres of excellence for police training across the region,” he said.
“Each participating state will make its own sovereign decisions about its participation.
“I think we can all agree this is an outstanding start – and I congratulate the government of Samoa for drawing on the PPSG to provide security for hosting a significant global event like CHOGM.
“This initiative builds on a proven track record of cooperation, it gives the region access to a trained pool of officers, ready to deploy in response to sovereign requests.
“And it speaks for a fundamental truth: in the Pacific, the security of any one of us, matters to all of us. That’s what family means. That’s the Pacific way – and it’s the right way forward.
“As I announced at this year’s PIF, Australia is proud to be providing substantial, long-term support to ensure the PPI succeeds and delivers on the aspirations of our region.
“To those joining us on deployment, thank you for the contribution you are making to the security and safety of our region. And thank you for being the first to step forward and serve.
“You are setting a standard others will follow: as we strive to ensure the stability, security and prosperity of our region for all of us – and for future generations.”
