Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has today joined other Pacific leaders to mark the first deployment of the new Pacific Police Support Group, part of the Pacific Policing Initiative (PPI), backed by Australia and endorsed by Pacific Island Forum leaders in August 2024.

More than 40 police officers from 11 Pacific countries are part of this deployment, providing security support for Samoa’s hosting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.  The deployment includes officers from Pacific partners trained at the PPI’s Pinkenba training hub in Brisbane.

The Pacific Police Support Group 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.

Quotes attributable to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

“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.

“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.”