New AFP Headquarters to fight crime in Queensland

Today marks an important day for community safety and national security in Queensland, with the official opening of the Australian Federal Police’s (AFP) new Brisbane Headquarters.

At a time of heightened threat, enhancing Australia’s law enforcement capability is vital to ensure our officers are adequately equipped to maintain high-level service on our streets and at our borders.

The new $25 million facility, which I officially opened today, will be the new cornerstone for AFP Brisbane-based criminal investigations − boosting technology and systems to combat serious modern criminal enterprises, including cybercrime and high tech data searching.

Improved forensic laboratories and technology and a unified forensics area will enable a streamlined, collaborative approach to investigations.

Importantly, it will also ensure greater co-operation with partner agencies, including Queensland Police, Australian Border Force, the Department of Immigration and Border Protection and the Australian Taxation Office, who will have members housed at the new facility.

It is vital that our law enforcement agencies are adequately equipped with cutting-edge facilities, and this collaborative, multi-agency approach is paying dividends.

Thanks to the Government’s $116 million investment in National Anti-Gangs Squads across the country, Queensland’s joint Commonwealth-State strike team has made 475 arrests, laid 1,617 charges and seized 38 firearms since it was established in 2014.

Queensland-based operations have also resulted in the seizure of 207.12 kilograms of methamphetamine, 156.54 kilograms of cocaine, and 90.58 kilograms of cannabis since 2014.

While our AFP officers are disrupting and dismantling serious and organised criminal syndicates, the Commonwealth-State Joint Counter Terrorism Team is also working to protect Queenslanders from the evolving threat of terrorism at home, including disrupting a potential attack in Brisbane in 2014.

There has never been a government more committed to ensuring the AFP has the resources and the powers it needs to combat the complex and rapidly evolving law enforcement environment they are faced with than the Coalition.

We have invested an additional $1.5 billion to support Australia’s law enforcement efforts to combat terrorism, and announced an additional $321 million in funding for the AFP alone in this year’s Budget  − the largest single funding increase for the AFP’s domestic policing capabilities in more than a decade.

This new facility, coupled with the bolstering of police resources, will ensure Australia’s law enforcement agencies are best-placed to protect Australian communities.