Australia gifts new vehicle to Niue Police
Photo credits: Australia High Commissioner to Niue H.E. Louise Ellerton
Niue Police have received a new police truck donated from the Australian government.
According to the Niue police press release, a gifting ceremony was held at the Niue police department last Friday 16 June where Australia High Commissioner H.E. Louise Ellerton gifted the vehicle to Member Assisting Minister for Police Hon. Sinahemana Hekau.
The donation of the vehicle was funded through the Australian Federal Police (AFP) Transnational Crime Unit (TCU) and came completely marked and outfitted.
Chief of Police Tim Wilson thanked the Australian government and AFP for the kind donation. He highlighted the dire condition of the police fleet prior to the donation of new vehicles from Australia and New Zealand.
“Vehicles are one of the key pieces of equipment needed by the Police Department to ensure they can respond to the public’s calls for help in emergencies,” says Chief Wilson.
Both Chief Wilson and H.E. Ellerton noted the great cooperation between the Governments of Niue and Australia in the areas of transnational crime, Cybersafety Pasifika, Pacific Maritime Security Programme, Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) and the work programmes under the Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police.
The new vehicle arrived on the island on the April boat.
The Pacific Transnational Crime Network (PTCN) was established in 2002 is a Pacific-led initiative that provides proactive criminal intelligence and investigative capability to combat Transnational Serious and Organised Crime (TSOC) in the Pacific.
There are 28 Transnational Crime Units and the key objective is to enhance transnational crime information sharing across the region and deliver investigative support, says Australia High Commissioner Ellerton in an email.
