NSW Police from the Public Order and Riot Squad have joined the Australian contingent sent to the Solomon Islands to help quell violence in Honiara.

Police Minister David Elliott told Ben Fordham NSW police have a “fantastic tradition” of international peacekeeping, dating back to deployment to Cyprus in 1964.

“I don’t think these officers joined the police force thinking that they’d be deployed overseas, but thankfully they’re prepared to do it.”

Meanwhile, a new Defence and Foreign Affairs Committee report has called for an urgent review of the size of the ADF, which it says is “too small to credibly field sufficient rotational combat forces for length high-end combat operations”.

Our 58,000-strong Defence Force is a fraction of the size of those of regional neighbours.

As a former Army soldier, Mr Elliott said the report reinforces the need for strong alliances with friendly nations.

“People that would read that report and criticise the Commonwealth government are probably the same people that will criticise AUKUS and Five Eyes.”

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