QUEENSLAND has announced it will host the newly established Australian Future Forensics Innovation Network (AFFIN).
Acting Premier and Minister for Health Paul Lucas and Treasurer and Minister for Employment and Economic Development Andrew Fraser today announced $2 million in State Government funding for the AFFIN - a Queensland-led international alliance of forensic scientists, police, researchers and industry.
Mr Lucas and Mr Fraser today toured Queensland Health's Forensic and Scientific Services facility at Coopers Plains, which will host the Australian Future Forensics Innovation Network (AFFIN).
Mr Lucas said research at AFFIN would occur in Queensland and at institutions right across the country, and would involve Australian and international experts.
Mr Fraser said funding for the partnership between Queensland Health Forensic and Scientific Services and Griffith University was allocated through the National and International Research Alliances Program - part of the Smart Futures Fund.
Director of Griffith University's Forensic Science Research and Innovation Centre Associate Professor Dennis Burns said the initial goals of the network were to develop technology to improve in-field forensic analysis, help speed up investigations and assist the work of forensic laboratories.
Mr Lucas said the network was also working on technology to remotely identify the location of backyard drug labs and the substances being manufactured, new portable detection methods for locating illicit drugs and explosives, and more effective ways to preserve and stabilise delicate field samples.
Mr Lucas and Mr Fraser also congratulated three forensic scientists at the facility on their prestigious National Institute of Forensic Science award for ground-breaking research into the illegal manufacture of methamphetamines using household products.
Forensic chemists Dr Peter Culshaw, Mr Sean Davis and Dr Urs Wermuth won 'Best Technical Article' award from National Institute of Forensic Science (NIFS).
Mr Lucas said the State Government's ICE-breaker initiative was making inroads in tackling rates of methamphetamine use in Queensland.
Add a comment