Helping to protect Australia from world-wide terrorism

For Canberra firm, The Distillery, a collaborative partnership with the Commonwealth Government is assisting them to develop smart systems and technologies that will make for a safer Australia and hopefully contribute to a safer world. In 1997 two friends, Murray Rankin and Neil Dewey, gave up their secure government jobs to set up a company to pursue the development of the innovative technologies they knew were possible. They named the company The Distillery - meaning distilling the essence of information.

Australian owned and based in Canberra, The Distillery Pty Limited is Australia's leading intelligence management and solutions company with significant strengths in software product development, application building consultancy, education and training. The company employs 46 people, with R&D staff accounting for nearly half of those.

The Distillery's flagship application development product, InterQuest, is widely recognised as the world's leading secure Internet/Intranet intelligence management tool. Essentially, the system identifies and locates linkages - between people, objects, activities, events, transactions - that are relevant to counter terrorism and law enforcement. InterQuest is deployed in key roles in several Australian Government Departments. It was used extensively during the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney by Australian agencies responsible for national security and protection of Australia's borders.

The Distillery has extensive domain expertise, highly experienced and skilled personnel and a blue-chip Australian client base representative of the organisations at the forefront of criminal/security intelligence, defence, law enforcement, compliance and counter-terrorism in Australia. The company is ideally positioned to continue its research and development in world class 'best-practice' technology that enables security and intelligence bodies to maintain a competitive advantage over criminal and terrorist enterprises.

"World-wide terrorism incidents continue to demonstrate the repercussions of inadequate intelligence management, poor decision support and constrained sharing of information across domestic and global jurisdictions," said Director of Corporate Affairs, Roger Martindale.

"As a result, advanced technology supporting intelligence management and analysis is now the subject of phenomenal world-wide interest. The spotlight is clearly focussed on ways such technology can assist global coalitions in combating terrorism's challenge to the very fabric of our society."

The Distillery is currently implementing major criminal investigations systems in two states with considerable interest being shown by others. Across the Tasman, The Distillery has three opportunities for systems and training all in relation to an enhanced counter terrorism capability.

In recognition of The Distillery's capabilities, the Australian Government recently awarded an AUD$4million Research and Development Start Grant to support the development of the company's new intelligence management and analysis system. Nicknamed 'Wild Turkey' and costing in excess of AUD$8million, the project will assist Australia in the on-going fight against terrorism by improving the technologies currently available to the intelligence community to overcome inadequacies in intelligence management, poor decision support and constrained sharing of information across domestic and global jurisdictions.

To find out more

Contact: Mr Roger Martindale, Director Corporate Affairs, The Distillery Pty Limited
Phone: 61 2 6272 0200
Email: roger.martindale@thedistillery.com.au
Web: www.thedistillery.com.au