also inside - Queensland Police Union

JOURNAL 

POLICEFebruary OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE QUEENSLAND POLICE UNION 

2010 

WEB 2.0 

ALSO INSIDE 

• Regional Roundups • Correspondence • Feature Articles

CONTENTS 

General President 

General Secretary 

Asst General Secretary 

EXECUTIVE MEMBERS 

General Vice President and 

Northern Region 

Far Northern Region 

Central Region 

North Coast Region 

South Eastern Region 

Southern Region 

Metro North Region 

Metro South Region 

HQ & COC Region 

UNION STAFF 

Industrial 

Industrial Support 

Executive Secretary 

Admin. Finance 

Legal 

Solicitor 

Legal 

Barrister (Retained) 

Media/Government Relations 

Journal Editor 

IT Admin 

Membership 

Reception 

COMMITTEES 

Executive Committees and 

Committee Members 

Legal 

wPH&S 

Rules 

Conference 

Training 

Communications 

Membership Services 

Ian LEAVERS 

Mick BARNES 

Denis SYCZ 

Mick GERRARD 

Denis FITZPATRICK 

Bill FELDMAN 

Des HANSSON 

Bob SMITHSON 

Darren LEES 

Shayne MAxwELL 

Tony COLLINS 

Paul MULLEN 

Geoff SIMPSON 

Stephen MAHONEY 

Chris STEPHENS 

Rosemary FEATHERSTONE 

Janice GADEN 

Robyn CURRELL 

Calvin GNECH 

wendy MACDONALD 

Donna BLACK 

Troy SCHMIDT 

Ross MUSGROVE 

Paula DONEMAN 

James JOHNSTON 

Kaye ELLIS 

Carly BEUTEL 

Melissa LINDNER 

D. Fitzpatrick (Chair) 

M. Gerard 

B. Feldman 

T. Collins 

T. Collins 

B. Smithson 

D. Fitzpatrick 

S. Maxwell 

B. Smithson (Chair) 

T. Collins 

P. Mullen 

S. Maxwell 

B. Smithson 

M. Gerard 

P. Mullen 


B. Feldman 

D. Hanson 

T. Collins 


M. Gerard 

D. Hanson 

T. Collins 

B. Feldman 


WEB 2.0 

COVER STORy 

PAGE 23 

WEB 2.0 

“This is a great step forward in communicating 

with the membership and providing them with a 

user friendly resource that will provide a wealth 

of information,’’ said QPUE president Ian Leavers 

in welcoming the new technology. 

REgIonaL RoUndUPs 

2 General President‘s Message 

3 General Secretary’s Message 

4 Assistant General Secretary’s Message 

5 Metro South Region 

6 Central Region 

8 Far North Region 

9 South East Region 

10 Metro North Region 

11 Southern Region 

FEaTUREs 

15 New Editor 

17 EBA6 - Update 

18 Behind The Spin 

20 It’s Official 

26 Taser Q & A 

30 Community Supporting Police and Helping 

32 The Best of the Best – Your AO 

33 No Downside 

34 Psychological Injuries and Reasonable Management Action 

36 Tips and Traps 

37 Beyond Reasonable Doubt 

REgULaRs 

38 Correspondence 

42 Police Health 

44 Q.R.P.A. 

It must be distinctly understood that any expressions of opinion by correspondents in our columns must not be 

considered the opinion of the Editor, and no responsibility arising from there can be accepted. 

The Editor of the Police Journal reserves the right to grant permission to reproduce articles from this magazine. 

Such permission is hereby granted to any Police Association or Police Union in Australia and to the Police 

Association of New Zealand. Permission is also granted to any Police Association, Police Union or organisation 

representing police employees in any other country. 

Acknowledgement of the source must be contained in any reprint. Where an article indicated that copyrighting is 

claimed by the author, then permission to reproduce is withdrawn unless permission from the author is granted. 

Advertising (07) 3259 1989 

Letters and articles for inclusion in the Queensland Police Union Journal should be addressed to: 

Finance 

D. Hansson (Treasurer) 


(Assistant Treasurer) 

S. Maxwell 

(Assistant Treasurer) 

General President, General Secretary and Assistant 

General Secretary are ex-officio members of all 

committees. 

Queensland Police Union 

PO Box 13008 George Street Brisbane Qld 4003 

Phone 07 3259 1900 Fax 07 3259 1950 

The Editor 

Queensland Police Union Journal 

PO Box 13008 George Street Brisbane QLD 4003 

TEL: (07) 3259 1900 FAx: (07) 3259 1950 

EMAIL: journal@qpu.asn.au 

Deadline: Editorial Copy - typed or on disk to be submitted by the 15th day of the month prior to publication. 

wEBSITE: www.qpu.asn.au 

Queensland Police Union Journal Feb 10 • 1

2 • General President’s Message 

Queensland Police Union Journal Feb 10 

and a more realistic licensing regime put in place that is 

focused on decreasing violence. 

IAN LEAVERS 

Obviously, I can’t say much about Operation Tesco 

on the Gold Coast. What I can say is that I have 

faith in our members and know that even if some 

have let us down, the vast majority are honest, 

hardworking and decent. 

Working on the Gold Coast is a tough environment and 

very few police are prepared to volunteer to work at 

Surfers Paradise. 

“ Only time will tell how the 

investigation will end, but rest 

assured that the union is providing 

legal support to members where 

appropriate under our rules ” 

Apart from anything else the non-stop night work and 

constant confrontations with drunk and drugged-up 

idiots takes a big toll on our officers there. I reckon they 

do a great job dealing with that kind thing seven nights 

a week. 

Only time will tell how the investigation will end, but 

rest assured that the union is providing legal support to 

members where appropriate under our rules. 

New staff 

As members will see on page 15 Paula Doneman has 

joined our small, but dedicated staff as part-time journal 

editor. 

Also our industrial section has been bolstered by the 

addition of Chris Stephens. With Enterprise Bargaining 

this year, it was vital that we enhanced our existing team 

of Stephen Mahoney and Geoff Simpson. 

“ Hopefully, we will see an end to 

5am closings and a more realistic 

licensing regime put in place that 

is focused decreasing violence ” 

OperatiON wHats Next? 

Don’t get me wrong, I along with many police were 

grateful for the additional money for overtime available 

to police in nightclub hotspots over the last couple of 

months. 

“ i do, however, question why we 

have to have a special operation 

just to get adequate staffing on 

the street ” 

I do, however, question why we have to have a special 

operation just to get adequate staffing on the street. 

Why can’t the government resource the police service 

so that safe staffing numbers can be maintained all the 

time. I look forward to the announcement of “operation 

permanent adequate staffing.” 

“ Our executive was addressed by 

the representatives of the police 

women’s network in a valuable 

session in december ” 

pOlice wOmeN’s NetwOrk 

Our executive was addressed by the representatives 

of the police women’s network in a valuable session in 

December. 

Kim Jackson and Lynn Roswell gave us an insight into 

their goals and aspirations. 

I am keen to continue our strong relationship with 

the Police Women’s Network to further address their 

concerns about issues that directly impact on our female 

colleagues. 

In doing so, I am confident we will work towards positive 

outcomes. I will continue to support the QPUE sending 

representatives to conferences with our National body, 

the Police Federation of Australia, so we can be aware of 

national issues that may affect women in policing. 

ian leaVers 

General President 

0419 786 381 

tradiNg HOurs fOr pubs aNd clubs 

The parliamentary committee looking into alcoholfuelled 

violence across the state is due to report in 

March. Hopefully, we will see an end to 5am closings

Queensland Police Union Journal Feb 10 General Secretary’s Message • 3 

MICK BARNES 

Welcome to Paula Doneman who has commenced 

with the Union. Paula has brought with her a 

wealth of experience and new ideas for the journal. 

Most members will already know Paula from her 

time as a reporter and crime editor with the Courier 

Mail and Sunday Mail. I commend Paula to 

members who may have ideas on the format of the 

journal or indeed articles worthy or running. Paula 

is contactable through our office on 

3259-1900. 

Chris Stephens also started with us in February in his 

role as an Industrial Officer as we gear up for EB6. I am 

confident that our industrial team will negotiate the best 

possible outcome on behalf of all members. 

uNless autHOrised, Justified Or excused 

by law 

A day doesn’t go by where most officers involved in the 

protection of our communities have to resort to options 

within the Use of Force Model and assault individuals. 

Of course this action is by definition of the term, assault 

in itself. The difference between the actions of officers 

and those who we put before the court is whether the 

assault is authorised, justified or excused by law. If the 

use of force options are considered not to fall within 

those three criteria, varying bodies, including the ESC 

and CMC, investigate and take the appropriate action. 

“ despite the officer concerned 

acting in the execution of their 

duty, the Qps have wiped the 

officer like a dirty rag ” 

From time to time matters are taken upon appeal by 

parties not happy with the outcome in a lower court. In 

this situation, if allegations of impropriety arise, the ESC 

and CMC can launch a full investigation or overview and 

approve the investigation and the outcome. 

The latest saga to unfold for members accused of 

assault is from members of the public launching private 

prosecutions for unlawful assault under the Criminal 

Code. Recently a defendant, who after successfully 

appealing against conviction in the Supreme Court, 

then commenced a private prosecution against a 

police officer involved in his case. Whilst this matter is 

subjudice, I am limited somewhat as to what can be said. 

What is extremely disappointing though is the manner 

in which the QPS has handled this matter. Despite the 

officer concerned acting in the execution of their duty, 

the QPS have wiped the officer like a dirty rag. This 

Union now has taken up the defence of this officer, 

after the officer was left alone standing before the 

court without representation. This was despite previous 

assurances from the QPS it would appear and act on 

behalf of the officer. 

The message is clear do not reply upon your employer, 

the QPS, when you’ve done nothing but your duty. 

Remember that this is a private prosecution and not one 

commenced by any of the overviewing authorities. 

sHift superVisOrs 

In many of our major stations Shift Supervisors 

(ordinarily Sergeants) are left to not only supervise the 

less experienced officers but also care for persons in 

custody, juggle telephones, man the radio and do front 

counter inquiries. 

The safety and indeed lives of those in custody 

are being placed at risk because of overstretched 

resources. This growing problem has been identified 

repeatedly in risk exception reports. This workload 

brings pressures and burdens that adversely impact 

on the health of our members tasked with increasing 

responsibilities. 

One north Queensland station has seen several shift 

supervisors go on sick leave as a result of varying 

medical conditions including high blood pressure and 

anxiety. This in turn has left the station short on staff 

and experienced senior officers. 

The matter has been referred to our WH&S officer for 

investigation, and if necessary, will be referred to the 

Division of Workplace Health & Safety. On one hand 

the QPS are emphasising more supervision however 

do not provide appropriate resources. Shift supervisors 

are left with antiquated communication systems which 

still require them to maintain a watch on the radio and 

incoming 000 calls. 

Something has to give and understandably the first 

cracks that are appearing is in the health of our 

members. I suppose this is the more acceptable 

outcome for some managers rather than providing the 

appropriate level of staffing or resourcing in the first 

place. I doubt these faceless decision makers will be 

fronting the State Coroner to explain themselves when 

there is a death in custody at a station or watchhouse. 

stay safe 

mick barNes 

General Secretary 

0411 453 335 

mbarnes@qpu.asn.au

4 • Assistant General Secretary’s Message 


critical part of the process, i.e. the actual testing and 

selection of the weapons, because it may be perceived 

to be a conflict of interest. 

DENIS SyCZ 

The review of the TASER implementation is well 

underway with the input of this Union, the QPS 

and the CMC which has been very vocal in their 

advice to all who would listen. It appears the 

implementation is heading to some sort of finish 

within the next 6 months - one would hope. 

At a meeting of the Taser Review Committee recently 

with all stakeholders, the QPS announced that they 

would be trialling the new weapons from a couple of 

different suppliers to ascertain which would best suit the 

future operational needs of Queensland police. By the 

time this article appears in print these trials should be 

well under way. 

An invitation was put out to all interested members of 

the committee who wished to attend so that the process 

would appear to be open and accountable and give 

member insight into the different types of weapons 

available. However the CMC, who by virtue of their 

position also attend committee meetings, have declined 

to attend these trials and by doing so, do not appear to 

be involved in the selection processes for the weapon. 

I have a problem with this because when there is 

incident involving police use of a Taser, the CMC will 

take the moral high ground and sit back and make 

grandiose statements about the choice of any weapon 

being against their better judgment and against their 

recommendations. It will be history repeating itself as 

has happened with the current issues with TASERs that 

triggered this review. 

I think it’s about time CMC became properly immersed 

in the entire process so as to ensure that there can be 

no criticism of the review or the outcomes of what the 

hard working committee members are trying to achieve 

- supplying another very useful use of force option to 

Police in a tough and often hostile working environment. 

Further to the issue of the TASER Review see page 26 

for the frequently asked questions and answers into the 

TASER Review process. 

denis sycZ 

Assistant General Secretary 

“ i have a problem with this 

because when there is incident 

involving police use of a taser, 

the cmc will take the moral high 

ground and sit back and make 

grandiose statements about 

the choice of any weapon being 

against their better judgment and 

against their recommendations ” 

They did however imply that in the circumstances a 

“Probity Auditor” should be employed to oversee the 

process which was done at a cost of $10,000. The fee 

was taken from the Taser Budget which could easily 

have purchased 100 holsters for the weapon instead. 

It would appear to me that the CMC’s stance is the 

height of hypocrisy. To sit on the committee and attempt 

to sway the debate on any number of issues that will 

affect the implementation of any new weapon and then 

in the same breath state that you can’t attend the most

Queensland Police Union Journal Feb 10 Metro South Region • 5 

means they are not be able to collect DNA from certain 

crime scenes. They are being limited in their chosen 

field. Then whispers start. ‘Don’t bother applying for 

promotion unless you have ‘volunteered’ your DNA’. 

Nothing of substance and nothing that can be proven. 

TONY COLLINS 

DNA and SOCOs and us. 

Over the past year, the voluntary DNA issue has 

been quietly raging within the SOCO field. The 

QPS is attempting to improve its ability in crime 

scene examination. One way they are attempting 

to achieve this is through the elimination of cross 

contamination of DNA. Ever since DNA arrived on 

the policing scene it has been considered quite the 

smoking gun. Sometimes, however, contamination of 

crime scenes occurs so the QPS has been attempting 

to effectively eliminate this contamination through 

its ‘voluntary’ elimination database. 

Now the key word here is ‘voluntary’. You decide for 

yourself if this is ‘voluntary’. To help you, here is the 

definition from the Macquarie Concise Dictionary. 

‘Voluntary :acting or done without compulsion or 

obligation’. First, all the SOCOS around the state and 

scientific staff were asked to ‘volunteer’ their DNA and 

many have. The exact number I am not sure of, I wish 

I was. However, a few concerns are raised about the 

safeguards of the database amongst other issues. 

“ remember it is ‘voluntary’. did 

the course candidates ‘volunteer’ 

their dNa? was it done without any 

compulsion? what do you think? ” 

A few SOCOs don’t like the idea of a database but 

‘volunteer’ to give their DNA on a job by job basis. 

This idea is canned by the QPS as it cannot afford 

this solution. To ensure the ‘voluntary’ rate of the DNA 

is maintained, a number of Commissioned officers 

turned up at the Scenes of Crimes Course prior to its 

completion and asked the candidates on the course 

to ‘volunteer’ their DNA. Remember, this is a pass or 

fail course. What would you do? You are sitting on 

a course which you have tried for months, possibly 

years, to get on. It’s your chosen career path. There is 

more shrapnel standing out the front than recovered in 

World War II so there is absolutely no pressure to give 

your DNA. Remember it is ‘voluntary’. Did the course 

candidates ‘volunteer’ their DNA? Was it done without 

any compulsion? What do you think? 

Pressure has also been applied to the recalcitrant 

SOCOs who are holding out on giving their DNA. They 

are no longer able to enter Class 1 laboratories. This 

“ i ask you this - if you make a 

decision and then sign a document 

confirming your decision to remove 

your dNa off the database, how 

does an email from the Qps legally 

reverse your decision? ” 

The union has raised its concerns about the safeguards 

of the database and a number of SOCO pulled their 

sample or thought they had. The QPS then merely waits 

for a period of time and then sends a reverse onus email 

to the people who pulled their DNA stating that if the 

officer doesn’t reply within X number of days their DNA 

will be reinstated to the Database. I ask you this - if you 

make a decision and then sign a document confirming 

your decision to remove your DNA off the database, 

how does an email from the QPS legally reverse your 

decision? 

“ i am not opposed to giving 

dNa to an elimination database, 

never have been and never will be. 

Nobody wants to work beside 

a criminal ” 

I am writing about this because, as I told all the SOCOs 

in MSR, this DNA issue is but the tip of the iceberg. 

Sooner or later the QPS will want everyone’s DNA and 

how they handle this issue now will be telling on how 

they handle the bigger issue of obtaining everyone’s DNA 

in the future. Your union will fight for you on this issue to 

ensure the appropriate safeguards are in place. So, back 

to my original question - was the way the QPS set about 

obtaining SOCO DNA samples voluntary? Or was it just 

a juggernaut riding rough shod over what little rights we 

as police officers have. I am not opposed to giving DNA 

to an elimination database, never have been and never 

will be. Nobody wants to work beside a criminal. But, I 

do want the appropriate safeguards to protect me and I 

do want someone to go to jail should they breach those 

safeguards. What do you want? 

remember if you have any problems i am 

a phone call away. 

tony cOlliNs 

Union Representative 

Metropolitan South Region 

0414 804 472

6 • Central Region 


from locations including Cairns, Townsville, Gold and 

Sunshine Coasts, and of course Brisbane City. But sadly 

our current Government has again chosen to ignore the 

communities across Central Queensland. 

BILL FELDMAN 

PUGGING ON: 

As I write this article – Members from my CQ Police 

Family are sitting a lonely vigil outside a house in 

Moranbah where an armed offender has taken refuge 

and is threatening their lives and his. Bullet holes in 

a Police vehicle attest to his earlier effort to complete 

his task. My prayers for their safety are unending 

and I hope for a peaceful resolution. Unfortunately, 

I have just found out the armed offender took his 

own life inside his home. My Marian offsider has 

been tasked with the negotiators job and I know what 

stress his lovely wife and three adoring children are 

feeling at this time. This is the job we have steeled 

ourselves for and it’s families just like his that we 

have all been foresworn to protect. 

assaults ON pOlice aNd Our use Of fOrce 

OptiONs 

As if also having had two female Police officers in 

Mackay seriously assaulted – twice - in the first few 

weeks of 2010 in our nightclub district was not bad 

enough. I then had to sit through a series of ESC 

interviews into allegations CQ police officers use 

excessive force in the same nightclub district. Our 

members, neutered by politically correct interference, 

are forced to go hands on because of a hierarchyinspired 

fear that denies officers other more appropriate 

use of force options. 

The QPS policies leave these same officers vulnerable 

to attack. It sickens me to have to go to town on the 

Government and the QPS once again – And I personally 

thank the member from my region (and you know who 

you are) for providing me with the following inspiring 

words which I would love to claim as my own – but you 

get the nod of appreciation. 

“ to date there has been no 

release of an evaluation paper 

regarding the success of the 

operating conditions on licensed 

premises that trade after 

1.00am in brisbane ” 

alcOHOl-related ViOleNce 

The State Government has heard a number of calls to 

address alcohol-related incidents across Queensland 

Councillors in Rockhampton and Mackay have called 

on the Labor Government to implement conditions that 

are in place in Brisbane right across Queensland. These 

conditions were part of the Beattie 17 Point Action Plan. 

“ do we really have to wait for a 

murder to occur at licensed venues 

outside brisbane before a proactive 

approach is constructed ” 

The conditions implemented in accordance with the 

Brisbane City Safety Action Plan 2005 were implemented 

to curb violence and inappropriate behaviour in and 

around Brisbane licensed venues. In a 2008 review of 

the Liquor Act 1992 Consultation paper it was stated 

that the 17 point action plan responses were part of a 

monitored trial by the Government which is currently 

under evaluation. To date there has been no release of an 

evaluation paper regarding the success of the operating 

conditions on licensed premises that trade after 1.00am 

in Brisbane. 

“ the chair of that committee has 

even gone to the extent of ignoring 

the whole of central Queensland in 

compiling her report ” 

It is understood that the increase in Crowd Controllers 

and CCTV has been successful in ensuring the safety 

within the Brisbane City and Valley areas and that the 

conditions outlined in the Liquor Act 1992 are working. 

There is however concerns that the safety of the 

remainder of Queensland has been forgotten as there are 

a number of violent licensed premises with ‘Extended 

Hours Permits’ to trade until 3.00am with NO safety 

conditions. A number of violent incidents have been 

recorded as being intrinsically linked to some venues, 

unfortunately NO conditions have been imposed. 

The implementation of conditions requires an officer 

to compile an extensive ‘Show Cause’ of a licensed 

premises in order to have the appropriate conditions 

attached. This appears to be a REACTIVE RESPONSE 

after serious violent incidents have occurred at the 

licensed venue. Do we really have to wait for a murder 

to occur at licensed venues outside Brisbane before 

a proactive approach is constructed? A real proactive 

response would be the introduction of the Brisbane 

Safety Action Plan right across Queensland. 

A delegate at the recent ‘Thinking Drinking 3’ conference 

in Brisbane commented: “Queensland has what is called

Queensland Police Union Journal Feb 10 Central Region • 7 

the Palestine approach to Liquor Licensing – a two state 

solution where the safety of the rest of Queensland is 

disregarded outside Brisbane.” 

The chair of the Thinking Drinking 3 Committee has 

even gone to the extent of ignoring the whole of Central 

Queensland in compiling her report. 

The chair of this committee has stated that she will 

review the decision to hold a meeting in Central 

Queensland – sadly it seems words are easy to say and 

easy to forget. 

“ Do we have to wait for that 

‘One Punch’ that can kill before 

something concrete is done. 

Alcohol fuelled violence must 

be stopped ” 

It is clear that the only government agency to address 

alcohol-related violence outside Brisbane is the 

members of the QPS. There have been some moves to 

implement permanent Liquor Enforcement and Proactive 

Strategies (LEAPS) Officers in Major centres across 

Queensland. 

Police Officers continues – as it is patently clear that this 

current government is unwilling to listen to the cries of 

the communities and people of Central Queensland. 

My wife and I pray each night for our hard working boys 

and girls in blue in our undermanned major centres – that 

none of our members suffer the same fate as some of our 

more seriously injured brethren hit with bottles, glassed 

or king hit from behind – such as Matt Butcher in the WA 

Police. Do we have to wait for that ‘One Punch’ that can 

kill before something concrete is done. Alcohol fuelled 

violence must be stopped. 

To all my other CQ brethren – Don’t cease to phone 

me, write to me or Email me with information you would 

like to see expressed in any article by me. You know it 

saddens me to continually bring up these old chestnuts – 

which I live in hope will eventually be rectified. 

Work smart, work safe – make it home. 

Bill FELDMAN 

Regional Representative 

Central Region 

I can only hope that our new Assistant Commissioner 

supports these moves to ensure a co-ordinated 

approach on Licensed Venues by our hard working CQ 

North Queensland Area 

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(07) 4725 3842

8 • Far Northern Region 


to obtain the best deal for all the membership. I again 

remind members that your state government has a policy 

of 2.5% rises for public sector employees. That signals to 

me that the Government are in for the long-haul. Please 

don’t expect any quick fix outcomes. 

DENIS FITZPATRICk 

I welcome all members to 2010 and wish all a 

successful and safe new year. In the last few 

months, several changes have occurred at branch 

official level, within FNR. 

Michael Dolby has resigned his position at branch 

president of Mareeba being ably replaced by John 

Fisher. Sian Jacobs has been elected as the branch 

secretary. 

Duayne Amos has also resigned at Innisfail and has 

been replaced by Trevor Maher. I welcome the new 

Innisfail Branch secretary Chris McBride and Vice 

President Mark Jones. 

“ i wish to sincerely thank michael, 

duayne and rod for their tireless 

voluntary, work performed on 

behalf of the membership ” 

Rod Stanley, the Cairns Branch Secretary has been 

transferred to the Innisfail district. He has been replaced 

by Peter Banaghan, who was re-elected as Secretary in 

November 2009. Jim Montague remains as the branch 

president. 

“ in my view rotational first 

response officers should get the 

lions share of increases ” 

I would anticipate that this EB will follow one of two 

possible avenues. The first, a Referral to the Industrial 

Relations Commission and having the EB arbitrated. 

Alternatively there could be a protracted negotiation 

process, taking most of 2010. 

In my view, rotational first response officers should get 

the lions share of increases. They are the ones who work 

the streets and deal front on with societies problems. 

That is not to say that all other members do not deserve 

a pay rise of significance. I just feel that salary is the only 

means we have left to maintain and attract people to the 

coalface. Members gravitate out of generals very quickly 

in this day and age. Perhaps a better salary will keep 

them there. 

“ still in the job” 

denis fitzpatrick 


Far Northern Region 

I wish to sincerely thank Michael, Duayne and Rod 

for their tireless voluntary, work performed on behalf 

of the membership. Their contribution to this union 

should not go unnoticed. The union representative role 

is a difficult one. These three gents have handled the 

challenges more than adequately and have achieved 

creditable results. I will particularly miss the support 

they have provided me over several years. A lot of 

members cannot appreciate the work and effort that a 

union official does, primarily because it is done behind 

the scenes and not in the spotlight. On behalf of the 

membership, I thank them publicly for their voluntary 

endeavours. 

“ rest assured your union will 

be taking a firm stance and 

attempting to obtain the best deal 

for all the membership ” 

We enter EB negotiations again shortly. Rest assured 

your union will be taking a firm stance and attempting

Queensland Police Union Journal Feb 10 South East Region • 9 

Two such examples came up recently, with members 

working four weekends in a 28-day roster. Members can 

claim 16 hours overtime for the fourth weekend. Working 

more than 56 weekend days in an equity years, members 

can claim overtime for every hour worked in excess of 56 

weekend days. 

BOB SMITHSON 

NEW UNION BRANCH AT COOMERA 

I am pleased to report that a new branch of our 

Union was approved at the Executive meeting held 

on 20th January 2010. The required number of 

member’s signatures was well exceeded and I look 

forward to having a fresh Branch in operation in 

the South Eastern Region. The inaugural meeting 

for the Coomera Branch has been scheduled for 1st 

February where the Branch Officials will be elected. 

We will be looking at three positions - President, Vice 

President and Secretary. There is already some keen 

interest from members wanting to fill these positions. I 

will report next month with the names of the new branch 

officials and I encourage all members located with the 

new Branch to be actively involved in Union matters. 

rOsteriNg 

The District Officer for Coomera District invited me 

to attend his January meeting with OIC’s held at 

Beaudesert on 19th January 2010. He requested 

that I address the Officers in Charge on rostering 

issues. District Intell. officer (and prospective Union 

Branch Official), Senior Constable Virginia Miller, kindly 

prepared a slide show for the presentation. It appeared 

that the OIC’s had a fair knowledge of the “Rostering 

Rules”, which they are obliged to follow in compliance 

with the Police Award State and EB5 Schedule 1. 

Over recent months I have been advised of some 

non-compliance of the “Rostering Rules” by members 

from some Stations and Establishments in the South 

Eastern Region. A few examples are-rostering of single 

rest days, working more that four weekends over 

adjoining rosters, working more than ten consecutive 

shifts and not having a full weekend rostered off in a 28 

day roster period. 

Quite a few of these provisions contain the words, 

“unless justifiable”. I have written this before and I will 

repeat here, the definition of “Unless justifiable” is 

contained in Part three of EB5 Schedule 1. I urge all of 

our members to look it up. It might even be a good idea 

if some of our managers looked it up as well, as some 

of them clearly don’t understand it (or maybe they just 

choose to ignore it). 

One thing that did get a bit of interest from the OIC’s 

was that failure to comply with some of these Award 

and EB conditions, resulting in the payment of overtime. 

“ they say they ‘don’t want to 

rock the boat’. all i can say is 

that we need to stand up for our 

entitlements ” 

The next part of the equation is for our members to put in 

the overtime claim. I have been approached by a couple 

of officers who were reluctant to claim for overtime 

entitlements in the aforementioned circumstances. They 

say they ‘don’t want to rock the boat’. All I can say is that 

we need to stand up for our entitlements. I’m sure that if 

we “send them the bill” for these oversights, they will start 

doing things in accordance with the rules very quickly. I 

congratulate those who have stood up and claimed for 

what they are entitled to. 

(The document “Rostering Rules” can be found on the 

QPS Bulletin Board under the Industrial Relations site. If 

you can’t find it, send me an email and I can direct you to 

the site.) 

Qpue cONfereNce -april 2010 

The QPUE annual Conference will be held in late March 

2010 on the Gold Coast. Over the past 12 months a 

lot of work has been done at Executive level (Rules 

Committee) in relation to our Union Rules. There has been 

a fair amount of discussion between our Union and the 

Industrial Registrar of Queensland regarding the wording 

and intent of some of our rules. As work in this area has 

progressed, it had been discovered that some of our rules 

do not strictly comply with the Industrial Relations Act. 

This does not mean that we cannot function, but it will 

be necessary to change some of our rules at this year’s 

Conference in order to comply with the Act. The Union 

Rules Committee has prepared some motions to be 

presented at Conference on behalf of the Executive. All 

the Conference motions will be circulated to the Branches 

throughout the State in the month prior to Conference. 

The motions will be distributed with “supporting 

information”. 

It is very important that all Branches meet prior to 

Conference to discuss the proposed motions so that the 

voting delegates will have a good understanding of what 

they are voting on and any ramifications resulting from the 

passing or not of motions. 

bob smitHsON 


South East Region

10 • Metro North Region 


of his or her duties the person must be sentenced to 

imprisonment for 12 months.” 

“ i know the assault has to be 

grievous bodily harm on a police 

officer, but it’s a start ” 

ShAYNE MAXWELL 

UNION 

PROTECTION - Protect those who protected 


Happy New Year and all the best for 2010, I hope it 

is a safe year for you all. Operation Merit has run 

it course and the figures that are being released by 

the electronic media indicate 589 arrests on 1415 

charges. 

It was with great interest when I read the newspaper to 

see Magistrates whilst fining offenders, labelled them 

“bloody idiots” and the media named and shamed 

them. Why isn’t this being done all year round? As a 

result of Operation Merit, the costs to the government 

were $1.5 million which allowed an extra 16,000 police 

hours across Queensland. Will the government sponsor 

another format of Op Merit? NO! State Treasurer 

Andrew Fraser has already stated that “it wasn’t 

practical or useful in the longer-term to roll out blitz 

operation and the extra 16,000 police hours”. 

“ in fact mr fraser it occurs every 

friday and saturday night in the 

city and fortitude Valley with 

our members being used as 

punching bags ” 

It has clearly been identified that we have a problem 

in Queensland with booze-fuelled violence. In fact Mr 

Fraser, it occurs every Friday and Saturday night in 

the City and Fortitude Valley with our members being 

used as punching bags. One has just had to look at the 

arrests made during Op Merit as proof of how unsafe 

our streets have become. These problems do not only 

occur at Christmas, it is all year round and it ties up the 

QPS’s already limited resources. 

Mandatory jail sentence for assaults on Police. 

Why can’t the Queensland Government implement 

harsher penalties for assaulting Police in the execution 

of their duty? In 2009, the Western Australia Government 

passed laws for mandatory jail sentences for anyone 

who seriously assaulted police. Section 297 of the 

Criminal Code Western Australia has been amended 

to include “when a person commits grievous bodily 

harm, to provide that when the harm is caused to a 

public officer who is a police officer in the performance 

I know the assault has to be grievous bodily harm on 

a police officer, but it’s a start. The Western Australian 

Police Union is currently lobbying their government to 

widen the legislation to include mandatory sentencing for 

any form of assault on police. 

From talking to the members in Brisbane City and 

Fortitude Valley, figures indicate assaults on police were 

down by 40% as a result of Op Merit. This reduction is 

great but the down side of it is that if one police officer 

is assaulted in the execution of his or her duty, that 

is one too many. Our members are entitled to a safe 

work environment as they are serving and protecting 


Recently I came across a quote from Theodore 

Roosevelt ‘The man in the Arena’ and I thought it was 

very appropriate for the Police officers who has endure 

the hostile members of the public, who every day give 

their best for the QPS and Queensland and whom are 

often criticised by the minority. 

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points 

how the strong man stumbles’ or where the doer of 

deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the 

man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred 

by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who 

errs, who is short again and again, because there is no 

effort without error and short coming.” 

I and the Queensland Police Union commend you for 

your efforts all year round. 

eb6 

The Queensland Police Union is due to commence 

E.B.6 negotiations with the Queensland Government at 

the end of March 2010. To date, the Queensland Police 

Union has approached the government to commence 

discussions. I urge all members to arrange and attend 

their station union meeting over the next few months. 

I will be attending these station branch meetings with 

other officers from the union to update and answer your 

queries re E.B. 

that’s my whinge for the month, play safe. 

shayne maxwell (chook) 

Metro North Executive 

0438 112 741

Queensland Police Union Journal Feb 10 Southern Region • 11 

occasions disciplinary investigations drag on for an 

unacceptable period of time, and he admits things could 

be done better. 

DArrEN LEES 

I would like to wish all members of the Southern 

Region a Happy New Year, and I trust you all had 

a very Merry Christmas and a great new year. To 

those who had to work I hope everyone stayed safe 

and you can all look forward to some well earned 

time off with your families in the coming months if 

time permits. 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our 

Assistant General Secretary Denis Sycz, Ross 

Musgrove, the QPUE legal team and the Warwick 

branch officials for the excellent work they did during the 

critical incident on New Years Eve. The feedback I have 

received from members involved in the incident has 

been highly complimentary to all involved. Unfortunately 

I was up north at the time and could not attend, but this 

was another example of how well the critical incident 

package works that the QPUE has developed. 

uNNecessary delays – iNterNal 

iNVestigatiONs 

As part of the duties we perform it is logical that at 

some stage a fair percentage of us will have complaints 

levelled against us. Likewise there are times when 

members will do things that are regrettable and that 

will require some form of disciplinary investigation. Our 

Executive understands that in some instances these 

investigations will take time to resolve and appropriate 

representation for all members is provided accordingly. 

“ it would appear that although 

the service recognises that things 

haven’t been done well in the past 

they are reluctant to do anything 

to fix the problem ” 

What I personally cannot understand, is the 

unnecessary delays some investigations take. The QPS 

seems to operate under a double standard in which 

they disregard their own timeframes, policies and 

procedures while conducting internal investigations. 

This ultimately has a very negative impact on our 

members. In some instances in the past we have seen 

internal investigations that have dragged out for years 

prior to our members being served with any paperwork 

to attend a disciplinary hearing or advice that the matter 

has been finalised. Many times I have heard our own 

Commissioner comment that he believes there are 

It would appear that although the service recognises 

that things haven’t been done well in the past, they 

are reluctant to do anything to fix the problem. I would 

encourage the Commissioner to take immediate action to 

address the unacceptable time frames that seem to drag 

disciplinary investigations out, causing untold stress on 

our members and their families. 

The bottom line is simple. We are all human and make 

mistakes, but to have someone’s career put on hold, 

having them highly stressed along with their families 

hardly seems fair to say the least. FIX THE PROBLEM. 

Set the appropriate time frames, do the investigation and 

ensure a timely outcome so everyone can move on with 

their lives. 

eb6 

As you will all be aware the time is fast approaching 

when we will head into another enterprise bargaining 

campaign. Once again I encourage all our members 

to register with our union office in Brisbane to obtain 

access to the website. It will be through the website that 

the major form of communication to members on the 

progress of EB6 will occur. 

I also encourage Premier Anna Bligh and her government 

to be realistic in negotiations with our union. It would 

seem that the economy has bounced back well from the 

global financial crisis, particularly in Australia. Although 

Queensland is clearly the worst performing state 

financially, there is no reason why the QPUE should not 

expect a fair wage and conditions deal in this EBA. 

Premier Bligh, let’s see exactly how much you do value 

the excellent men and women who risk their lives daily to 

protect the community of your beloved state. 

REWARD THEM ACCORDINGLY. 

I look forward to seeing you all in the coming months. 

I am in the process of organising time to get around 

the entire Southern Region and will advise your branch 

officials of dates in the near future. If you require any 

assistance at all please contact your local branch 

officials and don’t hesitate to call me if there is anything I 

can assist with. 

“keep up the great work, and stay safe.” 

darren lees (beefa) 

Southern Region Executive Representative 

0417 776 184

Registered Number: _____________________________________ 

Title: Mr/Mrs.Ms/Miss (please circle one of them) 

Full Name: ____________________________________________ 

Home Address: ________________________________________ 

________________________ Post Code ____________________ 

Postal Address: ________________________________________ 

________________________ Post Code ___________________ 

Phone Numbers: (H) ___________ (MB)____________________ 

(W) ___________ (F) _____________________ 

Work Email: __________________________________________ 

Home Email: __________________________________________ 

Rank: _______________________________________________ 

Station: ______________________________________________ 

QPUE, PO BOX 13008, GEORGE STREET, BRISBANE 4003 

Phone: (07) 3259 1900 Fax: (07) 3259 1950 Email:police@qpu.asn.au

14 • Advertisements 


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Queensland Police Union Journal Feb 10 New Editor Joins Union Journal • 15 

New Editor 

Experienced Journalist Joins Union Journal 

I would like to welcome journalist and author Paula 

Doneman as the new editor of the QPUE journal. 

The appointment of Paula is a QPUE executive 

initiative to better communicate with its members and 

bring a fresh, professional approach to our monthly 

journal. 

“This month the journal launches a series of profiles 

of QPUE branch officials, starting with Sergeant Steve 

Ryan who has represented his colleagues in the Dalby 

district for more than 20 years,’’ said QPUE president 

Ian Leavers. 

In her new role Paula will canvas issues affecting 

members, write features, profiles and report on court 

cases. She is also interested in hearing feedback from 

members on how to improve the journal. 

“Paula will also report on major police-related events 

and I hope her reporting will make the journal a 

stronger voice for our members,” Mr Leavers said. 

Paula has been a police reporter and investigative 

journalist in Queensland for the past 18 years. She 

brings with her a wealth of knowledge and insight into 

police and the Queensland Police Service. 

She has worked for the Courier Mail, Sunday Mail 

and New York Post. She also wrote a book on the police 

investigation and capture of serial killer Leonard John 

Fraser. 

“Many officers around Queensland will have dealt with 

Paula over the years so I believe she will be received well 

by our members,” Mr Leavers said. 

If you have any story ideas or issues you would like to 

see canvassed in the journal please contact Paula at 

pdoneman@qpu.asn.au or journal@qpu.asn.au

16 • Advertisements 

Queensland Police Union Journal Feb 10

Queensland Police Union Journal Sep Feb 10 09 

North EBA6 Coast – Update Region XXXXX • 17 XX 11 

EntErprisE 

Bargaining 

agrEEmEnt 6 

– UpdatE 

EBA6 

The QPUE is in receipt of this correspondence from the 

Queensland Police Service seeking to initiate negotiations 

for EBA6. The union has responded that “We advise that the 

Union would be pleased to meet on an agreed day during 

that week. Could you please advise at your earliest 

convenience of a day and time that suits.” The QPUE has also 

offered the use of our Training Room as a suitable venue for 

negotiations. 

be hoped that the QPS and the State Government take note 

of this information, appreciate the true value of Queensland 

Police and increase their ridiculous wage’s offer of 2.5% per 

annum. 

Members are reminded that once negotiations commence, 

there will be regular updates on the QPUE’s website as well as 

the monthly articles in the journal. 

A similar letter has been sent to the Queensland Police 

Commissioned Officers Union and whilst a specific date has 

not been set at this stage, it is evident that negotiations 

involving all parties will commence before the end of 

February. 

The initial meetings will be primarily procedural in nature 

where the four parties (Queensland Police Union of 

Employees, Queensland Police Commissioned Officers 

Union, Queensland Police Service and the State Government) 

indicate who will represent them at the table. The parties 

will also develop a schedule of negotiations for the coming 

months and after the procedural issues have been dealt with, 

the actual bargaining will begin. Prior to this meeting, the 

QPUE will have another full meeting of all Executive 

Members, Industrial Officers and relevant staff to finalise 

development of our Log of Claims and strategies. 

It was interesting to note a recent article in the Courier Mail 

that reported the results of a Productivity Commission 

investigation, stating that “Queensland spends less per 

person on its police service than anywhere else in Australia 

but still manages to have more operational officers on duty 

than the national average. The figures showing a cut-price 

blue line in the state - where $344 a person is spent on the 

police force - are contained in the Productivity Commission’s 

latest report into government services.” 

The article went on to report that “Productivity Commission 

chairman Gary Banks said that the information was important 

in improving government services”. On this basis it can only 

Letter from 

Commissioner 

Bob Atkinson 

Dear Ian, 

I am writing to extend an invitation to commence discussions 

regarding the re-negotiation of a certified agreement for all 

police officer employees (excluding executive officers 

appointed under the Police Service Administration Act 1990), 

Police Liaison Officers; Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait 

Island Police, Members of the Police Pipes and Drums Band and 

Assistant Watchhouse Officers. 

The current certified agreement has a nominal expiry date of 

30 June 2010. Enterprise bargaining negotiations will need to 

commence within four months prior to that date. Accordingly 

I propose to hold the first meeting in the week commencing 

Monday 22 February 2010. 

As a result, please contact the Manager, Industrial Relations 

Branch on (07) 33646627 to co-ordinate the exact meeting date. 

Yours sincerely 

Bob ATkInSOn 

COMMISSIOnER

18 • Behind The Spin 


BEHIND THE SPIN 

Honeymoon season for new season 

By Ross Musgrove 

Have you ever heard of Kristina Keneally? 

Well a few months ago nobody in Queensland 

had; however, those among you who are 

particularly interested in Australian politics 

may recognise her as the new NSW Premier. 

She was installed by the ALP faction bosses after the 

previous Premier Nathan Rees, (who replaced the deposed 

Morris Iemma), was deemed to be past his use-by date. 

Poor old Nathan made the very unwise decision to dump 

some of the faction heavies from his cabinet which is the 

political equivalent of playing Russian roulette with a bullet 

in every chamber. 

NSW Labor is about as unpopular as it is possible to be, yet 

Premier Keneally has managed to lift their polling numbers 

considerably even though she is widely regarded as little 

more than a party puppet. 

Tony Abbott & Malcolm Turnbull 

Switch to Canberra and we see the same thing with new 

Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott. He too is doing okay 

in the polls at the moment having replaced the extremely 

cranky Malcolm Turnbull. 

“ There are plenty of examples of good 

polling numbers being achieved by new 

leaders that wane dramatically as voters 

get to know them ” 

Does this mean that these two leaders are in pole position 

to win the next election? I doubt it. There are plenty of 

examples of good polling numbers being achieved by new 

leaders that wane dramatically as voters get to know them. 

It’s known in the business as “the honeymoon” period during 

which voters are besotted with the new leader…but usually 

only for a while. 

“ So together with Rob Messenger, the 

loose cannon of the decade, and a couple 

of other lazy malcontents by his side, 

McLindon decided to drag the LNP into 

one of the most farcical public spectacles 

I can ever recall in politics ” 

Voters are also getting sick to death of Kevin Rudd and his 

often hard-to-understand jargon but they reckon he has 

done a pretty good job with the economy, and voters don’t 

throw out governments who they consider to be managing 

the economy well.


Behind The Spin • 19 

QueeNSlANd 

Who the hell is Aiden McLindon and what will his next job 

be? Trolley boy? 

The last published polls I recall had the LNP at 55% and 

Labor at 45%. Generally that’s as good as leads get in 

politics - so it was extraordinary that the Boofhead from 

Beaudesert would even contemplate a leadership change. 

Internal instability is never rewarded by the voters. All of this 

lunacy will cost the LNP in the polls big time. Some of the 

ridiculous statements made by McLindon will surely be used 

as ammunition against the LNP to great effect by Labor at 

the next state election. Anna Bligh could not have wished for 

a better Christmas present. 

Aiden McLindon 

This political genius, who was only elected less than a year 

ago, thought he should be Leader or Deputy Leader of the 

LNP. So together with Rob Messenger, the loose cannon 

of the decade, and a couple of other lazy malcontents by 

his side, McLindon decided to drag the LNP into one of the 

most farcical public spectacles I can ever recall in politics. 

His leadership challenge was thwarted attracting only 15% 

percent of the vote but it has inflicted a massive amount of 

damage to his party. 

“ Internal instability is never rewarded by 

the voters. All of this lunacy will cost the 

LNP in the polls big time ” 

Anna Bligh

20 • It’s Official Queensland Police Union Journal Feb 10 

IT’S OFFICIAL 

By 

By Paula Doneman 

JUST five years into the job, Steve Ryan was a police 

mechanic forced to work out of a carport that barely 

protected him from the soaring temperatures and harsh 

climate of Mt Isa. He was there to service the district’s 

fleet of 26-vehicles. 

His poor work conditions prompted him to contact his 

local branch officials for help. Although his problem was 

not resolved, the situation piqued his interest. 

Sgt Ryan is one of the state’s 120-plus branch officials 

that will be profiled every month in the journal. 

Since joining Queensland Police as a cadet in 1978, and 

having been stationed in rural areas since 1983, Sgt 

Ryan is well versed in the life of country policing. 

“Whilst not for everyone I reckon more people should try 

country policing,’’ he said. 

“They did their best and I went back to uniform. That’s 

where my closer involvement and continued interest in 

the union began,’’ Sergeant Ryan told the QPUE Journal.

Queensland Police Union Journal Feb 10 It’s Official • 21 

He worked in Mt Isa in general duties until 1985 and 

then transferred to Dajarra, a one-officer station in the 

far north west of outback Queensland between 1986 and 

1988. It was also where his wife Margaret gave birth to 

Angela, the first of the couple’s three children. 

Sgt Ryan then took his family to the Darling Downs town 

of Cooyar, in the Dalby police district, where he became 

a branch official for the QPUE union. 

At first his taking on the role was more of a necessity 

than choice – the Dalby district union meeting he was 

surprised to find that the only item of business was to 

close down the branch. 

“It was mid-1988 and it was my first meeting at Dalby 

and I have been secretary every since. I wanted to 

ensure the branch didn’t fold, I knew from my own 

experience how important it was to members and it 

gives me great satisfaction helping members,’’ he said. 

Within months of taking on the role, the importance of 

the union became apparent when Sgt Ryan helped two 

local officers involved in a fatal traffic accident. 

Fast-track 22 years later to January 27 2010, and Sgt 

Ryan is sitting in a crowded, hot room at Dalby police 

station holding court at a branch meeting of local 

officers. 

review into the structure of court proceedings and 

staffing levels. 

“It’s a small country district but the need for union 

involvement is increasing. One of the key issues 

concerning members is staffing levels keeping up with a 

growing population. There is a lot of growth here with 

the Coal Seam gas and mining development in the Surat 

Basin and the population will rapidly increase in the next 

few years,’’ he said. 

Sgt Ryan said the branch meetings are an important 

forum to address members’ concerns – particularly for 

officers who work in remote areas. “It can also help 

put rumours to rest…’’ he said. Branch officials have to 

quickly learn to juggle their industrial responsibilities 

with their jobs as police officers. As we complete our 

interview, Sgt Ryan is yet to catch up on sleep after 

responding to a 2am burglary at Millmerran. He has 

been stationed there with another officer since 2002 

after being promoted to sergeant. 

“Country policing is unique in that you see jobs right the 

way through, with limited resources, from complaint to 

prosecution. I urge more people to have a go at country 

policing, to go smaller or regional centres because there 

is a different life to be lived and you get to know the 

community – who wants to spend all their day in traffic.’’ 

Members raised concerns about a number of issues 

– the pending enterprise bargaining, the government

Queensland Police Union Journal Feb 10 WEB 2.0 • 23 

WEB 2.0 

By Paula Doneman

24 • WEB 2.0 


THE QPUE website has had a facelift providing members with 

up to the minute news on policing and union issues including 

EB6. 

“This is a great step forward in communicating with the 

membership and providing them with a user friendly 

resource that will provide a wealth of information,’’ said 

QPUE president Ian Leavers in welcoming the new 

technology. 

“The QPUE has spent several months working with web 

designers developing the site which officially launched on 

February 8. It will include the journal as well as industrial and 

legal information. In the secure section, members can access 

legal articles of interest, union rules, minutes from QPUE 

executive meetings, updates on EB6 and multi-media audio 

and video of police-related news stories,’’ he said. 

QPUE General Secretary Mick Barnes said part of the 

success of the websites hinges on members updating their 

membership details. 

“Communications with members is paramount in a time of 

enterprise bargaining. This forum will provide you with the 

latest information of EB6 and access to special membership 

offers. To access the website, you have to sign up, even if 

you are an existing member of the old site,’’ Mr Barnes said. 

The new website was created by campaign consultant Dick 

Grantley from Grantley’s Advertising and Direct Marketing 

Consultancy and creative web developers, Big Fish. 

“The new site has been designed to provide easier access 

to all the information to make each member’s job easier. It 

also utilizes the latest technology to provide much improved 

visual display of the latest TV news reports and other 

interesting material,’’ Mr Grantley said. 

Mr Grantley has worked with the QPU’s Ross Musgrove in 

the creation of successful television campaigns over the last 

8 years and in particular the most recent, ground breaking 

two-minute commercial “Mad World’’ that received positive 

community response.

Queensland Police Union Journal Feb 10 WEB 2.0 • 25 

“The many benefits that the site now provides are an even 

stronger reason for members to update their contact details 

with the Union on line. It will also be a much more effective 

tool in assisting the union to build public support for issues 

that affect members in performing their duty” he said. 

Big Fish is staffed by a very talented team of young web 

developers who pride themselves on combining ease of 

usability with edgy creative input. 

The site will soon include some entertaining cartoon 

segments that have been jointly created by Mr Grantley and 

Big Fish to build greater awareness of the site and use by 

members. 

“For example, previously to access video content you had to 

navigate through five or six pages. The design now will act 

like similar to something like Youtube but specific to police,’’ 

Mr Langford-Ely said. 

The architects of the site also hope it inspires a feeling of 

pride and sense of belonging among QPUE members. 

“Previously the site was information heavy and lacked a 

human feel to it, so we looked at creating a design that was 

more ascetically pleasing...From the Big Fish point of view 

this website is about getting QPUE members to be more 

active and involved. It’s about putting more of a face to the 

union rather than it just being an organisation police are 

almost automatically members of,’’ Mr Langford-Ely said. 

Big Fish creative director, Simon Langford-Ely said the new 

website would be more interesting for members. The website 

fosters more of a sense of ownership and has been 

streamlined and simplified so it is easier to navigate,’’ 

he said. 

Check it out www.qpu.asn.au

26 • Taser Q&A Queensland Police Union Journal Feb 10 

TASER Q&A 

Q&A with the Taser Review Implementation Group 

The policy says there has to be risk of serious 

injury before an officer uses a TASER. What 

does serious injury mean? 

It was considered the creation and application of 

a specific definition of “serious injury” (akin to the 

definition of “bodily harm” or “grievous bodily harm” 

that appears in S. 1 Definitions of the Criminal Code 

Act 1899) would create an artificial limiting effect on 

the practical operational deployment of a TASER in a 

use-of-force incident. 

The key to understanding this part of the policy is 

the reading of the whole sentence with an emphasis 

on “risk of serious injury”. It is the identification and 

assessment of “risk of serious injury” that provides the 

threshold of appropriate TASER usage in a use-of-force 

situation. 

The decision to apply any force, including the use of a 

TASER, is one for an individual officer to make at the 

time. Officers should make a continuous assessment 

of the situation in deciding whether to apply a use of 

force, or change to another use of force option. 

When performing these assessments and making an 

informed decision, officers should be mindful that the 

perception of serious injury is dependent on 

the officer’s assessment. As with all use of force 

options, the decision must be judged according 

to the circumstances at the specific time. 

The words “serious injury” should not be limited to an 

immediate threat of “bodily harm” or “grievous bodily 

harm”, but viewed in a context of the totality of 

the incident, and includes all risks of injury, real 

or potential. 

Again, the policy says “Qualified officers 

performing operational duties should, where 

appropriate, carry a TASER if one is available”. 

What does this mean? 

This policy is about to be further clarified via a 

Commissioner’s Circular. This will bring the wording 

into line with the policy regarding carriage of firearms. 

The new policy will strengthen the requirement for 

officers to wear a TASER unless lawfully directed not 

to. 

Officers should be mindful their actions regularly come 

under close scrutiny, and the level of public interest 

in TASER issues is particularly high. Officers should 

always be able to explain the continuous assessment 

they undertake in selecting or moving between use 

of force options. Subject to training and equipment 

exigencies operational police in uniform should be 

wearing TASERs. It may be difficult for an officer to 

explain to a court, or to justify in any other inquiry or 

investigation, that they made an arbitrary decision to 

not have access to all of the options in the current Use 

of Force Model.

Queensland Police Union Journal Feb 10 Taser Q&A • 27 

The joint QPS/CMC report recommended the 

QPS trial TASER Cam. What is happening with 

the trial? 

Some testing and evaluation has already been 

completed and a modified training package (including 

single-handed grip) has been prepared by OST. A field 

trial is underway and will run from 1 January 2010 to 

30 June 2010. The trial is being conducted in Logan 

and Caboolture Police Districts. In each district we 

have trained five NCO/DDO’s and five First Response 

Officers. The NCO’s will use the TASER Cams for the 

first three months and then the constables will use 

them for the next three months. Additional TASERs 

with the TASER Cams fitted were supplied. This was 

done to minimise disruption and availability to the 

other TASERs in the districts. The extra TASERs will 

be retained by the districts at the end of the trial. 

It was also recommended the QPS explore 

the market place to determine if there are 

other devices that have better accountability/ 

recording features than the TASER X26. 

What is happening in that regard? 

We found two new conducted energy weapon devices 

on the market – a new TASER called the X3 and 

device manufactured by Stinger called the S200AT. 

Information is available on the internet about these 

devices. Both of these will undergo extensive testing 

and evaluation during January and February. We hope 

to have a report finalised by the end of February. 

Did TASER issue a Training Advisory saying you 

should only target someone’s back? How and 

why would you target someone’s back? 

TASER did issue a training advisory in which they 

mentioned the back is the preferred target. This is 

correct in a physiological sense in that TASERs work 

by achieving neuro-muscular incapacitation. The back 

has the largest muscles so the TASER will work best on 

that area. From a tactical and operational perspective 

it should be considered but in reality it will be difficult 

to achieve. Officers should be particularly mindful of 

the potential dangers involved in trying to move to a 

position where the back can be targeted, particularly if 

they could be exposed to cross-fire if their partner has 

to escalate to a lethal force (firearm) option. 

TASER also recommended officers target the lower 

chest area, reducing their recommended point of 

aim by about 12cm. TASER did not say this because 

of potential medical dangers. They said officers 

should do this to avoid the controversy associated 

with deploying a shot across the chest (heart) area. 

Current OST practice is to target to break the belt line 

i.e. one probe above and one below the belt line. If 

this is achieved, the upper chest area will not be hit 

anyway. 

All TASER users to read the training advisory, available 

on the TASER website at 

www.taser.com/training/Documents/Bulletin%20 

15%20Synopsis.pdf” http://www.taser.com/training/ 

Documents/Bulletin%2015%20Synopsis.pdf 

Until a decision is made on this, it is not prudent to 

spend more money on a CEW (the X26) when we may 

not continue to use it and this is why the equipment 

rollout has been suspended. Alternatively, if it turns 

out the X26 is the preferred option, we will be in 

a position to continue the purchase of equipment 

including TASERs and holsters.

28 • Taser Q&A Queensland Police Union Journal Feb 10 

Who can download a TASER? 

We recently published two documents on the OSC 

TASER Implementation web-page. These are: 

TASER Risk and Compliance Guidelines 

TASER Data Download Guidelines 

Officers, particularly OIC’s, are encouraged to 

read these to understand the requirements for risk 

management. It is not an onerous task but has been 

designed to demonstrate our commitment to ensuring 

TASERs are only used for lawful purposes. 

Why can’t we have individual holsters? 

The Taser Review Committee identified this as a 

significant issue. It will be considered once the 

evaluation of new devices is completed. 

TASER training was suspended last year. When 

will TASER training recommence? 

Training was suspended while the Taser review was 

conducted after an incident at Brandon involving a 

Taser deployment. Training for 2600 police (40% 

of operational officers) was due to be trained in 

semester 2/2009. These officers will now be trained in 

semester 1/2010. In semester 2/2010 the final 20% 

of operational police will be trained. 

By the end of this year, all stations will have all of 

their operational staff TASER qualified. All remaining 

officers will be trained in 2011. 

Requalification training will also commence this year 

with all TASER trained officers having to complete an 

annual requalification. This will be delivered as OST 

Block 3 training. 

Recruits will also commence TASER training 

this year.

Queensland Police Union Journal Feb 10 Taser Q&A • 29 

Stations are saying they don’t have enough 

TASERs. Why doesn’t the QPS buy 

some more? 

As already mentioned, the QPS is currently looking at 

some other CEW devices, as per a recommendation 

from the QPS/CMC TASER review. Until this is 

finalised it would not be appropriate to commit more 

funds towards equipment purchases for the X26 

rollout program. Under the original equipment rollout 

program we were scheduled to purchase another 450 

TASER X26’s this financial year and 380 the following 

year. This would bring the total compliment up to 

2070. 

When will one and two officer stations be 

considered for TASER issue? 

When the first round of devices was allocated, 

provision was made for every station to have at least 

one TASER. In some regions there were some minor 

adjustments made to the proposed distribution. In 

addition to raw staffing numbers, we also provided 

information regarding the number of assaults against 

police in the previous two years. Some regions took 

this into account when reallocating TASERs. 

Officers are saying it takes too long to enter 

information in a TASER Usage Report and a 

Significant Event Message. Is anything going to 

be done to fix this? 

We realise the completion of the TASER Usage Report 

and a SIGEVENT is time consuming and at times 

seems like duplication. There are plans underway to 

have TASER usages reported through QPRIME in a 

‘Use of Force’ report. The introduction of a general 

‘Use of Force’ report in QPRIME is currently under 

consideration by the Senior Executive. If this is 

approved the TASER Usage Report will no longer be 

required. 

In the meantime, if it helps save some time, officers 

can consider a ‘cut and paste’ from one report to 

the other, or from a Word document into both the 

SIGEVENT and the TASER Usage Report. This also 

reduces the potential for criticism that we are not 

being consistent in our reporting processes.

30 • Community Supporting Police & Helping Hand 


Community 

& 

Supporting Police 

Helping Hand 

I am sure like most of my fellow QPS colleagues, you at 

one time or another have seen a flyer or received an email 

about Community Supporting Police and Helping Hand, 

but have you ever really stopped to think about who they 

are and what they can actually do to help us. 

Both are registered charitable organisations that aim to 

assist members of the Queensland Police Service and their 

immediate families in their time of need, whether it is to 

assist in coping with a serious life threatening illness or 

injuries, or dealing with a significant personal tragedy in 

a member’s life. 

Well I admit that I used to make the occasional donation, 

and buy raffle tickets and the like in any one of the 

number of funding raising events they have conducted 

over the years. However, I never expected to be in a 

position where I would actually find myself needing their 

assistance. Well I did and now I would like to say a big 

thank you to Helping Hand and Community Supporting 

Police for their recent and most generous gift. 

For those members of the Service I have met and had the 

great pleasure of working with over the years may know 

part of what I am about to say, and for those that I have 

not met, please take the time to read this article and 

consider how your small contributions can make a huge 

difference to someone else life. 

When we first bought Madalyn home from hospital she 

was a perfectly normal baby except for the tracheostomy 

tube, but sadly, at 6 months of age Madalyn suffered an 

out-of-hospital cardio-respiratory arrest which saw her go 

without sufficient oxygen for approximately 17 minutes 

and she suffered a profound hypoxic brain injury. After 

a short stay in the ICU at the Cairns Base, Madalyn was 

transferred to the Royal Children’s Hospital Paediatric 

Intensive Care Unit (PICU). In total, we spent 6 months 

living away from home in Brisbane whilst Madalyn 

recovered from her ordeal. 

My name is Cameron Crichton and I am a Senior 

Constable at Kuranda Police Station. I have a beautiful 

wife, Shauna and a 3 year old daughter, Madalyn, both of 

whom are the loves of my life and we all live in Cairns, 

the heart of Tropical Far North Queensland. 

The last three years have been what some may call a 

roller coaster ride and I guess I can agreed, but life is 

now settling down some what. Three years ago, Shauna 

was 28 weeks pregnant and having a dream pregnancy 

when suddenly she and I were rushing from Cairns to 

Townsville due to complications, and two weeks later 

Madalyn was born 10 weeks premature at 880 grams and 

fitted in the palm of my hand. Shauna and I then spent 

10 weeks in the Townsville while Madalyn was in the 

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and then 5 weeks in 

Brisbane as Madalyn fought for her life and beat all the 

odds. So when we finally brought her home, she was still 

small and had to have a tracheostomy as her airways were 

not formed properly and this was the only way she would 

be able to breathe without the assistance of a ventilator. 

This was where Community Supporting Police offered 

their assistance after they were approached by the 

QPS Chaplaincy to pay the $10 a day fee for me to stay 

at Leonard Lodge the accommodation on the Royal 

Children’s Hospital grounds, while Madalyn recovered 

and was treated. It was only a small amount, but it was 

one less expense we had whilst living away from home. 

We were finally able to come home on the 6th December 

2007 (the day before Madalyn’s first birthday). Now in 

addition to the tracheostomy, Madalyn had neonatal 

lung disease, cerebral palsy with spastic quadriplegia 

and seizures, severe cerebral vision impairment, global 

developmental delays, was fed via a feeding peg, and 

required a number of daily medications. 

Madalyn requires twenty four (24) hour care and 

supervision, and so Shauna has had to resign from her 

job with TAFE Queensland to be Madalyn’s full time carer. 

Unfortunately we receive very little assistance or

Queensland Police Union Journal Feb 10 Community Supporting Police & Helping Hand • 31 

financial support in relation to Madalyn’s 

care and special needs, which includes a lot 

of specialist equipment including suction 

and feeding units and a special buggy for 

her to get around in. So in June 2009 we had 

to upgrade our vehicle to a Hilux Dual Cab 

Utility (with a drop side tray) to increase 

the available space to transport all her 

equipment, in particular the buggy which 

used to fill the rear cargo area of our old car. 

I then started looking for a solid and lockable 

aluminium canopy to fit the tray to protect 

Madalyn’s equipment from the elements 

during transport and provide security while 

away from home at her various therapy and 

specialist appointments. 

Sergeant Antoni Lesic, the OIC of Kuranda 

Station graciously made contact with 

Acting Chief Superintendent Brian Codd 

from Helping Hand and they along with 

Community Supporting Police in Brisbane 

donated a total of $7000 towards the cost of 

a custom built canopy, which has made our 

lives so much easier. 

Shauna and I are working extensively 

with local physiotherapists, occupational 

therapists and speech pathologists and 

Madalyn prognosis is slowly improving every 

day, and the assistance of Helping Hand and 

Community Supporting Police has been a gift 

that we can not ever repay. Like a number 

of other members of the QPS family I am making a fortnightly 

payroll deduction and I ask that if you do not already make a 

contribution, please think about doing so. You never know when 

you or your family may need the assistance and support that 

these great organisations provide. The cost: as little as a $1.00 

a fortnight which is tax deductible and all donations are greatly 

appreciated.

32 • The Best of the Best – your “AO”! 


? 

? 

? 

by Rosemary Featherstone 

The Best of the Best 

“youR Ao”! 

? 

Administrative Professional’s Day is 

21st April 2010 

Last year, the QPUE recognised for the first time, the 

value and appreciation that our members have for their 

administration officers (AOs). The QPUE Journal 

received many nominations from throughout the state for 

their best AO. The stories of the outstanding service these 

AOs have performed were heartwarming. 

A QPS Administration Officer (AO) is required by job 

description to provide a high level of organizational and 

administrative services to their designated area. These 

AOs do more than coordinate office correspondence and 

type letters and reports. They are often the backbone of 

the station or section. They not only provide critical 

advice and assistance to relieving officers and newly 

appointed inspectors in the areas of asset management, 

budgeting, rostering, overtime, allowances, HR and 

WH&S issues, but are there with the cup of tea when the 

FYC has had a rough day. 

The Police Journal would like to honour the 

“The Best of the Best AO’s” in the April 2010 

issue. Therefore, we are requesting that 

you submit via email to rfeatherstone@qpu. 

asn.au your nomination for the best AO by 

Friday 19th March 2010. 

Submissions must be made by a QPUE member. 

Your submission should be for an 

Administration Officer (A01, A02, or A03) 

in your area that you feel deserves just such 

recognition. Please outline your reasons or 

‘story’ for this submission with a length of 

no more than 500 words maximum. 

“Administrative Professional’s Day” is an annual event 

that was originally organised in 1952 in the united States 

and is now celebrated in hundreds of countries around 

the world. It was originally established as an effort to 

recognize secretaries for their contributions in the 

workplace, and to attract people to secretarial/ 

administrative careers. The Australian Institute of Office 

Professionals promotes this event annually on the 21st 

April 2010. 

In recognition of this annual event, the Queensland Police 

Union of Employees, on behalf of its members, would like 

to extend its genuine appreciation for all the hard work, 

support and commitment that QPS Administrative 

Officers continually show to our members. 

Please ensure that you provide the 

Administrative Officers Name, 

Classification (A01, A02, and A03), section/ 

station and Region. One Administrative 

Officer will be chosen from each of the 

Union’s representative areas (Far Northern, 

Northern, and North Coast, Central, 

Southern, South East, Metro North, Metro 

South and finally Headquarters & Support 

region. 

Review of these submissions will be 

conducted by Police Journal staff with all 

decisions resting with the editor.

NO Downside 

To Electing a Workplace Health & Safety Representative 

Queensland Police Union Journal Feb 10 No Downside • 33 

Rosemary Featherstone 

By now those members who have previously been involved as a Workplace 

Health & Safety Representative (WHSR) will be aware that the Queensland 

Police Service has dissolved the current WHSR network. Changes in the 

Workplace Health & Safety Act have caused the Service to review its 

approach to WHSRs. 

The Service conducted a review of current WHSRs and determined that 

many of those serving WHSRs were not elected and in some cases not 

trained in the responsibilities of the role. In consultation with both the 

QPUE and QPSU, the Service has divided each region and district into 

clusters (of a small number of stations/sections). Each of these clusters will 

hold an election with members within that cluster nominating and voting for 

their Workplace Health and Safety Representative for their cluster. Those 

members who have previously served as WHSRs will be provided with an 

automatic nomination upon their request. 

The Union’s wish would have been to have one WHSR in each and every 

station and section but the legislation states that an agreement must be 

reached by both the employer and the employees’ representatives. It is 

obvious that the Service does not want to have an over abundance of WHSRs 

that can possibly issue provisional improvement notices. The Service has 

agreed with the Unions that the newly negotiated cluster structure would be 

reviewed and amendments made if a cluster was not being properly 

represented. 

The main reason for these changes is that the new legislation requires 

WHSRs to be elected and that they must have received accredited training 

that will allow them to issue a legally enforceable notice called a PIN 

(Provisional Improvement Notice). The PIN identifies a breach of WHS 

legislation and requires the employer to rectify the issue within a designated 

period of time. 

With these enhanced powers, there has never been a better time to elect 

a Workplace Health and Safety Representative in the workplace. Under 

Queensland WHS Laws, all the powers that workers have to influence health 

and safety in the workplace are vested in their individually elected WHSR. 

It is the representatives who have the rights and the power to take health and 

safety matters further if the employer fails to the right thing. 

Trained WHSRs are now able to be even more effective since the 

introduction of this additional power for Representatives to issue PINS 

where the Service has not satisfactorily addressed a workplace, health 

and safety problem. PINS are a legal instrument which must be acted on. 

Otherwise, the Service could be prosecuted under the legislation by WHS 

Inspectors responding to an unresolved PIN. 

The Service is currently negotiating for the services of a training provider 

that will provide accredited training for all newly elected WHSRs. 

A WHSR’s additional entitlements include the ability to conduct safety 

inspections within their designated clusters, assist with workplace accident 

investigations, to have the Service consult with them about changes within 

the workplace that may affect health and safety and to be involved in the 

resolution of identified hazards. 

The role of the WHSR is an important one, so it is vital that the workplace 

elects someone with the skills needed to do the job well. A good WHSR 

should know about the tasks performed by the people in their designated 

cluster and understand the health and safety issues which apply to their 

designated cluster. 

The WHSR needs to 

- Act as a link between staff and management and negotiate on health and 

safety issues 

- Assist with identifying and designing solutions to health and safety 

problems 

- Apply their knowledge of health and safety legislation, codes of practice 

and standards 

- Involve all staff in resolving health and safety issues 

- Communicate, negotiate and listen effectively and learn new skills and put 

them into practice. 

Despite many committed, passionate and well intentioned workers sitting on 

WHS committees safety improvements have been minimal at best. The 

ability to achieve meaningful change depends on the willingness of 

management to take notice and act on the committee’s recommendations. 

Many of our members who have served on these committees report that it is 

like knocking their head against a brick wall to achieve a positive response. 

The Union is now working to empower its members through their elected 

WHSR to have more influence on what the Queensland Police Service does 

to address workplace health and safety issues at work. The QPUE has now 

appointed a Workplace Health and Safety Officer who will provide assistance 

to all WHSRs (both sworn and unsworn) with any issues in their designated 

cluster. 

The QPUE will be setting up a WHSR network upon completion of all 

regional elections. The network will provide feedback and raise issues that 

may be common in all regions/commands. These issues will be raised with 

the QPUE WHS Committee and the QPS Corporate Health and Safety 

Committee. 

The Workplace Health and Safety Act establishes a legislative framework 

that balances the right of Unions to represent their members concerning 

occupational health and safety and to discuss matters with workers who are 

(or are eligible to become) members and the right of employers to conduct 

business. The right of entry is in place in various forms for OHS in all states 

of Australia. The Act reflects the Government’s belief that unions have a 

positive role to play in supporting employees and employers in resolving 

workplace, health and safety issues and creating a cooperative and more 

proactive culture when it comes to risk prevention. 

The right of entry is limited to workplaces where the union either has 

members or people entitled to be members to either discuss health and safety 

with workers on their breaks or to investigate a suspected contravention of 

the Act. The QPUE will work in partnership with the QPSU in order to 

provide this level of support. The QPUE has qualified staff members who 

hold ‘right of entry’ and will provide any assistance upon request. 

The changes in legislation and the establishment of newly trained WHSRs 

within the QPS will provide for a more proactive approach to workplace 

health and safety. Your Union asks that you ensure that you elect a WHSR 

who is compassionate and committed to ensuring a safe and healthy 

workplace. 

Rosemary Featherstone 

Workplace Health and Safety Officer 

3259-1900 (phone) 

0419 647 605 (mobile) 

rfeatherstone@qpu.asn.au

34 • Psychological Injuries Queensland Police Union Journal Feb 10 

Psychological injuries & 

reasonable ManageMent 

action 

by Ryan Heath and Kia Cameron, Sciacca’s Lawyers and Consultants 

Over the previous two years, Sciacca’s Lawyers and 

Consultants have advised the QPUE and its members on a 

range of issues dealing with workers’ compensation reviews 

and common law claims. The scope of the claims have 

included both physical and psychological injuries. 

Recent statistics produced by the workers’ compensation 

regulatory authority, Q-Comp have revealed a significant 

increase in the claims lodged by injured workers for 

psychological injuries in 2008 to 2009 compared with claims 

lodged in previous years. 

Psychological injuries are becoming more common in the 

workplace, creating a necessity for employers to take further 

measures to prevent such injuries from occurring. However 

claims for psychological injuries have often been disparaged 

by employers which may be attributed to a lack of 

understanding about the causes and severity of psychological 

injuries and also due to the high costs that such claims incur 

for employers. 

The Q-Comp Annual Report for 2008-2009 has revealed that 

57.4 per cent of psychological claims at the review stage to 

Q-Comp were rejected compared with an average rejection 

figure of 3.7 per cent for all other types of injuries. 

The significant difference in the percentage of rejected 

psychological injuries compared with all other types of 

injuries is attributed to the challenges that the Workers’ 

Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 imposes on 

injured workers. 

In order to be successful in a psychological claim for 

compensation the applicant must prove that they are a 

worker who has sustained a personal injury within the 

meaning of s32(1) of the Act. Under s32(1) a compensable 

injury is defined as a personal injury arising out of, or in 

the course of, employment if the employment is a significant 

contributing factor to the injury. The same criteria is used to 

determine physical injuries and this definition can usually be 

substantiated by medical evidence. 

However in psychological claims for compensation, section 

32(5) of the Act excludes claims arising out of, or in the 

course of reasonable management action taken in a 

reasonable way by the employer in connection with the 

worker’s employment. It is this section of the legislation that 

operates to exclude the vast majority of psychological injury 

claims. 

An injured worker firstly must lodge an application for 

compensation with the relevant insurer. If the insurer 

rejects the application then the worker is able to lodge an 

application for review with Q-Comp within three months 

of the date of the insurer’s decision. In the event that the 

application is rejected by Q-Comp, the worker has the option 

of appealing Q-Comp’s decision to the Industrial Magistrates 

Court or the Industrial Relations Commission, however this 

can often involve significant legal fees for injured workers. 

Reasonable Management Action 

Numerous causative factors of workplace psychological 

injuries have been identified such as bullying and 

harassment by colleagues or management, excessive 

workloads or workplace pressures, inadequate staffing, 

unsupportive management or having been part of or 

witnessed traumatic incidents. 

A significant number of injured workers attribute their 

condition to the conduct of management. In order to limit 

the acceptance of psychological claims, s32(5) of the Act 

is applied to claims that detail any aspect of management 

action as causative of the worker’s condition. The injured 

worker then has the evidentiary onus of proving that 

the conduct of their employer has been unreasonable 

management action taken in an unreasonable way. 

Substantiating that management action has been 

unreasonable has proven to be a difficult feat for injured 

workers. Workers need to provide clear evidence from other 

employees or provide any other documentation to support 

a contention that management has acted in an improper 

manner. 

Often witnesses are reluctant to provide supporting 

statements for injured workers against their employer due 

to a fear of repercussions that they may face. Accordingly it 

can be very difficult for injured workers to satisfy that the 

conduct of management has been unreasonable. 

Q-Comp v Education Queensland 

Further limitations are imposed by the particular approach 

that the decision maker may adopt in determining whether 

management action has been unreasonable. President 

Hall’s decision in Q-Comp v Education Queensland [2005] 

QIC 46 is an example of how workers can be trapped by the 

reasonable management action provision of the legislation. 

This case involved Mr McArthur who was a school teacher. 

On 25 June 2003, allegations of inappropriate physical 

contact were made against Mr McArthur by three female 

students. As a result of these allegations, the Ethical 

Standards Unit of Education Queensland became involved 

and investigations were conducted from 26 to 27 June 2003. 

At the end of Mr McArthur’s interview he was told that the 

investigation had resolved the complaint favourably to him. 

Following this incident, a two week school vacation 

began. On Mr McArthur’s return to work, he worked for 

approximately two weeks then decompensated due to the 

complaints that had previously been generated against him 

and also from the stress of the investigation process.

Queensland Police Union Journal Feb 10 Psychological Injuries • 35 

Mr McArthur’s application was accepted at the Q-Comp 

review stage, however the employer appealed the decision to 

the Industrial Magistrates Court and the decision to accept 

the application was overturned as management action was 

deemed reasonable and taken in a reasonable manner. The 

matter was then appealed to the Industrial Court where 

President Hall confirmed the decision of the Industrial 

Magistrates Court to reject the application for compensation. 

President Hall noted the two contributing factors to Mr 

McArthur’s psychological condition as the allegations by 

the students and the investigation that he was subjected to. 

President Hall looked to the purposive intent of s32(5) and 

noted: - 

“The concern of [S32(5)] is to remove certain psychiatric 

and psychological disorders from the statutory definition 

of “injury”. Where a situation arises in which [section 

32(1)] “ropes-in” a particular psychiatric or psychological 

disorder and [section 32(5)] excludes the same psychiatric 

or psychological disorder, there is an inconsistency which 

because of the use of “notwithstanding” must be resolved by 

allowing [section 32(5)] to prevail.” 

President Hall considered that the purpose of s32(5) of the 

Act is to exclude claims that involve reasonable management 

action, thus where there are two factors, one involving 

reasonable management action and another factor that does 

not relate to reasonable management action, s32(5) can 

still apply to reject the claim entirely, even if other factors 

as causative of the injured worker’s condition have been 

substantiated. 

Therefore in Mr McArthur’s case, even though it was 

determined that the student’s allegations against him were a 

significant contributing factor to his condition, his claim was 

still rejected as the investigation that was conducted against 

him was carried out in a proper manner and was deemed 

reasonable management action taken in a reasonable way. 

The above case illustrates how the reasonable management 

action provision of the legislation can operate to exclude 

claims that involve multiple stressors, therefore it is very 

important that injured workers keep the stressors that they 

detail on their applications for compensation brief. Injured 

workers should only include stressors on their application 

which have been the most significant contributing factors to 

their psychological condition to prevent being trapped by the 

limitations imposed by s32(5) of the Act. 

It is detrimental for a worker to detail multiple factors of 

lesser significance on their applications for compensation 

where such factors relate to the conduct of management. 

If the injured worker has one strong factor as causative 

of their condition, it is important that they limit their 

application to detailing this particular factor and do not 

attempt to rely upon a range of weaker factors related to the 

conduct of management. 

Delaney v Q-Comp 

As President Hall’s decision in Q-Comp v Education 

Queensland has significantly limited the scope for the 

acceptance of claims involving multiple stressors, there 

have been subsequent interpretations of the effect of s32(5) 

through case law in the Industrial Court which has sought to 

broaden the acceptance of such claims. 

In the decision of Delaney v Q-Comp [2005] QIC 11, a 

global evaluation in determining the reasonableness of 

management action across multiple stressors was applied 

by President Hall. Mr Delaney had made an application for 

compensation for a psychological condition that arose out of 

a series of incidents by management, which in isolation were 

considered mere blemishes on the part of management. 

However President Hall considered that Mr Delaney’s case 

involved repetitive blemishes joined by subject matter, 

time and personality in a discordant workplace where 

management had knowledge that this worker had previously 

suffered a psychological injury; thus a global evaluation of 

the reasonableness of management action was appropriate 

in the circumstances. 

The global approach in assessing whether management 

action has been reasonable has generally resulted in greater 

success for injured workers in having their claims accepted, 

as unlike the approach prescribed in Q-Comp v ,Education 

Queensland it provides greater allowance where there are 

claims involving multiple stressors. 

However this area of law is still developing and both of the 

approaches prescribed in Q-Comp v Education Queensland 

and Delaney v Q-Comp are still commonly being used 

by decision makers. The particular approach that is 

used by decision makers in determining claims involving 

management action really depends upon the circumstances 

of each particular case. The Industrial Court has not ruled 

out any particular approach and it can often be a gamble 

for injured workers as to what approach will be used. From 

experience it has been found that insurers will immediately 

apply the limited approach in Q-Comp v Education 

Queensland to exclude claims, whereas Q-Comp and the 

Industrial Courts will assess the necessity for the particular 

approach in accordance with the circumstances of the case. 

Important things to remember 

It is important for police officers to have reference to the 

following matters when completing any application to 

Workcover Queensland for a psychological injury:- 

1. To avoid the provisions of s32(5) of the Act we remind 

officers that it is important to limit the factors in their 

application to those which are the most significant. 

2. Often Workcover claims officers will ask injured workers 

whether there are any other factors that they believe have 

contributed to their condition. Officers should be cautious of 

detailing too many insignificant factors which may result in 

their claim ultimately being defeated. 

3. If management action does not form a significant causal 

factor to the psychological condition, then do not refer to 

any aspect of management action in the application for 

compensation. 

Sciacca’s Lawyers and Consultants are available to advise 

any member who has a query with respect to psychological 

injuries which have been sustained in the workplace. Please 

direct any queries to Mr Ryan Heath on 38678839. 

Sciaccas 

Lawyers and Consultants

36 • Tips & Traps 


Tips & Traps 

THE EFFECTS OF GOOD BUDGETING 

This month’s Tips & Traps is on the effects of good 

budgeting. 

With Christmas upon us, I thought it would be timely to discuss a 

subject many cringe at. 

Doing a budget is not about curtailing spending. It is about 

identifying what your fixed and variable expenses are and 

therefore identify how much surplus income (or in some cases 

deficit income) there is. 

Having a budget is the cornerstone of making a financial strategy 

successful. Not having a budget can bring a financial strategy 

crashing to the ground. A good example is borrowing to invest or 

borrowing to purchase lifestyle assets. If interest rates go up, can 

that person’s cash flow manage the increase in repayments? 

Whilst this seems basic, we are surprised at the amount of people 

who do not know what their living expenses are and therefore do 

not know if they have surplus income. 

Doing a budget also helps a person to decide how they want to 

spend their income i.e. more lifestyle spending or saving. This 

allows a person to make informed decisions and trade offs. 

When we are giving clients advice, knowing what their budget is, 

is imperative to the strategies we recommend. In all cases we do a 

cash flow analysis over 5 years to ensure that they can do what it 

is they want to do. An example of this is planning for retirement. 

We may find that a client has a shortfall in future retirement 

funds and need to set aside some of their income to put towards 

retirement. In some cases, when we do the cash flow analysis, we 

find that there is insufficient income to do this. The client then 

has three choices: 

1. 

2. 

3. 

Accept less income in retirement as they will have 

insufficient funds. 

Postpone their retirement for a period of time. 

Reduce current spending in order to set aside the 

money needed to achieve their retirement goals. 

Without a budget, this client could not make an informed choice 

on which path to take. 

To assist clients, we do have budget planners to help them work 

out their budget. When setting a budget, they key is sticking to it. 

Have a merry Christmas and a wealthy New Year. 

David Martin 

Executive 

Moore Stephens Queensland Wealth Management & Authorised 

Representative. Charter Financial Planning, Australian Financial Services 

Licensee AFSL Number 234665 

Moore Stephens Queensland 

Level 25, Riparian Plaza, 71 Eagle Street, 

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia 4000 

Tel +61 7 3317 7877, Direct +61 7 3100 0002, Mobile: 61 409 872 399 

Fax +61 7 3100 0028, Web site: moorestephens.com.au

Queensland Police Union Journal Feb 10 Beyond Reasonable Doubt • 37 

Service of Notice to Choose 

under the Transport Operations 

(Road Use Management – Driver Licensing) 

Regulation 1999 

The distinction between proof of delivery and proof of non-receipt 

is essential to the section. The District Court of Queensland recently 

found on two separate occasions service was proven in this manner 

by post and was not proven to the contrary because the defendant 

stated he did not receive it. 

by Calvin Gnech Legal Officer QPUE 

Should you commence proceedings against a driver of a vehicle 

who has a suspended license due to demerit points but claims they 

did not receive their notice? It is the case that police do usually 

commence proceedings but often Magistrates have not accepted 

this and dismissed the charges. Two recent cases appealed to the 

District Court of Queensland have found in favor of the prosecution 

on this point. 

The procedure leading up to a license suspension is set out in the 

Regulations. The accumulation of 12 or more demerit points triggers 

the first step in the process. The chief executive must give the driver 

a written notice pursuant to s25 (2) Transport Operations (Road Use 

Management – Driver Licensing) Regulation 1999, which offers a 

choice to the offending driver. 

The choice for the driver is between accepting an immediate 

license suspension for a defined period or a good behavior license 

for a period of 12 months. If the 12 month good behavior license is 

accepted and the driver accrues more than one demerit point, the 

driver’s license is suspended for double the defined period. 

If 12 or more demerit points are accumulated the ‘The chief 

executive must give the person a written notice (a notice to choose), 

requiring the person to make their choice within 21 days’. The key 

word in this section is ‘give’. As you would be aware the 

Department of Transport engages service by post. 

In such circumstances sections 39 and 39A Acts Interpretation Act 

1954 (Qld) become relevant. These sections provide that whenever 

an Act requires a document to be served or given to a person, the 

document is served or given by sending it by post to the person’s 

last known address. Service by post is affected by properly 

addressing, prepaying, and posting the document as a letter. 

Service is taken to have occurred at the time at which the letter 

would have been delivered in the ordinary course of post. In a court 

proceeding, service of this nature can be proven by certificate. 

The next issue to consider is, does the defendant have a reasonable 

and mistaken belief of fact according to section 24 Criminal Code. 

In Smith v McDougall, Judge Newton strictly found this issue was 

a mistake of law and not fact therefore, section 24 was not open to 

the defendant. However, in Coughlin v Curran Judge Nase found it 

could be a mixture of both fact and law but found in this particular 

case the statutory framework was inconsistent with section 24 and 

therefore the mistake made by the defendant in regard to the 

validity of his license was a mistake of law. 

It is interesting to note the defendant’s unsuccessful argument in 

Smith v McDougal. The defendant accepted he received an earlier 

notice stating his suspension would finish on the 13 September. 

However, another notice was sent after that, stating his license was 

further suspended. The defendant claims to have not driven his car 

up to the 13th September and then commenced driving because 

of a reasonable and honest mistaken belief of fact from reading the 

first notice. 

Coughlin v Curran [2008] QDC 66 para3. Section 25(2) Transport 

Operation (Road Use Management – Driver Licensing) Regulation 

1999. Section 39(1)(a)(ii) Acts Interpretation Act 1954 (Qld). Section 

39A(i) Acts Interpretation Act 1957 (Qld). Section 60(2)(g) Transport 

Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1999. Section 39A(1)(b) 

Acts Interpretation Act 1954 (Qld). Coughlin v Curran [2008] QDC 

66 para 10. Coughlin v Curran [2008] QDC 66; Smith v 

McDougall [2009] QDC 157. [2009] QDC 157 para 6. Coughlin v 

Curran [2008] QDC 66 para 16 & 17. 

Upon service being proven, the defendant must prove service to the 

contrary. The issues that must be proved to the contrary is that of 

non-delivery not that of non-receipt. That is, the acts of addressing, 

pre-paying, and posting the letter must be proven to the contrary.

Letters to The Editor should be no longer than 

400 words if possible and sent to: 

Queensland Police Union - 

PO Box 13008 George Street Brisbane Qld 4003. 

Fax (07) 3259 1996. 

Letters may be edited for length and clarity. 

Dear Editor, 

Dear Editor, 

Dear Editor, 

I’d like the opportunity to say thank you 

to everyone who supported me during 

my recent battle with cancer. I’ve now 

returned to full duties after having nine 

months off and then five months on 

light duties. Dare I say it, it feels great to 

be back. 

During treatment and recovery, I 

received so many calls and messages 

of support from colleagues around the 

state. There are too many to name every 

single one here. 

Their support and offers were much 

appreciated and were a massive boost 

when things got a little dark at times. 

I know my good mate Mick Collett was 

swamped with calls and offers which he 

had to sort through. 

It may be said, occasionally with derision 

by certain groups, but the QPS is a 

family. And to know there are so many 

people willing to help, that makes it 

so much easier to cope when times are 

tough. No matter how small or negligible 

you think you input was, I thank you 

from the bottom of my heart. 

David PRENTICE 

Con. 19874 

Yarrabah Station 

FNR 

As a result of my resignation from the 

QPS following an appointment outside 

the Service, I also tender my resignation 

from the QPUE effective from the 12th 

February 2010. 

I would like to take the opportunity 

to sincerely thank the QPUE for all 

the support and assistance provided 

to me over the past seventeen and a 

half years. I would particularly like to 

thank my great friend and mentor, Peter 

Garrels, for all of his assistance when 

Southern Region Representative, and 

especially since. Further, I extend my 

sincere gratitude to Denis Fitzpatrick, 

Ian Leavers and Ross Musgrove, along 

with the entire critical incident team 

who came to my side in the middle 

of the night in October 2007 after 

being involved in a shooting at Gatton. 

Similarly, and although not directly 

involved with the Union, I acknowledge 

the support and assistance of HSO Dani 

Rye and Chief Superintendent Tony 

Wright at that time. I also offer my 

humble praise to both for their enduring 

humanity and compassion. 

My own experience with our Union 

through some difficult times inspires me 

to encourage every member of the QPS to 

become, and remain, a financial member 

of the Union. In my view, the knowledge 

that someone is protecting your interests 

is security that is essential in an often 

difficult and challenging profession. 

I leave the service ever grateful for the 

camaraderie of the police family, with 

clarity over the unique and dangerous 

role of policing in modern society, 

and thankful for the skills and lifeknowledge 

that I have acquired. I wish 

every member of the service the very 

best for the future; a prospect made 

easier by the Union continuing their 

excellent work in representing the 

membership. 

Goodbye, good luck and God bless, 

Mick Crellin 

On behalf of the QPS Women’s Network 

I would like to thank the QPUE for two 

very positive articles about the Women’s 

Network in the October 2009 edition of 

the Police Journal. The feature article 

‘Creative Positive Workplaces’ (on page 

16) written by Rosemary Featherstone 

provided a synopsis of the State Women’s 

Network Conference Open Day held 

at the Gold Coast on 16 September 

2009. This event was well supported 

by the QPUE with attendance by the 

SER Regional QPUE Representative, 

Bob Smithson, together with Rosemary 

Featherstone and Industrial Officer Steve 

Mahoney, who represented the QPUE in a 

panel discussion addressing “Pregnancy, 

Part-time and Workplace Priorities”. 

Bob Smithson’s regional round up also 

reflected on the Conference Open Day, 

with some very favourable comments 

about the Network. 

We value the recent interest of the 

QPUE in the Women’s Network and look 

forward to working more closely with 

the QPUE in the future to achieve our 

common goals. 

Kim Jackson 

Senior Sergeant 

Women’s Network Executive Committee 

Member 

Dear Editor, 

As a result of my retirement of almost 41 

years in the Queensland Police Service, I 

wish to tender my resignation from the 

QPUE taking effect from the 27 January 

2010. May I take this opportunity to 

thank all members and especially the 

executive of the QPUE for their support 

over the past 40-plus years. I wish you 

and all members every success in the 

future. Take care and stay safe. 

W.P. SIGANTO 

Senior Sergeant 1799

Queensland Police Union Journal Feb 10 CORRESPONDENCE • 39 

Dear Editor, 

I would like to bring to your attention, 

and for the information of the 

Queensland Police Union generally, the 

two accidental discharges by Qld police 

officers this month resulting in injuries 

by the police involved. My information 

has only been from the media and its 

accuracy is well, we all know how the 

media can be ... 

At about 14:30 on 4 December 2009, 

inside Bowen Police station, a Senior 

Constable accidentally discharged his 

QPS issued Glock pistol (likely to be 

in the un/loading area). The bullet 

ricocheted off the clearance drum into 

his face causing superficial injuries 

requiring treatment at the Bowen 

Hospital. 

On 15 December 2009, at a 

Gympie re-qualification, a Senior 

Constable accidentally discharged his 

QPS issued Glock pistol while 

re-holstering resulting in a leg injury 

(seriousness unknown) where the S/C 

required treatment in the Gympie 

hospital. 

I would like to raise with the Union that 

the QPS policy on firearms training 

frequency should be reviewed, with these 

two recent incidences of unintentional 

discharges resulting in officer injuries as 

an example of the periods between live 

firing re-qualifications being too long. 

One officer accidentally injuring himself 

with their own firearm is too many, let 

alone two in two weeks. 

Currently (to the end of 2009), live 

firing is currently conducted in the first 

half of the year with D.I.ST. (paintball) 

being in the second half of the year. 

Effectively, an officer could do a live fire 

re-qualification shoot in January of one 

year and not live fire again until June the 

next year (a gap of 18 months). 

As of 2010, with five fire and D.I.ST 

training being combined in a two 

day block of training for a month at a 

time, alternating with a month of two 

day Taser training, an officer could 

effectively live fire in January 2010 and 

not live fire again until December 2011 (a 

gap of two years). 

Although I do not know the specifics 

of the recent accidental discharges, I 

believe that they may be as a result of 

the extended periods between live firing 

and a decreasing in officer firearms 

awareness. Although I support D.I.S.T. 

training and believe it is effective in 

QPS training, I believe that the resulting 

extended periods between live firing is 

resulting in less confidence and reduced 

firearms safety awareness amongst 

officers. I believe that more frequent live 

firing would reduce the risk of police 

officers accidentally discharging their 

firearms and increase their firearms 

awareness and safety. 

Thanks, 

Andy Lee 

DFTO and Taser Instructor 

Constable 4017984 

Indooroopilly Police 

Dear Editor, 

Pay Re-structure = Increase in 

Superannuation Entitlements. 

With the next round of EB negotiation set 

to start soon I urge our union to embark 

on a fundamental pay re-structure which 

would incorporate the formation of 

Employment Category Numbers (ECN’s) 

that are associated with pay levels. For 

those ex military people you will know 

exactly what I am talking about. The 

question you are asking is why, the 

simply answer is do you want an extra 

$54,000 in your superannuation payout 

on retirement for next to nothing. If the 

answer is yes then this re-structure is 

essential. 

This is how it would work, currently the 

Queensland Government pays 18% of 

your base wage into your superannuation 

account and members pay 6% into the 

same account. The problem is that a 

majority of our positions attract 

allowances that are not used in the 

calculation of the payment of 

superannuation. For example a general’s 

duties officer receives a base wage plus 

21% OSA and this is payable to all 

officers that are in these positions and it 

is not payable on occurrence like other 

allowances such as NOSA and FTO. So 

the argument can easily be made that 

the actual base wage for a Generals Duty 

Officer is consistent and doesn’t change 

from one pay to another. 

My proposal would see the formation 

of an ECN let’s say ECN 002 would 

signify that I am a constable occupying 

a position that once attracted OSA. A 

constable that is not attracting OSA 

could be assigned ECN 001 and so on 

and so on it goes for all employments 

categories that attract an allowance that 

is automatically payable to that position. 

Another example is SERT they get12.9% 

of Senior Constable 2.5, once again 

this allowances is consistent every F/N 

they could be ECN 003. Now I reckon it 

would take a massive 2 hours to come 

up with a new pay structure which rolls 

in all allowances that are automatically 

payable to a position to formulate the 

new ECN for each position. 

Now let’s look at my situation and how 

the numbers crunch out for a General 

Duties Constable on 1.5. 

My base wage is $2,095.10 per F/N or 

$54,460 per FY. Govt Super contribution 

per F/N is 377.12 per F/N or $9802.80 per 

FY. Member superannuation contribution 

per F/N is $125.71 per F/N or $3,267.60 

per FY. This is a total of $502.83 per F/N 

or $13,070.40 per FY. 

When you roll in the 21% OSA of $439.97 

per F/N or $11,436.60 FY to the base 

wage it would become $2535.07 per F/N 

or $65896.60 per FY. The Govt Super 

contribution would then rise to $456.31 

per F/N or $11,856.53 per FY. The 

member superannuation contribution 

would rise to $152.10 per F/N or $3953.80 

per FY. This is a total of $608.41 per F/N 

or $15,810.33 per FY. This is an increase 

of $105.58 per F/N or $2739.93 per FY. 

This is a total of an extra $54,798 over 

a 20 year period that would be paid into 

your superannuation account. 

There you go $54,798 extra for the cost 

of increasing your member 

superannuation contribution by $26.39 

per F/N or $686.14 per FY. Now this is 

truly money for jam. 

Greg Young 

Constable 

Fortitude Valley 

Editor’s Note 

Any gain for employees will be considered as a cost by 

the Government. There is no money for ‘Jam”. If there 

is an increase on the base pay, superannuation is taken 

into account when cost calculations are considered by 

the Government. At present, super is at 18% of base 

pay. The alternative is to have 9% paid on base plus 

allowances. This would fall short, money wise, when 

compared to 18% of base pay. 

Dear Editor, 

Just to clear a point. Since I have had a 

letter printed in the October issue of the 

Police Journal I have received a number 

of responses. It has shown me that a 

large number of people read the Journal 

and take note of other people’s issues. 

I believe that every reply I have had to 

this letter states that the points outlined 

are my ideas. The latest of these replies 

appears in the December issue of the 

Journal. 

I wish to thank Sergeant BETTANY of 

the Gold Coast Prosecutions for his 

reply. I must first state that wherever he 

obtained my rank from was out of date. I 

have in fact done a large amount of study 

already and completed a resume and 

for his information my title is Detective 

Sergeant. I thank him sincerely for his 

advice though. 

I would like to establish that for a person 

that spends his working life reading out 

other peoples work to a court Sergeant 

BETTANY appears to have completely 

misread my letter, which, as he likes 

quotes so much states, ‘following is a

40 • CORRESPONDENCE 


list of suggestions I have received’. I did 

not state they were my ideas, nor did I 

say whether or not I supported them. 

It was merely food for thought. And it 

seems they have provoked some thought 

in Sergeant BETTANY. So Sergeant, 

when you quote, “Andrew proposes” and 

“Andrew asserts” you are in fact quite 

incorrect. 

I also don’t follow Sergeant BETTANY’s 

train of thought in regards to the ten 

weeks leave a year. How does that 

correlate to prosecutions being an 

important role? All roles within the 

Service are important. However to clarify 

a point for my learned friend, sometime 

prior to your career commencing, six 

weeks leave was obtained for shift 

workers. Day shift workers have the 

advantage of having public holidays 

off which amount to about another two 

weeks. Some time in the processes six 

weeks leave has also been granted to 

day shift workers. I am not blaming you 

for this. You still have two weeks of 

public holidays as well. The suggestion 

was put forward to sweeten the pot to 

make shift work a little more attractive. 

As a personal note, having spent about 

14 years as a QPUE representative 

supporting all branches of the Service 

and after 25 years of policing experience 

both with penalties and OSA, I do 

understand OSA work. Congratulations, 

you have arrested people from time 

to time. I was under the impression 

that that was part of our job being 

Queensland Police. I have also had to do 

Prosecutions work myself, so does that 

make us even? 

Perhaps your long career has clouded 

the issues for you that other police are 

having to cope with every day. I would 

submit that having to handcuff a person 

in the confines of a court room and walk 

them to the watchhouse, although being 

stressful, would be laughable to those 

officers who work in one and two man 

stations. They are forced to work on 

their own after being woken up at one 

or two o’clock in the morning and face 

an angry mum and dad hell bent and 

alcohol-fuelled in beating the crap out of 

each other in front of the kids and both 

deeply hate the police. These officers do 

this without the assistance of a partner 

because the Service is not supporting the 

smaller stations with relief during these 

periods. 

As clearly stated in my letter, these are 

points submitted from officers from 

different areas, they include traffic, 

generals, SOC, plain clothes, two man 

stations and yes, prosecutions. They are 

meant for you to read and as quoted, 

“think of the people that have put them 

in ….” Try to have a thought for where 

they are coming from and the conditions 

they are having to endure and wish to 

improve upon. 

Andrew Bailey 

Gympie Branch President QPUE 

Dear Editor, 

Recently I was hospitalised in 

Rockhampton for nine days with a 

reasonably serious illness. My admission 

to hospital was sudden and I had no 

time to gather personal items such as 

toiletries and clothes. My residence was 

two hours away from the hospital and 

since my wife was visiting family in 

Brisbane at the time, I had no way to 

get the changes of clothes or toiletries I 

ended up needing. 

Since the illness was not work related, I 

simply advised Gladstone Comms of my 

illness and as a result, my unavailability 

for duty. That started a chain of events 

that made me understand why I’ve seen 

and heard of police who’ve been in 

the job for while, consider their fellow 

brethren in blue to be like a second 

family. 

Before I was transferred from Baralaba 

Hospital to Rockhampton Hospital, 

the OIC of a neighbouring division, 

Goovigen, suddenly turned up. I had 

not asked for him to turn up but the 

first thing he did after being advised by 

Comms of my absence from work, was to 

turn up to Baralaba Hospital to ask me if 

I needed anything. 

Later I was transferred to Rockhampton 

Hospital where I underwent several 

unpleasant tests and long waits for 

results. The next day, I was lying in a 

hospital bed and suddenly I had senior 

management police including the 

Assistant Commissioner standing beside 

me. Just to make sure I was doing okay. 

A short time later I was visited by more 

senior police who at the A/Cs request, 

brought items to help the time pass and 

long days easier. The next day, another 

senior police officer turned up on his 

day off just to talk shop for a while. And 

this was on New Years Day. 

All the police who came to see me, right 

up to A/C, made it very clear that if 

there was anything I needed to help the 

recovery process or to help the time 

pass, these needs would be met. 

I remember thinking that these visits, 

offers of assistance and actions, felt like 

they were the sort of things that would 

come from close family members. And 

what surprised me about this was that 

the illness was not work-related. 

So, thank you to all those who visited 

and called. Especially to Gloves from 

Goovigen who went to great lengths to 

get to my residence, grab some personal 

items and bring them in to Rocky. 

Thanks to the management of the 

Gladstone District and Central Region for 

freeing him up to do so, and thanks for 

making me feel like a valued employee of 

the QPS. 

Regards, 

Adam HUMPHRYS 

Acting Senior Constable 19174 

Baralaba Police 

Dear Editor, 

I was hoping you that you could publish 

an article in the next journal about 

the union’s understanding/position 

on whether the Industrial Relations 

Act overrides a certified enterprise 

bargaining agreement. 

I recently read the Queensland Police 

Union of Employees “Minutes of the 

Executive Meeting held on July-15-2009’’ 

on the QPUE website. This document 

describes Mr Geoff Simpson’s address to 

the Logan Branch on the issue of Non- 

OSA staff working public holidays. 

In part it reads: “Geoff Simpson 

addressed the meeting stating that 

our employment is governed by the 

Industrial Relations Act and overrides 

any EB agreement...so the Service can 

direct that no matter what section or 

area an officer is attached the Service 

can direct that Police Officer to work at 

any time.’’ 

I found this statement curious as in 2003 

I sought the assistance of another one of 

the Union’s industrial officers in relation 

to this very issue. 

In my case I had taken Long Service 

Leave immediately after having 

performed a period of higher duties. I 

later found that s.46 ’Payment for long 

service leave’ of the Industrial Relations 

Act provides that: “if the employee is, 

immediately before taking the leave, 

being paid at a higher rate than the 

ordinary rate, the employer must pay the 

employee at the higher rate”. 

After I unsuccessfully attempted to 

remedy my claim with the Service, I 

contacted the Union. The industrial 

officer originally advised I had a valid 

claim, however after speaking with his 

contacts in the Service, he advised that 

he was unwilling to pursue the matter. 

The industrial officer advised that the 

Service had taken the position that the 

EB agreement prevailed over the Act as it 

passed the “no disadvantage test”.

Queensland Police Union Journal Feb 10 CORRESPONDENCE • 41 XX 

Seemingly, the Service’s position on 

whether the Act overrides an enterprise 

bargaining agreement fluctuates 

to whatever argument it finds most 

beneficial in the circumstance. 

Additionally, the Union appears to be 

unwilling to contest this issue. I would 

appreciate clarification on this issue as 

the July minutes give the impression my 

claim should have been pursued. 

Paul JONES 

Senior Sergeant 8030 

Service Operational Procedures 

Note from Editor: Section 46 of the Industrial 

relations Act refers to payment for Long Service 

Leave and makes reference that payment is 

at the higher rate unless a relevant industrial 

instrument states otherwise. 

Both the Police Service Award-State and EBA 

5 state otherwise in that the higher rate is 

payable after 12 months performance of higher 

duties. Any shorter time the leave is paid at 

the employees normal rate. (ie the rate before 

performing higher duties.) 

Editor’s Note 

From March, the 

journal will be 

running a date 

claimer for policing 

fundraisers, 

social events and 

functions. Please 

contact the journal 

editor so we can 

publicise your event 

in this column. 

journal@qpu.asn.au 

Ph: 3259 1966 

Journal Feb09.indd 13 

9/2/09 12:15:54 PM

42 • Police Health 


When snoring becomes a health risk 

Loud snoring is an annoying complaint that affects 

millions of Australians. For partners the condition can be 

extremely irritating and lead to sleepless nights. 

For the snorer, the prognosis can be far more serious – 

chronic ill health or even death. 

Snoring is often a symptom of sleep apnoea, a common 

breathing disorder that regularly goes undiagnosed despite 

affecting around one in 20 Australians. 

Twice as many men as women are at risk of having the 

condition which can lead to high blood pressure, heart 

failure, stroke and even car accidents through tired drivers 

falling asleep at the wheel. 

The chances of developing sleep apnoea increase as you 

grow older and if you are overweight. It affects at least 

one in 10 people over the age of 65 and women are more 

vulnerable after menopause. 

Even though many people go through life unaware they 

are sufferers, there are tell-tale signs. Common symptoms 

resulting from poor quality sleep include tiredness, fatigue, 

memory loss, irritability and impotence. 

What is sleep apnoea? 

There are essentially three forms of sleep apnoea – central, 

obstructive and complex – and all relate to interrupted 

breathing during sleep. 

The most common form is obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). 

This accounts for 84 per cent of cases and involves a 

physical block to airflow. 

Throat muscles that have the job of keeping airways open 

for breathing rest when we go to sleep. This can lead to 

OSA if: 

• The muscles relax too much. 

• The tongue and tonsils are unusually large. 

• There is too much fat tissue in the wall of the windpipe, 

a particular problem among overweight people. 

• People have the wrong head and neck shape. 

The risk of OSA is higher among smokers and is three times 

greater for people with diabetes. 

Central sleep apnoea is caused by a lack of respiratory 

effort, and is the least common form of the condition, 

accounting for less than one in 200 cases. It occurs 

when the neurological controls for regulating breathing 

malfunction and fail to give the signal to inhale. 

About 15 per cent of people with sleep apnoea have both 

obstructive and central, which is known as complex or 

mixed. This condition tends to occur when OSA is severe 

and longstanding, and episodes of central apnea develop. 

signs and symptoms 

The most common sign of obstructive sleep apnoea is 

chronic snoring, although even the loudest snorer may not 

have the condition. It’s when the snoring suddenly stops, 

with a pause in breathing followed by choking or gasping, 

that is the clearest signal. 

This reaction occurs when the oxygen level is dangerously 

low and the brain responds by rousing the sleeper. 

In cases of central sleep apnoea, snoring is not necessarily 

a symptom – the sleeper simply stops breathing. During 

this pause there is no effort made to breathe and there is 

no struggling. 

Immediately after the episode, breathing may be faster 

in order to emit retained waste gases and absorb more 

oxygen. 

Others signs and symptoms of the different forms of sleep 

apnoea may include: 

• Headaches and a dry throat when you wake up. 

• Tiredness, mood swings and feeling depressed. 

• Difficulty in concentrating. 

Children with sleep apnoea may be hyperactive, perform 

poorly at school and be aggressive. They may also have 

unusual sleeping positions, be prone to bedwetting and 

breathe through their mouths instead of their noses during 

the day.

Queensland Police Union Journal Feb 10 Police Health • 43 

If sleep apnoea goes untreated the long-term health 

consequences can be severe, particularly in serious cases. 

Sufferers have increased risk of high blood pressure, 

irregular heartbeats, heart attack, stroke and diabetes. 

Diagnosing sleep apnoea 

Despite the prevalence of sleep apnoea, it often goes 

undiagnosed. There are no obvious signs for doctors to 

detect during routine visits and there are no blood tests to 

reveal its presence. 

However, anyone who suspects they may have the 

condition should contact their GP, who will evaluate 

the various symptoms and explore if there is any family 

history. 

To help your doctor it is worth keeping a sleep diary for 

a couple of weeks. Make a note of how well you sleep and 

ask your partner about any snoring patterns. Write down 

any other symptoms, particularly if you feel tired during 

the day. 

Evaluation of these factors together with a physical 

examination of your mouth, nose and throat will help your 

doctor with a diagnosis. Patients suspected of sleep apnoea 

may require further tests such as an overnight sleep study. 

This is usually conducted in a specialist sleep centre or 

hospital where your breathing can be monitored while you 

sleep. 

Diagnostic tests often include a polysomnogram, or PSG, 

which records factors such as brain activity, eye movement, 

breathing and heart rate and the volume of air breathed 

during sleep. 

A PSG is painless. All you have to do is sleep with various 

sensors attached to different parts of your body. 

Other tests include monitoring carbon dioxide levels, the 

amount of oxygen in your blood and how well you remain 

awake. 

Treatment options 

The good news for people with obstructive sleep apnoea 

– and their partners – is that there are several effective 

treatment options. Lifestyle changes can help clear up the 

condition, particularly in mild cases. 

Options include losing weight, cutting down on alcohol 

consumption, stopping smoking and avoiding medications 

such as sleeping tablets which relax the throat muscles. 

Because older, overweight men have a higher risk of OSA, 

eating healthy and regular exercise are both important. 

Sufferers can also try sleeping on their side and not on 

their back which helps keep the throat open. 

In many patients, correcting any underlying medical 

conditions, such as large tonsils or low thyroid hormone 

levels, is sometimes enough to treat the condition. 

In more severe cases, a CPAP (continuous positive airway 

pressure) mask, nose or throat surgery, or a specially 

designed mouthguard may be necessary. 

Studies suggest that up to 20 per cent of central sleep 

apnoea cases resolve without treatment. 

When conditions persist, treatment options include oxygen, 

nasal CPAP, or bi-level positive airway pressure (BiPAP). 

Some types can also be treated with drugs that stimulate 

breathing. 

Ask your doctor 

Remember, sleep apnoea is a potentially dangerous 

condition, so speak with your doctor if you believe you are 

at risk. 

Your health fund 

Police Health members who have Hospital Cover can claim 

benefits towards the cost of a sleep study conducted by a 

recognised sleep physician in hospital. 

You may also be eligible for benefits toward the cost of 

a CPAP machine if you are subsequently diagnosed with 

sleep apnoea and require treatment. Center 3886200

THE QUEENSLAND RETIRED POLICE 

ASSOCIATION NEWS – FEBRUARY 2010 

By Greg Early, State Secretary, Ph 3863 1180 

Email greg.early@qpcu.org.au 

MESSAGE FROM 

THE Q.R.P.A. STATE PRESIDENT M J (MICK) O’BRIEN 

QRPA 

On behalf of the State Management Committee I wish 

all members and friends a very happy new year and a 

prosperous and healthy one for us all. By the time this 

message is circulated, we are confident that we will have 

achieved our goal of creating our much awaited 16th 

Branch between Brisbane and the Gold Coast. 

This has been a long term goal and we are pleased to 

have provided another venue for our retirees and their 

partners to meet in fellowship and provide support for 

each other in times of need. Max Moloney and Darryl 

Murtha have worked with the SMC to achieve this goal. 

Evidence of the fellowship and support we provide for 

our membership is very obvious as you read through the 

activities of our Branches in this Journal. We note the sad 

news that our member in Roma, Glenda Campbell, has 

suffered a serious stroke and is being cared for in hospital 

by her beloved daughters. Glenda is the widow of Brian 

Campbell who played such a huge part in the Near 

North Coast Branch and in the Bribie Island community 

for many years. Our thoughts and prayers are with her 

and all those in our police family who are not enjoying 

the best of health at this time. 

We must be very close now to the commencement date 

of the initial public presentations of the Queensland 

Police Service Medal to our members and other retirees. 

We look forward to the start of this roll-out as more and 

more retirees are learning of the existence of the medal 

and making application for it. 

The annual luncheon season has kicked off with the 

inimitable Terry Walker and his members of Redlands 

Branch running another happy and successful function. 

We are pleased to see Terry’s health improving and 

we pray that this continues. Greg, as well as the other 

Secretaries, lists the functions in their reports so we have 

plenty of notice of forthcoming events. Again, I would 

ask all to support the luncheons, and the annual dinner 

in Rockhampton, as the Branches go to considerable 

trouble to make the functions an enjoyable occasion. 

It is also another opportunity for us all to support the 

Police Legacy Scheme by buying up the raffle tickets for 

the wonderful array of prizes always provided. On most 

occasions the prizes are supplied by the Branch members, 

Queensland Police Credit Union, Police Legacy, as well 

as local supporters of the Branch. 

All Branches are encouraged to approach their local 

businesses for support as it has been established that 

they are very well disposed to make a donation to the 

Branch in return for support by way of an advertisement in 

the Branch monthly newsletter. Our friends in the Brisbane 

and Northern Suburbs Branch of the NSW Retired Police 

Association have been particularly successful with this 

fund raiser. 

The annual Police Legacy Bowls Days are now set in 

concrete for the Association’s effort in Brisbane at the 

Wavell Heights Bowls Club and for Bundaberg’s great 

day at Bargara Bowls Club. I am confident that other 

Branches can copy the efforts of Bundaberg and others 

by becoming more active in this regard and getting out 

within their community and having a charity day to show 

that even as retired police we still care for the community 

in which we live. 

Many older members will remember the hard work done 

by Life Member, John Cummins, as State Secretary during 

the period when the Association fought many battles 

with government and other bodies to improve the lot of 

retired police officers and their families. John was always 

assisted by his wife Maureen who was also honoured with 

Life Membership for consistent and excellent work for 

the Association over many years. John has now retired 

as a Director of the Police Credit Union after almost 30 

years continuous dedicated service to the membership, 

with five of those years as Chairman. John was earlier 

awarded with the OAM for his services to the policing 

community over many years. I am sure you all join with 

me in wishing John and Maureen well in their retirement 

and pray that it is a long and healthy period where they 

can relax and enjoy their time together and with their 

extended family. 

In conclusion, I remind all members again to be ever 

ready to assist the various Welfare Officers in our Branches 

to visit and assist our retirees in their old age or ill health. 

We thank those people carrying out this important work 

for the Association. On this occasion I mention and thank 

Ron Rooke at Bundaberg for his persistent efforts with 

others for the welfare of the retirees and their families in 

his area and offer him our best wishes that he recovers 

very soon from the serious injuries he received recently 

in a road accident. Ron, one of the legends of the QPS, 

remains in the memory of all those who at least flew once 

with him in a tiny Cessna as every flight was memorable 

and at times could be scary for one reason or another. 

However his flying skills were never in doubt. 

God Bless and best wishes to all. 

M.J. (Mick) O’Brien, State President QRPA Inc.

Queensland Police Union Journal Feb 10 QRPA • 45 

FUTURE LUNCHEON IN 2010: Redlands at Redlands 

Sporting Club 11.30 am 23 February 2010, Hervey Bay at 

RSL Club on Tuesday 15 June 2010, Van Diemen’s Land 

– AGM and dinner 19 June 2010 at the Great Lake Hotel, 

Miena, Tasmania, and Bundaberg at the RSL Club on 1 

December 2010. 

FUTURE MEETINGS IN BRISBANE: These now commence at 

12.30 pm in the ground floor conference room at Police 

Headquarters: 1 March 2010 – latest on fraud – Det Sen 

Constable Rod Shelton and 12 April (not 5 April) – Det 

Inspector Gary Watts, Task Force Hydra – outlaw motor 

cycle gangs. 

QRPA-POLICE LEGACY ANNUAL BOWLS DAY: This was 

going to be on 12 March 2010 but for a few reasons 

has been shifted to 11 June 2010 at the Wavell Heights 

Bowls Club. 

BUNDABERG QRPA-POLICE LEGACY BOWLS DAY: Bargara 

Bowls Club on 10 May 2010. 

POLICE HEALTH – HEALTH INSURANCE: This Fund has 

long been recognized for its outstanding service to its 

members. The State Management Committee has found 

that a past employee of the Queensland Police Service 

who worked for it at anytime since 1 January 2001 can 

join. Some members of QRPA may be eligible. Inquiries 

should be directed to free call 1800603603. 

NEW MEMBERS: Former Brevet Sergeant (N.T) Robert 

Bruce Materna (Bundaberg), former Detective Senior 

Sergeant Phillip John Clohesy (Beenleigh/Logan), former 

Senior Constable Matthew Thomas Dale (Ipswich), 

former Inspector Ross Lindsay Melville (Brisbane), former 

Constable (Essex Police) Derek Andrew Hill (Redlands), 

former Inspector Jillian Mary Steinkamp (Brisbane), former 

Senior Constable Graham Leslie Newman (Hervey Bay) 

and former Constable Susan Ann Burgess (Near North 

Coast). 

NEW ASSOCIATE MEMBERS: Denise June Hansen, spouse 

of Dennis Hansen, Lorraine Hansen, widow of former 

Superintendent Warren Hansen, and Beverley Houley, 

widow of former Sergeant Max Houley, (all Mackay/ 

Whitsunday), Patricia Ann Buchbach widow of former 

Sergeant Raymond John Buchbach, Margaret Anne 

Macnaughtan, spouse of Member Neil Macnaughtan 

and Norah Gwenllian Spreadborough, widow of Sidney 

Griffith Spreadborough (all Mackay/Whitsunday), Patricia 

Rose Gray, spouse of Member Dave Gray, and Joyce 

Mary Newman, spouse of Member Graham Newman 

(both Hervey Bay). 

RECENT OBITUARIES – May They Rest in Peace. 

Senior Member: Former Sergeant Barry John Roveta 19 

January 2010; Member: Former Sergeant Gregory Edward 

Dixon 30 December 2009, former Constable 1st Class 

Leo John McCartin service 4 January 2010 and former 

Sergeant 1st Class Edmund Geoffrey Little 22 January 

2010; Associate Member: Clare Bench 23 December 

1009; Non Members: Former Sergeant Terence John 

Hawkins 10 December 2009, former Sergeant 2/c/Senior 

Technical Officer Elwyn Winwood (George) Kreis 13 

December 2009, former Senior Constable Glenn Whitton 

11 January 2010 and former Queensland Police Officer 

Leonard James Nettle service 25 January 2010. Family: 

Joyce Winifred Perrin, mother of State Vice President 

Janet Brady, service 18 December 2009, Merle Joyce 

Phillips, widow of former Superintendent Sid Phillips, 

mother in law of retired Senior Sergeant John F Wilson, 

and grandmother of current serving Sergeant Grant C 

Wilson, Coolangatta,10 January, 2010, 91 years, Joan 

Cumner, widow of former Inspector and Member Keith 

Cumner and sister of former Assistant Commissioner and 

Member Laurie Pointing, 17 January 2010, 84 years and 

aunt of serving officers Brett, John and Glen Pointing. 

WELFARE REPORTS MENTIONED AT THE BRISBANE MEETING 

ON 7 DECEMBER 2009: Gerry Cremin’s wife has been in 

hospital again. Milton (Bill) Hasenkam has had a medial 

ligament operation and is resting up at home. Associate 

Member Glenda Campbell had a major stroke early in 

January while driving her car in which she ran into another 

car in Roma. Her daughter is looking for a nursing home 

for her and is making sure she is kept updated with 

the activities of QRPA. Arthur Zillmann has had another 

stint in Wesley Hospital. He has been moved out of the 

ICU and is slowly improving. Bill Powell, who turned 100 

on 18 November last year, had a fall getting out of his 

daughter’s car after attending a New Year dinner. He 

suffered injuries to his pelvis and shoulder but was able 

to ring Ernie Benson, Secretary/Treasurer, Rockhampton 

Branch, on 31 January and advised it was the first day 

he could get fully dressed and sit on the side of his 

bed. 

VETERAN CERTIFICATE: (These are issued to members (not 

life members) who are over 75 years of age and have 

ten years financial continuous membership): Desmond 

Thomas CARMODY, Ronald Barrie COPE, Raymond 

Geoffrey HUNTER and Donald TEAGUE. 

SENIOR CERTIFICATE: (These are issued to members who 

are over 65 years of age and have ten years of financial 

continuous membership): Edward George DUNDAS, 

Basil Joseph GLOVER and Garry Martin RYAN. 

OVER 90: John William FERGUSON - 90 on 26 January 

2010, Frederick Stanley HASS – 92 on 14 January 2010 

and Albert Ernest MAIER - 92 on 13 January 2010. 

QUEENSLAND POLICE SERVICE MEDAL: Approximately 

350 applications have been received and are presently 

at Ethical Standards Command for vetting. Of those 350,

46 • QRPA 

25 have been approved and a medal order has been 

lodged. The State Management Committee is forwarded 

lists so that the Committee can offer any comment 

which might assist the Commissioner when deciding 

on applications. The application form is available on 

the QPS website (www.police.qld.gov.au), from Branch 

Secretaries, from the Honours and Awards Unit of QPS 

(33646876) or from myself. 

NEW BRANCH AT LOGAN/BEENLEIGH: The State 

Management Committee has approved an application 

by former Inspectors Max Moloney and Darryl Murtha to 

form a Branch to be known as Logan/Beenleigh at the 

Beenleigh PCYC on 11 February 2010. More information 

about the formation will be provided next month. 

AROUND THE BRANCHES 

IPSWICH: Our annual Christmas luncheon was held 

at Brothers Leagues Club on the 16 December 2009. 

Distinguished guests included Assistant Commissioner 

Col McCallum, Superintendent Garth Pitman, Detective 

Inspector Mick Niland, Senior Sergeants Bob Phillips 

and Darryl Wensley, Mr. Mick O’Brien, Mr Greg Early, 

Mr. Merv Bainbridge and Mr and Mrs Len Bracken, all 

from the Queensland Police Credit Union, Mr and Mrs 

Warner Fitzgerald, Mr and Mrs Neil Hooper, Mr. Ted Dale 

and Ms. Val Phillips. New member Mat Dale of Rosewood 

was welcomed and apologies were received from Mr 

Grant Devine, CEO of the Queensland Police Credit 

Union, former Assistant Commissioners Roly Dargusch 

and George Nolan, Mr and Mrs Burgemeister, Mr and 

Mrs Petersen, Mrs Raatz, Mr Pat Moffatt, Mr and Mrs Bill 

Hayden, Chaplain Dennis Bryant who was transferred 

to Mt. Isa, Mr Ted Roberts and Mrs Rosyln Rooney. 

Chaplain Rod Strong officiated with a prayer and grace 

before presentations were made by guest speakers 

Commander Steve Grant, AFP, and former Qld Police 

Officer, and Scott Hill, Brisbane Airport Corporation 

Security Services Manager. Numerous raffle prizes were 

won and delivered thanks to the sponsors who were 

Queensland Police Credit Union, Stefan Hairdressing, 

P A Hotel Booval, Doreen and Arthur Edwards, Len and 

Val Gannon, Bob and Bev Latter, Gaye’s Hairdressing, 

Strand Hotel North Ipswich and Brothers Leagues Club. 

(Ken Martin). 

ROCKHAMPTON: Member Ian Hall advised that he 

cancer has been found in one of his kidneys. The 

discovery was made after undergoing tests for injuries 

he sustained from an accident when he and his wife’s 

motorcycle collided with a car. A Surgeon in the Brisbane 

P.A. Hospital on 5/1/10 attempted keyhole surgery but 

failed as kidney was too large. Open surgery removed 

an enlarged kidney 11 inches long weighing 5.5 kgs. 

The cancer has not spread. He is recovering slowly at 

home with wife Bev who suffered a broken collar bone 

(clavical) in the accident. My wife, Associate Andrea’s 30 

cm “degloving” of her right shin from a fall off a ladder 

in late November, has healed well except for a lower 

10 cm X 5cm which requires a skin graft on 01/02/10 


at Rockhampton General Hospital. Glen Guley and wife 

Shirley made a trip to Melbourne after New Year to see 

his nephew, Scott Johnson, who played a leading role 

as Tommy Devito in the Play “The Jersey Boys”. For the 

old Rockers, Scott is the son of Kev Johnson whose song 

“Rock and Roll I gave You the Best Years of My Life” was 

a hit back in them old days. (Ernie Benson). 

FAR NORTH QUEENSLAND (CAIRNS): We held our quarterly 

meeting/luncheon at Brothers Leagues Club on 29 

January. Acting Assistant Commissioner Paul Taylor 

and Detective Inspector John Hartwell were our guests. 

Apologies were received from Jock MacDonald, Noel 

and Joan Holding and Viv and Cath Finter. On 17 

December 2009 Vice President Ray Stubbins and myself 

attended the official commissioning of the Desmond 

Trannore Bridge (Mulgrave River) which is near the town 

of Gordonvale. Also present was a large gathering of 

the public, together with Government representatives 

and Assistant Commissioner Andy Henderson with many 

Police Officers. (Perhaps this may be considered a 

final chapter in the history of Des Trannore). Our next 

luncheons will be 26 February and 26 March while our 

quarterly meeting/luncheon will be held on 30 April at 

Brothers Leagues Club. (Don Condie). 

SUNSHINE COAST: Fifty seven people attended our 

Christmas luncheon. Greg Rainbow was presented with 

a Certificate of Appreciation for his work in helping 

our widows and some of the older members who 

have difficulty doing yard work. Thanks for this work, 

again, Greg. Jack and Arlene deVlaming have arrived 

in Maroochydore on their annual escape from the 

Canadian winter. We will again be welcoming them to 

our meetings. To our other RCMP member, Ron Smith has 

had a few stays in hospital for a heart condition. We 

pray for his recovery and hope that one day he might 

be able to come over here again. Margaret Williams 

has returned from her latest overseas trips (to Japan and 

New Zealand). She has quite a few interesting stories to 

tell. (David Betts). 

GYMPIE: Happy New Year to all members and executive 

of the State Management Committee. Our members 

have not as yet held a meeting in 2010 so we are looking 

forward to our first which will be held at the Cooroy RSL 

Club on 3 February. It will be a good occasion to catch 

up with all members and hear how various trips and 

festivities played out. We have two new members going 

into 2010, Leigh Burt and Fred Palmer. It is reassuring to 

know that our little Branch is still growing. Hopefully, by 

the end of this year, we will be able to welcome in even 

more new faces with whom to exchange experiences 

and good times. As we have not caught up yet we 

assume that no news is good news and all are in good 

health in our little corner of the world. (Norm Breen). 

GOLD COAST: They met on 1 December 2009 at the 

Currumbin RSL Club. Arthur Jones thanked the executive 

for their work throughout the year. Des Sorensen 

mentioned the proposed meeting to be held at the

Queensland Police Union Journal Feb 10 QRPA • 47 

Runaway Bay Police Station this year and he suggested 

that May would be most appropriate. Everyone present 

agreed. It was suggested that a letter of appreciation 

be sent to Senior Sergeant Murray Underwood the o/c 

of Runaway Bay to thank him and his staff for providing 

morning tea for our members. Tony Murphy and Graeme 

Dank are still unwell. It is pleasing to report that our 

Christmas luncheon held at the Twin Towns Services Club 

was an outstanding success. Sixty-three guests attended 

as compared with 58 in 2008. Another excellent event 

organised by our Social Secretary, Neil Raward. Sadly 

I have two deaths relating to our Branch to report. On 

17 January Joan CUMNER, widow of Life Member and 

former President of our Branch Keith Cumner, passed 

away and on the 27 January the funeral was held for 

Jeanette JOHNSTONE, wife of Life Member and former 

Secretary of our Branch, Don Johnstone. We were 

represented at both funerals by our President and other 

members. My recent four monthly visit to the specialist 

revealed that my PSA blood reading is climbing again 

which may mean that the radiation didn’t work. I will 

have a further check up in four months time. It was 

good to see that Peter Scanlan and his wife were able 

to make it to our Xmas luncheon. His condition appears 

to have stabilised and he goes for his next round of tests 

in February. Phil Clohesy was operated on last week 

for prostate cancer and early indications are that the 

operation was a total success. One of our members, 

Clem Edwards, recently underwent knee surgery and 

is now well on the way to recovery. Clem is a former 

Detective Sergeant and a legend here on the coast for 

some of his exploits. He played Rugby League for NSW 

Country in his younger days and the knee surgery is a 

legacy of those days. Ross Rigney has had a further 

stint in the John Flynn Hospital and is now at home 

convalescing. (Des Sorensen). 

DARLING DOWNS: As we start a new year we thought 

we can look forward to a better one than last year. But 

this has not been so. We have lost Geoff Little, one of 

the hardest working members of our Branch. He and 

his friend Joyce attended many sister luncheons and 

were the first to put their hands up for our raffles etc. His 

funeral was held on Thursday 28 January and we gave 

him a great send off. He suffered a quick and severe 

illness and his sudden passing was a shock to us all. In 

addition, Bob Scarff will enter Greenslopes Hospital for a 

heart operation in February and is expected to be there 

for five or so days. Sam Searle does not drive these days 

and is in need of assistance. Thanks to our hard working 

members, we have been able to get him to events as 

required. Vice President Kev Weise is our resident taxi 

driver and he is also working on getting tenders for our 

memorial wall. (Graham Hohenhaus). 

NEAR NORTH COAST: Our 18 January meeting was held at 

the Bribie Island RSL Club. Jack Gibbison has had a stint 

in Caboolture Private Hospital. While he was quite ill at 

the time and suffering from shortness of breath, he has 

improved in recent times. It was good to see Peter and 

Carmen Aebersold at our January meeting. Peter has 

been suffering a lot of pain. Peter Verney suffered some 

mystery virus but is now back to full health. Don Finlay is 

doing it tough. Albert Maier celebrated his 92nd birthday 

on 13 January and was congratulated by all present on 

reaching that milestone. They found their recent around 

Australia voyage most enjoyable and recommend it to 

anyone contemplating such a trip. Good feelings have 

been expressed about our luncheon at the Caboolture 

Golf Club on 23 November 2009. On 5 December 

2009 members Jack Gibbison, Mary Donovan, Len and 

Jeanette Taylor, Helen and I attended the NSW Retired 

Police Luncheon where we not only had a good time but 

won many prizes. Our new member is Susan Ann Burgess, 

a former police officer who is the daughter of member 

Eric Hopper. Jim Robilliard and his wife Margaret have 

been down with the flu and Jim’s immune system is very 

low. (Col Guy). 

BUNDABERG: Our first meeting in 2010 was held at the 

Brothers Club on 29 January. The Annual luncheon in 

December was excellent, with 106 attending the event. 

The venue and meal proved to be great and the venue 

has already been booked for Wednesday 1 December 

this year. On the welfare side, Ron Rooke has been 

discharged from Hospital and is back home in Barolin 

Street. He is receiving good care from the welfare 

agencies. Members of the executive QPCU made his 

day recently when they rallied to replace his favourite 

QPCU shirt which was cut from him after his horrific 

accident. Many thanks to Mick O”Brien, Greg Early and 

Grant Devive of the QPCU for this really kind gesture. 

Doug and Marie Hoare were very ill with a severe bout of 

the dreaded flu, as was President Bob Hayes. Thankfully 

they are all well again now. The annual Police Legacy 

bowls day has again been booked in for May the 10th 

at Bargara Bowls Club. (Grannie Pearce) 

TOWNSVILLE: Our Christmas luncheon was held on our 

usual meeting date at the Townsville RSL Club. We had 

37 members, 13 guests and visitors and also four artists. 

Among the visitors were Assistant Commissioner Clem 

O’Regan and his wife Jenny, the State President Mick 

O’Brien, Police Credit Union representative Phil Hocken 

and the President of the Townsville Branch of the RSL 

Rod McLeod. Other visitors included four members from 

the Mackay/Whitsunday Branch - Les Campbell, Dennis 

Hansen, Michelle Sheehan and Neil Kidd. It was great 

to also welcome our regular Christmas visitors Gordon 

Duncan and Brian Weston as well as Vera Kay (Gordon 

Thomas’ sister) and Pam the wife of our newest member 

Don Barter. As usual the meeting commenced with a 

minutes silence in memory of members who had passed 

away. Father Lindsay Howie given the pleasing task of 

cutting the Christmas /Birthday cake, which had been 

made and iced by Joan Maynard, on behalf of all persons 

celebrating a birthday. Mick O’Brien presented Margaret 

Kelly with a copy of the Branch’s Formation Certificate, in 

honour of her late husband Mick. Certificates were also 

presented to Charles Bopf, Jack Sanderson and Terry 

O’Halloran. Roy Hielscher had been presented with his 

copy at a previous meeting. A great time was had by all

48 • QRPA 

in attendance. We were entertained by Roy Hielscher 

on his electric key-board, Gordon Thomas on his piano 

accordion and five visiting artists who sang numerous 

Christmas Carols. (John Urquhart). 

HERVEY BAY: Our last meeting was held on 19 January 

2010. It was fairly sombre, as a large number of 

members had only recently attended the funeral of 

new member Greg Dixon. Greg was in the Hervey Bay 

Water Police for many years and had only been retired 

for a couple of years. Our guest speaker for the meeting 

was Maureen England of Hervey Bay Centre Link. A 

special welcome was also extended to Maryborough 

District Police Chaplin, Father Paul Kelly. Vera King 

has been in hospital in Brisbane with heart problems 

but has since returned to the Bay. Roger Barlow is still 

having back problems but we are led to believe his 

bowling arm is still in good condition. Vic Burgess was 

involved in a traffic accident where he received severe 

bruising. Bevan Bradshaw has had tests on his heart but 

things must be pretty good as his wife Margaret was at 

home packing the caravan for their annual pilgrimage 

to Scarness Caravan Park. We believe they are that 

close to the park that they don’t even have to start 

their car, as it’s just a matter of rolling down the hill. We 

have new applications for membership from Graham 

Newman and his wife Joyce. Grahame retired from 

the QPS in 1975 and bought a shop at Burrum Heads. 

Our next meeting will be the ‘Norm Sprenger Show’ as 

both our President and Secretary will be overseas on 

holiday. Norm will be filling in on both portfolios in their 

absence. Our Branch BBQ will be at Ron Beaton Park, 

The Esplanade, at 11.00am on 19 February, 2010, while 

our next meeting will be at the Hervey Bay RSL Club on 

Tuesday 16 March 2010. (Geoff Flood). 

REDLANDS: Thirty-one met at Redlands Sporting Club 

on 19 January 2010. Our President, Terry Walker was 

welcomed back after missing meetings since October 

2009 due to illness. Terry thanked all the members for 

their support and good wishes. He also thanked the 

committee members for their assistance in conducting 

the meetings in his absence. He tried to correct the 

“vicious rumour” that he was in hospital by stating that 

he and June were in fact on an extended world cruise. 

This received the expected response. It was good to 

see that Terry has not lost his sense of humour. Ted Dale 

is not travelling too well at present. It appears that he 

has not fully recovered from his recent stay in hospital. 

Ted celebrated his 87th birthday on 13 January. The 

2nd annual luncheon of the Redlands Branch is to 

be held at the Redlands Sporting Club at Wellington 

Point on Tuesday 23 February 2010. Our new “raffle 

co-ordinator” John Maher is doing a great job. There 

have been a few smiling faces when their numbers 

have been called out. Next meeting will be on 23 

March 2010 at the usual venue. (Allan Nicol). 


A letter from Derek Nichols thanked the Branch for all 

the support over the past 6 months. Arnold Mossman 

advised that his bowel cancer has returned and he 

will be back on chemotherapy. Derek Nichols is doing 

well and received a good report on his recent visit to 

doctors. Gordon Jones advised that wife Heather was in 

St Andrews Hospital in Brisbane – he is unsure when they 

will be back in Gladstone. President Mal is working on a 

calendar of events for next year with likely venues being 

Boyne/Tannum, Mount Larcom, the Marina and the 

Gladstone Police Station. President Mal acknowledged 

the generous donation of prizes by Peter and Helen 

Vale, Darryl and Judith Saw, Denis Connolly and John 

Sayre. A separate letter will be sent to non-member Nick 

Schedney for his donation. Members then enjoyed a 

delicious morning tea before an entertaining game of 

barefoot bowls followed by Christmas lunch. 

MACKAY/WHITSUNDAY: West Tigers Football Club at 

Walkerston was the venue for their January 16 meeting. 

Their guest speaker was John Weinrich, Registered 

Nurse. He is the local representative for a product 

called VitalCall. John spoke about the product which 

is designed to provide a telephone link to relatives, 

carers and ultimately the ambulance service for people 

who are frail, elderly, disabled or with specific medical 

conditions which could jeopardise that person’s well 

being while they are alone. John also announced a 

generous discount for all QRPA members which has no 

time limit. Much discussion ensued about the decision 

made by the Commissioner not to grant the QPS Medal 

posthumously. This matter was referred to the State 

Management Committee for further consideration. 

VAN DIEMEN’S LAND (TASMANIA): A quiet time for the 

Branch over the holiday period but with schools going 

back it’s getting very busy around the State. February – 

April is ‘grey nomad’ season in Tasmania with hundreds 

of motor homes about and with a national motor 

home gathering in March it will be hectic. Don’t forget 

if travelling this way and need help let us know. Our 

next meeting is at Ross, for a BBQ at Steve and Val 

Kummerows. We already have great response for our 

first annual dinner in June. All the best from the Apple 

Isle. (Andy Beasant). 

All the best to you and your family. 

Regards. 

Greg Early, State Secretary, QRPAI 

GLADSTONE: Their Christmas meeting was held at the 

Calliope Central Bowls Club on 1 December 2009.

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