The Police Association Journal november 2009

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5 Secretary’s Message By Greg Davies Police Regulation Amendment Bill The significance of the welcome defeat of the Police Regulation Amendment Bill in the Victorian Upper House last month should not be under-estimated. It is extremely rare that proposed legislation can be so bad as to warrant it being blocked in the Victorian Upper House by its opponents, especially after a Bill has been tabled in the House for more than a year. Added to this was the lengthy window of opportunity to properly consult with those potentially affected and make the necessary amendments to ‘get it right’. The Government refused and consequently copped what everyone outside Government expected. Let’s be absolutely clear about why this Bill did not pass into law. It is because the Bill was unnecessary, shoddy, ill-conceived and above all, draconian in its intended application against all police officers in this state. It is why your Association actively lobbied against it with unprecedented vigour. It is why every non-ALP politician in the Victorian Parliament voted against it. It is why it was ultimately defeated. As we have argued repeatedly, there were no redeeming features to this Bill. It was all bad. For example, the Bill sought to reverse the ‘onus of proof’ in all discipline matters condemning members as guilty until proving themselves innocent. It sought to introduce coercive questioning in under-performance matters, while providing the Chief Commissioner of the day the ability to waive members’ probationary periods and to pay ‘gratuities’ (the Bill’s term, not ours) to members of their choosing. It’s hard to believe this is the same Labor Government who vehemently urged their federal colleagues to oppose the former WorkChoices legislation. The hypocrisy of the politics of convenience has not been missed by any observer. The Government could not mount a persuasive argument that the Chief Commissioner requires more powers than already exist, in the Police Regulation Act 1958 (as amended), to remove members who behave in a corrupt or criminal way. He can now. The Association has previously advised the Chief Commissioner that we support the full letter of the law being applied to any member who behaves in a criminal or criminally corrupt way. We know that our members do not want to work with crooks and, while thankfully they are very few in number, there is a need for vigilance to ensure the standards built over 156 years are maintained. In using the extensive powers that already exist, we believe that the very few members who do commit criminal or corrupt acts can be dealt with effectively, for the betterment of our members, the Force, and the community. We were ready and willing to engage with the government on this issue but they, regrettably, refused to consult with your representatives. The stance adopted by the Government was in stark contrast to the attitude of all non-Government members of Parliament, including the Liberal, National, Greens MPs and the DLP member. We sincerely thank them all for hearing our significant concerns on behalf of all our members. We also congratulate them for seeing right through the massive amount of Government media spin in its desperate attempt to get this Bill across the line - including the reliance on dubious statistics that have since been proven to be plain wrong. We now urge the Government to focus its energies on what all Victorians want and expect – urgently and properly resourcing our police force rather than trying to further emasculate it. Members’ online survey I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the many members who made the time and effort to complete our recent online survey of Association members. At the time of writing, all of the data and feedback provided by you all is currently in the process of being independently collated and analysed. I reiterate my commitment to take on board and act on your feedback to ensure that members get the best possible value from their Association membership. Variable rosters The dispute involving variable rosters has been long and arduous, but we have seen this issue take a positive turn in the last few weeks. As we report inside on page 9, Warragul members, with the support of The Police Association, have managed to save their variable roster after it was threatened with termination. Buoyed by this outcome, it is The Police Association’s intention – with the endorsement and guidance of affected members – to revisit this dispute on behalf of all members who have recently lost their variable hours rosters against their wishes. We remain hopeful that with a spirit of cooperation and conciliation between the Association, Force Command and affected stations, that a successful outcome is still possible. For our part, the Association will continue to work hard to ensure this occurs. www.tpav.org.au The Police Association Journal November 2009
6 IR News Police Regulation Amendment Bill defeated in Victorian Upper House After more than 12 months of intense lobbying by The Police Association, the offensive Police Regulation Amendment Bill was defeated in Victorian Upper House of Parliament last month. In a welcome development, the Bill was defeated by virtue of all non- Government Upper House MPs having voted against it, including all Liberal, National, Greens and the DLP member. The Bill contained a number of odious provisions which, if passed into law, would have significantly eroded a number of members’ fundamental rights. These included; • A reversal of the ‘onus of proof’ in all discipline matters which would have seen members considered guilty until proving themselves innocent; • Coercive questioning introduced in under-performance matters • An ability of the Chief Commissioner of the day to waive a members’ probationary period and pay ‘gratuities’ to certain members of their choosing. The Police Association thanks all non-Government Upper House Members of Parliament for meeting with us and for having taken on board all the significant concerns we raised with them on behalf of all our members. It should be noted the Government has refused to consult with us or our members throughout this entire arduous process. Next month’s edition of The Police Association Journal will contain a special feature on this important win for all members. Excess Travel Entitlements for PCETs clarified The Police Association has recently finalised negotiations which will end the confusion that has surrounded travel allowance entitlements for PCETs undertaking duty at the Motor Driving School (MDS) and Traffic Alcohol Section (TAS). Until recently, travel entitlements for PCETs have been the subject of inconsistent application by the Force, leading to confusion among affected members. Specifically, conjecture surrounded the meaning of the phrase ‘ordinary place of employment’, which the Force maintained was the Academy for all Probationary Constables even though many were working at police stations at the time they were being deployed for duty at MDS or TAS. This meant that, in effect, the ‘ordinary place of employment’ for PCETs was often their station and not the Academy. This meant they were a sufficient distance from MDS or TAS to satisfy an entitlement for travel allowances under the Workplace Agreement. In response to the Association’s Industrial Relations Section taking up this issue, the Force has now agreed that Probationary Constables who are allocated to a station before attending MDS or TAS, will be deemed to belong to their station as their ‘ordinary place of employment’ when determining eligibility for travel entitlements. With greater clarity now achieved on the application of this entitlement, the Force has also agreed to undertake an audit of affected PCET members with a view to applying the entitlement to those who were previously denied under the previous interpretation. Affected members are those who were allocated to a station before attending MDS or TAS, and whose respective workplaces are greater than 24 kilometres – as the crow flies – from Attwood or Dawson Street respectively. These members will be entitled to excess travel time and excess travel costs as contained in clause 13.4 of the Victoria Police Force Workplace Agreement 2007. If members have any questions on this issue they should feel free to contact the industrial relations section on 9495 6899. November 2009 The Police Association Journal www.tpav.org.au
Page 1 and 2: VOLUME 75 - ISSUE 11 November 2009
Page 3: 3 President’s Message By Brian Ri
Page 7 and 8: 8 Legal News When is the best time
Page 9 and 10: 10 Hume booms But police numbers co
Page 11 and 12: 12 Cover Story - Mick Miller Exclus
Page 13 and 14: 14 The Association’s Greg Davies,
Page 15 and 16: 16 Remembrance Day Address “Payin
Page 17 and 18: 18 Potential asbestos exposure duri
Page 19 and 20: 20 Retired and Life Members’ Dinn
Page 25 and 26: 26 Special Report photos www.suzywo
Page 27 and 28: 28 Your Letters The gift of life Th
Page 29 and 30: 30 Executive Minutes Photography by
Page 31 and 32: 32 Member Classifieds Member Classi
Page 33 and 34: 34 Delegates Police Association Del

The Police Association Journal november 2009

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