Around 330 positions are to be axed from the Queensland Police Service, to cover the $27-million gap in the Government’s police budget.
The Minister for Police announced the decision in Parliament yesterday.
Nicholas Chin reports.
TRANSCRIPT
The projected job losses came about because of a bigger than expected pay rise for Police, granted by the Industrial commission.
The Minister for Police says that has left a funding gap, which will have to be funded the Police Service’s operating budget.
John-Paul Langbroek, Minister for Police: “The police service will fund a share of the increased of around $27-million a year from it’s $1.893-billion operating budget.”
Around 250 civilian poisitions have been cut, with an additional 80 planned positions withdrawn.
It’s a decision that the Queensland Police Union says has come from a deceitful Government.
Ian Leavers, Queensland Police Union: “This is what I’m expecting of this current government. They say one thing one day and another thing the next day; they’re just completely deceitful and out of truth.”
The Queensland Police Union say the administrative position cuts will mean that some frontline police officers will be forced to desk jobs and maintenence work to meet the department’s increased wage bill.
Ian Leavers, Queensland Police Union: “Cutting 330 adminastrive jobs from the police service will directly impact upon servicedelivery of policing functions around the state of Queensland.”
The Police Commisioner says the department’s headquarters will be hit hardest with cuts up to seven per cent of its civilian staff numbers.
Bob Atkinson, Police Commissioner: “What we’re doing is taking by far the biggest hit at headquarters. Percentage wise it equates to about a seven per cent reduction in civilian staff numbers.”
The Shadow Minister for Police says the situation is because of poor budget management by the Government.
John-Paul Langbroek, Shadow Minister for Police: “There’s no doubt that if the labour government could manage their budget properly we wouldn’t be facing this situation that we currently are in.”
Mr Langbroek claims the cuts will affect things such triple-O emergency calls.
John-Paul Langbroek, Minister for Police: “It’s going to affect our whole police service. Ten and a half thousand police are now going to have to fill in wth jobs they currentlyare not having to do and things like waiting for 000 calls to be answered is going to become common place.”
The job cuts are expected to be in the form of voluntary redundancies and the process is likely to take around five months.
Nicholas Chin, QUT News.