Championing positive change or business as usual?

On October 26th 2023, we the First Nations Advisory Group to the Queensland Police Service (QPS) and a collective of supporters and allies, took a united stand in our dismissal of the outwardly racist ideology expressed by Queensland Police Union (QPU) President, in the Courier Mail on Wednesday 25th October 2023.

On November 13 2023, we again collectively called on the Minister for Queensland Police and the Commissioner of Police to take action as a demonstration that racist and harmful behaviour would not be accepted as business as usual.

Not only have our calls for action been met with silence, just over one month later on the 30th November 2023, the President of the QPU has been announced as a member of the Independent Ministerial Advisory Council (IMAC) to give victims a voice.

The comments made by the QPU President remain negligent and outwardly harmful to the wellbeing and interests of our First Nations peoples and communities, including victims. It is beyond belief that the same individual who so recently made overtly racist and fearmongering public commentary about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples could be identified as an appropriate member of this Council.

The President of the QPU has also repeatedly refused to acknowledge widespread problems in police responses to domestic and family violence in Queensland. This is despite numerous studies and reports to the contrary, including the 2022 “Call for Change” report from the Commission of Inquiry into Queensland Police Reponses to domestic and family violence that found “ample evidence that there are cultural issues within the Queensland Police Service which inhibit the policing of domestic and family violence.” The appointment of QPU President to the Victims Advisory Council represents a gross disservice to the “voice” of victims, and to the countless people and organisations working to change this in Queensland.

The people most likely to be victims in Queensland are women, children and young people, too often Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, children and young people. These people have been let down by this decision. Queensland has been let down by this decision.

We wish to express our deep disappointment at the Queensland Government’s implicit endorsement of the President of the QPU by giving him a position of influence over the very important and critical work of the council in its consideration of the needs of victims and vulnerable people, such as children, young people, women and First Nations peoples.

We invite the Premier and Attorney General to meet with a representative body of this group to further discuss our concerns and to seek a positive resolution to the ongoing harm that is being felt.

In good faith we await your response.