Hyatt Hotel, Canberra

Tuesday 17 November 2009 (11.45am-12.30pm)

Acknowledgements

• First, may I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land we meet on – and pay my respects to their elders, both past and present.

Other Acknowledgements

• Mr Vince Kelly, President of the Police Federation of Australia (introducing you)
• Mr Mark Burgess, CEO of the Police Federation of Australia
• Members of State, Territory, Police forces and the AFP
• Ladies and gentlemen

Introduction

Welcome to Canberra and thank you to the PFA Executive for inviting me here today to talk to you about shared challenges, and Commonwealth Government policy responses to policing issues.

The policing environment and challenges that we face are changing rapidly.

Globalisation, the internet, new forms of communications, terrorism, emerging forms of organised crime and the relative stages of development of countries in Australia’s region have all increased the complexities and demands on Australian police.

So how do we as a country support police to adapt and increase capability to meet new challenges?

Today, I want to talk to you about initiatives the Government is undertaking to address these issues.

I will focus first on the work that is underway to provide support and protection to you, the men and women at the front line of policing.

The Rudd Government has made commitments in the areas of workplace relations, occupational health and safety and specifically, in relation to police resourcing and policy.

We are committed to keeping you safe at work both within Australia and during international deployments. We are also committed to recognising your skills and addressing issues of workforce planning, recruitment and retention.

I would also like to briefly examine some of the key initiatives the Government is taking to support law enforcement in significant areas of crime.

National Review into OH&S

The first issue I would like to touch upon today is the critical area of occupational health and safety, the proposed Model Occupational Health and Safety Laws and how they may affect your members.

Let me start by saying that the PFA have put to me, very firmly, how important occupational health and safety is to you and your members.

The PFA, through its own submissions and through its work with the ACTU, want to keep the welfare of workers at the centre of any model laws, and to find a mechanism that does this equally for police. Even though – as you well understand – policing work takes place in very difficult and challenging environments.  As a former Union Official, I am not surprised by your position. Occupational health and safety is a priority for unions and professional associations alike.

As you know, model laws are needed because currently each State and Territory has its own set of rules and differing standards for occupational health and safety - for both police and other workers.

If we are to apply the principles of fairness and equity, it does not make sense to have rules and standards determined on a State by State basis.

Quite frankly the differences that have evolved over time can no longer be justified.

Last year, the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Julia Gillard announced a National Review into Model Occupational Health and Safety Laws.

The review has examined the occupational health and safety legislation in each State, Territory and Commonwealth jurisdiction and recommended an optimal structure and content of a model Occupational Health and Safety Act that could be adopted in all jurisdictions.

Model legislation was subsequently released for public comment and the PFA has made written and direct submissions to this process.

The draft Act proposes limited exemptions that currently exist in the Commonwealth OH&S Act, namely for national security, defence and certain AFP operations. It does not propose any police force be exempt from complying with core safety obligations including appropriate training, safety gear or safe systems of work. Police agencies, like other employers, would be subject to enforcement action for breaches.

The Minister proposes to report to the Workplace Relations Minister’s Council in December, and subsequently to propose finalised legislation and regulations for presentation to the Parliament next year.

I understand your concerns, particularly the question of what type of police operations that could be exempt and how this might affect the obligations of employers and the safety of individual members.

I want to assure you the Government will carefully consider and respond to these concerns. The guiding principles here are that workers, and police no less, have the right to a safe workplace.

The safety of police officers must be the guiding principle behind operational decisions.

If there are to be any exemptions under certain circumstances, I can indicate to you I do not support an unfettered approach.

And I agree with the PFA when it said in its Submission to the Review last year:

“A robust occupational health and safety system that promotes the proactive assessment and management of risks, is vital to ensuring the continued safe delivery of high quality policing services to the Australian Community”

Compensation for Police Serving Overseas

The second issue is compensation arrangements for police serving overseas and how we propose to deal with this.

I know this is an issue of interest to you because your CEO, Mark Burgess, raises it with me every time we meet.

As you are aware, prior to 2004, police were covered by the Veteran’s Entitlements Act which was effectively closed in July 2004 when the Military Compensation and Rehabilitation Act was introduced.

As this Act was specifically for the military, police overseas service were not included, instead they were included in the Safety Rehabilitation and Compensation Act.

In 2005, interim arrangements were agreed to by the Howard Government and it is these arrangements that both the leadership of the Australian Federal Police and the Rudd Government believe can, and indeed should be improved upon.

Today, we have police officers serving in many locations as diverse as Afghanistan, closer to home in the Solomon Islands, or in Cyprus where we have been since 1964. Some of these locations place our officers under considerable risk.

I want legislation that will cater specifically for police and police operations overseas. This legislation should provide entitlements and arrangements that are as good as arrangements for the military. No matter what other agencies think, I see no reason to not recognise, through workers’ compensation arrangements, the comparability of certain high risk roles performed overseas.

The precise detail of the legislation will be formalised next year following the outcome of a review into compensation arrangements.

This review is chaired by the Secretary of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Mr Ian Campbell, and he has been directed to report back to the Government by March of next year.

We will deliver improved compensation arrangements, remove grey areas and provide officers who serve overseas and their families with greater security. In the meantime both the AFP Commissioner and I are open to interim arrangements to improve the benefits available to police officers should they be injured in the course of an overseas deployment.

National Police Registration Scheme

The Australian Government is also supportive of the concept of a National Police Registration Scheme to better recognise your qualifications and provide consistent standards across jurisdictions. We have said that we are supportive of this despite the lukewarm response of some.

Such a scheme can assist in addressing other significant contemporary policing issues such as:

• professional recognition,
• education and training,
• and employment opportunities for police officers.

I believe a national registration scheme, providing greater professional recognition and portability of training will assist all jurisdictions in recruiting and retaining police.

Consultation and a detailed assessment of the benefits of implementing a National Police Registration Scheme are needed to secure the support of States and Territory Police Forces.

As members might be aware, at the Ministerial Council for Police and Emergency Management meeting in June this year - after a compelling and challenging presentation by the PFA I might add - it was agreed that a national working party be formed.

With this in mind, I welcome the inclusion of the Police Federation of Australia as a member of the Senior Officers’ Group working party, along with representatives from each Australian policing jurisdiction.

This work also complements a recommendation from the soon to be released, Federal Audit of Police Capabilities, (known as the Beale Review) that supports a study of the national policing workforce. I will speak more about the Beale Review shortly.

This study would examine barriers to the development of a national policing labour market and provide States, Territories and indeed the Commonwealth with guidance for reforms and a solid basis for workforce planning.

I look forward to the results the working party will bring back to Ministerial Council next year.

Five Point Plan for the AFP

Some of these issues and of course the Beale Review arise from our commitment to respond to the PFA’s concerns.

As some of you may be aware, during the 2007 election, the Government also announced a ‘Five Point Plan for the AFP’.

This consisted of:

• boosting the number of AFP sworn officers by 500,
• conducting a Federal Audit of police capabilities,
• establishing a National Crime Database to share resources and information and bolster a national approach to policing,
• creating a retention and recruitment program, and
• expanding the recruitment of Indigenous Australians.

Additional Police 500 Measure

The 2008 Federal Budget provided $191.9 million dollars to the Australian Federal Police to underpin the plan to recruit 500 police officers over five years.

The intention is to recruit against targeted Federal agent investigative roles and, as a result, improve the capability of the AFP to progress high impact criminal investigations.

The investment is also aimed at reducing attrition rates within the AFP so that we retain critical policing experience and expertise.

The spread of funding is aimed at investing in additional police over a five year time frame. The AFP has met its target of recruiting 30 officers in 2008/09 and I am informed is on track to meet its 2009/10 target.

Recruitment of the remaining additional officers is progressing, with an escalation and the largest number of officers expected to enter the AFP between  2012 and 2013.

I think the success of the 500 measure can be best measured by the fact that from the time we took Government, through to 30 June 2009 sworn officer numbers have increased by 146.

This represents an increase of more than five per cent.

Retention and Recruitment Program

The additional 500 police measure is also supported by a new recruitment and retention program.

This program is providing the AFP with the tools it needs to maintain a sustainable, flexible workforce and to provide career paths and options for existing and new officers.

Indigenous Recruitment in the AFP

The AFP’s successful expansion of the graduate program for Indigenous Australians is also strongly supported by the Rudd Government.

The recruitment of Indigenous officers is a step forward in the closing the gap in employment outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

The AFP’s Indigenous employment strategy includes an inaugural Indigenous Graduate Program that commenced with its first recruits earlier this year.

To make further inroads the AFP is conducting research on the perceptions of the organisation as a potential employer to indigenous Australians, women, and people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

This research will inform the development of a strategy to support the targeted recruitment of these key groups so that the AFP reflects more broadly the demographics of Australian society.

Federal Audit of Police Capabilities

Another aspect of the Five Point Plan for the AFP is the Federal audit of police capabilities, known as the Beale Review. I expect the Government to be releasing the recommendations of the Beale Review in the coming months but I’d like to inform you of its important elements.

The Audit was established to examine and report on the AFP’s capabilities to meet current and future demands, looking at least five years ahead.

Earlier this year, Roger Beale presented me with the final audit report titled New Realities: National Policing in the 21st Century.

The Audit makes around 40 recommendations and a number of findings across a range of topics such as policing across the Commonwealth, linkages with states and territory policing, the AFP’s budget and governance structures, international deployments, aviation security and community policing.

While I am not able to pre-empt the outcomes I anticipate the changes arising out of this important piece of work will represent positive reform in the AFP and further improvements in the role it plays nationally.

Priorities in Crime Fighting

I would like to turn to some of the Government’s broader law and order priorities and the work that is being done on these priorities.

The three crime types I want to mention today are:

• serious and organised crime,
• terrorism
• and child sex offences.

Let me start here by acknowledging the enormous commitment and efforts of you and your members in these areas.

They are the crimes that all jurisdictions have committed to combating through national and local cooperation as well as being a senior level priority.

Serious and Organised Crime

We now estimate that the value of the illicit economy resulting from organised crime is between 10 and 15 billion dollars each year.

Without any doubt these illicit profits come at significant cost to the Australian economy and legitimate businesses.

As a result of efforts of all Australian police forces and agencies including the Australian Crime Commission, we know more now about the individuals and groups responsible for organised crime.

They are profit-driven, resourceful and capable of responding rapidly and flexibly to opportunities for their illegal activities.

They respond quickly to counter emerging threats to their operations.

That’s why the Prime Minister has committed the Australian Government to developing a forward‑looking strategic policy framework to outline the Commonwealth’s role in combating serious and organised crime.

National Response to Organised Crime

As many of you may be aware, the Commonwealth and the States and Territories have committed to a comprehensive national response to organised crime through the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General.

The measures agreed include provisions to support:

• covert police investigations and intelligence gathering,
• national protocols on cross-border investigations
• and information sharing.

The measures will also facilitate access to telecommunications interception for criminal organisation offences.

To reduce the incentives for organised crime, it is proposed that enhanced criminal asset confiscation arrangements will be put in place.

Jurisdictions have also agreed to a systematic approach to working with industry to combat organised crime, with a particular focus on the financial services.

Serious and Organised Crime Bills

This year the Commonwealth has introduced two packages of legislative reforms to improve the prevention, investigation, and prosecution of organised crime.

If passed, the legislation currently before the Parliament will implement commitments made by the Commonwealth as part of the national response.

The proposed legislation includes measures to strengthen criminal asset confiscation, such as freezing orders, and to target unexplained wealth.

The legislation will if passed introduce new criminal offences targeting those involved in organised crime while also enhancing money laundering, bribery and drug importation offences.

The legislation also aims to strengthen police powers to investigate organised crime by implementing model laws for controlled operations, assumed identities and witness identity protection, and boosting search and seizure powers and the ability to access electronic data.

Organised Crime Strategic Framework

The Government has also been developing the Commonwealth Organised Crime Strategic Framework, which I expect will be released in the coming weeks.

The Framework will enhance the existing efforts of law enforcement agencies to detect, investigate and prosecute organised crime, by establishing a clear, coordinated and comprehensive response to the highest priority threats.

It is not possible for Australia, or indeed any one country, to counter the threat of organised crime alone.

The Australian Government will continue to work with partners in the States and Territories, and overseas, to prevent and disrupt organised crime operating across borders.

This could include sharing of intelligence, initiating and developing bilateral and multilateral frameworks and seeking opportunities for international collaboration through existing forums.

Counter Terrorism White Paper

Turning now to counter terrorism.

For any Government, protecting Australia’s national security and its borders is its highest responsibility.

When the Prime Minister delivered the first National Security Statement last December, he committed to a Counter-Terrorism White Paper.

As a nation, Australia is blessed with a number of national security advantages, and cursed with a few significant challenges as well.

On the one hand Australia is politically stable and economically prosperous, and it has many natural resources, to draw on.

While major conflicts or threats from our neighbours are regarded unlikely in the foreseeable future, we do face possible threats to our overall national well-being and we are an island which presents physical and logistical challenges when it comes to border security.

Threats come from home-grown and imported terrorism, cyber crime, border infringements, natural disasters, pandemics, espionage and interference by foreign governments and organisations.

We need to have agencies and capabilities in place to anticipate, prevent and mitigate against all of these threats.

Terrorism

And an obvious starting point for protecting Australians from terrorism is to ensure that our legal framework is sustainable, proportionate and robust. 

The Attorney-General recently released a discussion paper on reforms to our National Security Legislation for public consultation.

The consultation period has now closed. The Government will be considering that feedback with a view to introducing amended legislation early next year.

We will respond with long term strategies to reduce the likelihood of home grown terrorism.

The Government is committed to developing a national approach to countering violent extremism and to identify and disrupt violent extremists from harming our communities.

The work will of course involve States and Territories, and their police forces, relevant Commonwealth agencies and communities.

Reforms to Child Sex-Related Offences

A further crime fighting priority, and one very important to me, is child-sex related offences and the reforms the Government is working on to combat these crimes.

These offences damage the most vulnerable people in our society.

As you know, Australia already plays a strong and active role in addressing the exploitation of children, both domestically and through supporting international law enforcement efforts.

The Government recently announced proposals for a significant package of reforms to the Commonwealth’s child sexual exploitation offences.

The proposed reforms are aimed at ensuring that the Commonwealth’s offences reflect the best approaches possible both domestically and internationally.

The reforms will modernise our laws by strengthening child sex tourism laws and will introduce new offences related to child pornography or child abuse material overseas.

This will ensure among other things that behaviour involving sexual offences against children committed by Australians within Australia, is also criminalised when committed by Australians overseas.

Rapidly changing technologies and the anonymity that the internet provides have resulted in unprecedented opportunities for child sex offenders.

The reforms will also strengthen offences so that child sexual exploitation is comprehensively covered whether committed online or through other devices such as mobile phones or through the mail.

While Australia has a strong framework in place to criminalise online child sexual exploitation, our reforms will ensure that the offences capture contemporary offending.

Conclusion

I’d like to conclude by underlining this Government’s commitment to supporting your work. Making sure that the right policies, programs and laws are in place to underpin the work that you do.

The PFA have made me acutely aware of your priorities and I can assure you that we will continue to work hard to support you and the work that you and all your members do.

Thank you.