Police numbers could fall because of budget cuts and pay freeze

Police Minister Rene Hidding says he cannot guarantee more Tasmanian police will not leave the force as a result of Liberal budget cuts and the pay freeze on their wages.

“It was revealed in Budget Estimates hearings today that around 40 police leave each year and it is a concern the attrition rate could now rise,” Shadow Police Minister David Llewellyn said.

“The intake of new recruits hardly covers the attrition rate.

“When asked directly whether he thought the budget would impact on police numbers, the best Mr Hiding could come up with was: “I hope that’s not the case.”

“That does little for morale and nothing to instil confidence in the Government’s management of Tasmania Police.

“The Liberals are making a song of dance about increasing the Police budget by $33 million but the reality is it is clawing back $42 million by forced savings on the police department.

“What cannot be disputed is that this will have serious implications for the police force.

“Tasmanian police will not only have effectively take pay cuts, they will also fall further behind their intrastate colleagues in relation to pay parity and the budget cuts will undoubtedly make their job harder.”
David Llewellyn, MP Labor Shadow Police Minister