Media release – Police Association of Tasmania, 24 June 2023
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The Police Association of Tasmania has demanded an apology from the United Firefighters Union for a recent Facebook post attacking the integrity of Commissioner for Police Donna Adams.
Police Association of Tasmania (PAT) Acting-President Shane Tilley said the PAT will not tolerate one of our members being publicly and personally attacked by another organisation seeking political gain and points scoring.
“The PAT is extremely disappointed by the United Firefighters Union description of the Commissioner of Police in its Facebook post (21/06/23),” Mr Tilley said.
“We view the comments “Doesn’t answer the question, and then deflects by asking the fox if they’re planning to raid the hen house” as a detestable personal attack on the Commissioner’s integrity.
“We also note the video footage attached to the post shows the recent budget estimates process whereby Minister Felix Ellis was being repeatedly questioned regarding the resignation of the Chief Fire Officer and the wider Emergency Management reforms.
“The deliberate trimming of this video to exclude the comments from all the committee members in response to the Minister’s question to the Commissioner that the UFU’s post refers to is at best misleading and at worst nefarious.”
Mr Tilley said at the time this occurred, all the committee members present immediately chastised the Minister of Police for asking such a question of a senior bureaucrat and came to the Commissioner’s defence.
“The UFU has chosen to deliberately exclude this from the edited video. Further, the UFU has deliberately labelled the Commissioner as having some form of hidden agenda.
“We will not tolerate our members being the subject to personal attacks and manipulative tactics that erroneously distort the truth to politicise an issue.
“We demand an apology.”
Media release – United Firefighters Union of Australia Tasmania Branch, 23 June 2023
UFU Response to PAT Media Release
In response to the Police Association of Tasmania media release on Friday 23 June 2023, Stephen McCallum, Industrial Organiser, United Firefighters Union of Australia Tasmania Branch provides the following quotes:
This media release is an embarrassing moment for the Police Association. This is effectively an admission that they are more concerned with representing the interests of the DPFEM than the interests of front-line officers within Tasmania Police.
Whilst we encourage other unions to raise issues or concerns directly with us, the decision of the Police Association to release this correspondence to the media demonstrates that this is not a genuine concern raised in good faith.
The release of this letter demonstrates the power that one person has, that extends outside of the Department of Police Fire and Emergency Management, into the Police Association of Tasmania.
It was ridiculous for the Minister to ask the Department Secretary if they were planning to take over the fire service – anyone put in that position would say no.
That is exactly the point we made in our facebook post. We were referring to the actions of the Minister, in reference to the Secretary of the Department and the futile nature of asking such a question whilst avoiding answering the question he was asked.
We understand why the Police Association might be confused as it is difficult to separate the roles of someone who sits at the Budget Estimates table as the Secretary of the Department, while wearing the uniform and markings of the Commissioner of Police.
This is not an attack on an individual, this is about the proposed reforms of the Fire Service Act and ensuring a clear chain of command that’s understood within our organisations and by the Tasmanian community.
This is a good example regarding the confusion surrounding the current chain of command as it is clear that even the Police Association were not able to understand or differentiate between the two roles held by one person.
There was nothing derogatory or disrespectful in the comments. The video clip was not edited in a way that changed the meaning of anything that was said.
The UFU will continue to hold politicians and senior public servants to account in the interests of our members and the Tasmanian community.
We strongly encourage the Police Association to reflect on their actions.
