Tuesday, 26 November 2024

Victoria Police

Ann-Marie HERMANS (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (19:15): (1313) My adjournment is to the Premier, and the action I seek is for the Premier to continue to sit at the negotiation table with Victoria Police and finalise an adequate and equal pay deal for Victoria Police and protective services officers in this state. Recently I stood outside the police station in Frankston with the PSOs and the police of Frankston who had a temporary stop-work in a desperate effort to engage so that they can be paid properly and valued. The fact that we have recently had never-before-seen vision of police vehicles with negative slogans shows their desperate efforts to be heard. It is not fair to our police and indeed to all Victorians who deserve to feel safe in their homes and on their streets. Victorian police officers are only asking for a 24 per cent pay rise over the next four years, and other states have given a lot more. They are also asking for the introduction of 8.5-hour shifts. This Allan Labor government has failed – I repeat that: failed – to reach an agreement and are now walking away from the negotiating table, forcing Victoria Police to fight for their deal in Fair Work Australia. This decision by this arrogant, incompetent government to not acknowledge the great work our police officers do in protecting our community is just wrong and disrespectful for the men and women who put their lives on the line every day under increasingly impossible work conditions.

We are constantly seeing an increase in crime where criminals offend, get locked up and then get out on bail. It is just a revolving door that is going on and on and on. This government should be ashamed of itself. It is not looking after our police, who ultimately provide a service to the community that is vital. Safety along with education and health are an absolute priority in this state, but this government is failing on all three areas because it is weak. We now see crime increasing, and criminals are being rewarded with fewer and fewer consequences for their actions. In my area, in the City of Casey where I live, there has been a constant increase in crime, and people are feeling desperate and unsafe. I also know they feel the same way in Carrum, where I attended a forum and saw and heard how people feel about the rise in crime. Police are desperate, with some of their stations working at less than half their capacity. That is right, half their capacity. How is this even possible?

Now we have got the problem that if the police are not properly rewarded for their efforts and crime is on the rise, we are going to see police officers leaving the state. For instance, New South Wales officers will be the best paid in the nation, getting a generational pay deal which lifts wages by 25 per cent. Queensland police are offering a $20,000 relocation payment for new recruits, so each new recruit will get that one-off payment. We have got to look at this. This government is failing our police. The Victorian Liberals and Nationals are showing support and will continue to collaborate with the Police Association of Victoria and on the frontline with its members so that they can get a fair deal.