PM welcomes Police Federation to Canberra

Prime Minister John Howard has revealed that few things upset him more than to hear of a police officer’s death in the line of duty. And “particularly gripping” for him, he said in Canberra last month, was any police life cut down by the act of a criminal.

“...we must always pay regard to the tremendous risks that police take, and the tremendous responsibilities that they assume on behalf of the community in protecting us from crime,” he said.

“Police are the line between our orderly, happy and contented lives, and chaos, disaster and tragedy.”

Mr Howard’s comments came as he fulfilled a commitment to open the new Police Federation of Australia building in Griffith on Sept 16. The PFA president, Peter Alexander, and executive committee welcomed the PM in the early evening, before they escorted him on a tour of the building’s upper-floor offices.

Mr Howard later joined a gathering, which included the PFA executives, federal and state parliamentarians and two serving police commissioners, in a specially constructed marquee in the federation car park.

There, Mr Alexander opened proceedings with a speech, in which he described the PFA as “the only formally recognized body” able to “legitimately speak on behalf of all (47,000-odd) police officers in Australia”.

He went on to thank Mr Howard for exempting police from aspects of Fringe Benefits Tax legislation, and his government’s support for the soon-to-be-constructed national police memorial in Canberra.

Mr Alexander also stressed, however, that the new building would provide a base from which the PFA would strenuously lobby the federal government on issues such as superannuation, and an optional disengagement deal.

“The people who will lead this organization into the future are police officers elected by other police officers, to preserve their rights and interests,” he said.

“The threats of terrorism, expanding organized crime and community expectations, we suggest, make it imperative that the federal government begin to assume greater responsibility...for law and order issues.”

Clearly at ease on what some might have considered enemy territory for a conservative prime minister, Mr Howard stepped up to the podium, where he congratulated the federation. But he also took a moment to note – and joke – about the irony of his role.

“It’s not every day of the week that I’m invited to officiate at the opening of a building for a registered trade union, and I’m rather touched by that,” he quipped. “It’s adding a new dimension to my life...”

Mr Howard later spoke of the need to address police issues “as Australians on a national level”. He even described a national perspective on policing as “our goal”. At the same time, however, he acknowledged that, because of their respective histories and cultures, state police associations would maintain their own identities.

With his concluding remark, Mr Howard came back to the core purpose of the new building. “...I’m sure it will be the launching pad of much lobbying of the federal government, and I’m sure that my colleagues will get very used to, over the years, the staff who will work here,” he said.

Mr Howard then unveiled a plaque and declared the building open.

Directly adjacent to the leafy Canberra suburb of Manuka – which politicians and senior bureaucrats frequent to meet, dine and shop – the new PFA building is only a minutes-drive from Parliament House.

Purchased for $950,000 in January this year, it has already increased in value by tens of thousands of dollars. The PFA currently occupies the top floor of the two-storey art deco building, leases the lower floor out to two tenants, and owns several car-park spaces.

Federation CEO, Mark Burgess, said the building’s strategic locale could not be over-valued. “We’ve had some quite senior politicians and bureaucrats here, including General Peter Cosgrove,” he said.

“Because we’re close to Parliament House, it’s easy for them to get here. Likewise, we make a lot of appointments to go to Parliament House. You could have one in the morning, or late afternoon. You want to be able to get back to the office quickly, get back to work, and then back up there (Parliament House) again when necessary.”

Mr Alexander suggested the building would likely accommodate the future expansion of PFA operations. “I don’t think there’s any doubt that there will need to be a research capacity and additional staff to the PFA, as the years go on,” he said.

The building’s opening brought into focus the PFA’s history, particularly the 1997 High Court of Australia decision that allowed the union to form. The governments of WA, Victoria and Queensland, several police commissioners, and the industrial division of the AFP had challenged the federation’s right to exist.

But, in April 1995, the High Court ruled against the objectors. Appeals followed and delayed federal registration of the PFA until 1997. Mr Alexander – who also serves as Police Association of SA president – won the national presidency in Oct 1998.

He succeeded Tasmania’s Leon Kemp, who had served as president of the forerunner to the PFA, the Police Federation of Australia and New Zealand.

“This organization (the PFA) can lobby the federal government on behalf of all the state and territory police unions and associations,” he said. “It already has on issues like FBT, and won concessions that affect police across Australia.

“The High Court ruled that we could come into existence, and it was symbolic when you consider that it was the Prime Minister of Australia who opened the building.”