March 1999 Volume 80 Number 3 "serving the protectors"
Straight to the Point
By Trevor Haskell PASA Executive Committee Member

Seeking Direction

I have spoken with a number of people recently who have enquired of me about where they and We are heading. It led me to ponder on trying to get some direction and how frustrating it can be.

Alice when in Wonderland needed direction. Foolishly she enquired of a Cheshire Cat. The meeting in part went:

“She began rather timidly. ‘Would you tell me, please which way I ought to go from here?’

‘That depends a good deal on where you want to get to’, said the Cat.

‘I don’t much care where,’ said Alice.

‘Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go’ said the Cat.

‘So long as I get somewhere’, Alice added as an explanation.

‘Oh, you’re sure to do that’, said the Cat, ‘if you only walk long enough.’ ”

As a fresh-faced probationer (just a few years ago) I was being taught traffic control at King William St and Rundle St (before it was a mall). My senior adviser was approached by a woman who enquired:

“Do you know where the ANZ Bank is?”

He replied: “Yes.”

Pause. She enquired: “Do you know where the ANZ Bank is?”

He replied: “Yes.”

Longer pause. She enquired: “Could you tell me where the ANZ Bank is?”

He replied: “Yes.”

Pause. He enquired: “I’m sorry. Do you wish to know where the ANZ Bank is?”

She replied: “Yes”

He then gave the details of how to get there, which wasn’t all that difficult because we were standing under the shade of its awning. He had a quiet chuckle.

In Pirie Street, the Epworth Building has this saying on its entrance:

I expect to pass through this world but once, any good, therefore, that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now, let me not defer it, nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.

The SAPOL Leadership Charter

On return from holidays I found the SAPOL Leadership Charter in with a wad of correspondence. My response was initially a shake of the head and I put it aside to read more interesting fare such as the gazette and such like.

When I returned to it I read the front introduction and again discarded it. I always get a tad testy when others speak on my behalf without consulting me. I wasn’t aware that I had acknowledged anything. Obviously written for outsiders.

On my subsequent return I read it through. I believe that it will be a very important document for all within SAPOL. It provides relatively clear requirements on what is wanted and expected by the Commissioner (I make this presumption that it is a document from him or at least on his behalf). It also has the clear intention of operating on all employees.

While not disagreeing that employment level is not the sole determinant of leadership it is also true that managers and supervisors carry a higher requirement for formal leadership than non-supervisory positions. Therefore the document is a very clear indicator to “subordinates” of what they can and should expect of their supervisor/manager.

For me a number of issues leapt out:

• Treating others equitably and with sensitivity to individual diversity.
• Adopting a leadership style which is responsive to the circumstances and the personal characteristics of others.
• Being accessible and approachable.

I know that many I speak to will welcome the achievement of these aims.

Those on occupational health, safety and welfare committees will be heartened by the recognition for planning and implementing occupational health, safety and welfare training.

The Leadership Charter needs to be read by all. It should be carried by all those who sit on OHS&W committees, workplace consultative committees and union delegates and representatives. This charter lays down the requirements. It provides something of a measuring tool. How does the behaviour of this person towards me fit within the charter’s requirements?

Take the time to re-read the enterprise bargaining agreement. Those parts I have found myself referring to in recent days have been Section 11. Grievance and Dispute Avoidance Procedures and Attachment 4 Flexible Rostering Guidelines, particularly paragraph 6 dealing with the aims to achieve predicability, accommodation of family and non-work activities and compatible working arrangements for partners.

Discipline - The Need to Change

What a vexing issue the process of discipline has been. It has been too costly in both human and financial terms. All too regularly we receive requests for legal funding from members who have been charged - criminally, departmentally or both - and see that the charge is not sustainable. The aquital rate is extraordinarily high. Many times we have reflected on why. Inept investigation; inept judgement of when and what to charge; inept prosecution; lack of objectivity; an inept PCA system and inept performance; simple innocence; or brilliant defence solicitors?

The Police Act and its regulations provide the catalyst for some changes. Many charges that were laid in the past were always issues of performance not discipline. Some in the decision-making chain have shown an amazing inability to identify the differences. These matters should now be dealt with in more appropriate places than a court or tribunal. People will have some prior knowledge of the nature of any prospective penalty.

The big question for me is - will it make the decision makers any more objective? The answer will be - only if the Deputy demands it. The Deputy will be the controller and the person accountable for the outcomes of the new processes. I hope he can make the process work and save us all some unnecessary heartache.