Pussycats in jackboots totally bereft of class
22.06.2007
By: TONY KOCH
COMMENT
THE recalcitrant Queensland Police Union is so predictable.
It was a surprising relief to all onlookers at the Hurley manslaughter trial in Townsville that, following the jury returning with a verdict of not guilty, the union representatives acted with admirable restraint and even dignity.
But it took less than a day for that facade to be shed and for them to show their old colours.
For an intellectually bereft organisation such as the Queensland Police Union to dare to invoke the memory of a man as honourable as Martin Luther King and to misuse his quotes so disgracefully for their own twisted political ends demonstrates their absolute lack of class.
The police union would have the general public believe they are industrial tigers whose every growl sends shudders of fear through government and the public alike.
The organisation does have the capacity and the key constituency to exercise responsible political and even social influence, but the current union has never demonstrated it has the intellectual capacity to capture that high ground.
When Tony Fitzgerald QC published his report on police corruption in Queensland in the late 1980s, the police union came in for special mention. In particular, Mr Fitzgerald criticised its involvement in issues political and said it should stick to members' industrial representation.
But that has not been the outcome under the union's current president, Gary Wilkinson, who apparently sees himself as an influential political player.
Once again, this mob has shown they just cannot help themselves.
They insist on posing as politically influential bovver boys when, in reality, they are just political pussycats in jackboots.
They have a very cosy relationship with current Police Minister Judy Spence -- one that Premier Peter Beattie would do well to question closely.
But it is not a priority because Beattie is comfortable in the knowledge that to be attacked by the Queensland Police Union has all the political impact of being mauled with a wet lettuce.
This latest episode merely demonstrates that the police officers' union's insignificance is now complete.
