Labor forces Police Min backdown on FIFO police

Media Release

Shadow Police Minister Bill Byrne said the Police Minister Jack Dempsey’s embarrassing backflip on a ‘Fly-in, fly-out’ officer proposal raises questions about who’s really in charge of the Queensland Police Service.

“As a regional MP, I was immediately against this move and so was the community,” Mr Byrne said.

“Police officers are often the backbone of their community. It’s important that they live where they work, not fly-in and fly-out every two weeks."

“In such a demanding role, it’s also important that they have their families with them wherever possible."

“When this policy was announced, the Police Minister didn’t have any problem with it. He supported it without giving any thought to the real effects this would have on individual communities."

“He should have immediately told the Commissioner this proposal would not work, but instead he didn’t lift a finger to stand up for regional Queensland."

“Since I announced Labor’s opposition to the move last week, I’ve been inundated with messages of support for our stance."

“As I said last week, the temporary placement of officers should be a last resort, it definitely shouldn’t be something actively supported by the Minister.”