Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Unquestionably, the work that has, and continues to be, undertaken by the Australian Federal Police in the Pacific is first class, and is a credit to the many fine men and women who dedicate themselves to protecting our community and that of others. Currently there are approximately 70 police officers deployed in PNG as unarmed advisers to the Royal PNG Constabulary, who are working very closely with them in the lead-up to next year's APEC conference.

The AFP officers are playing a very significant role in raising a police profile in the community so that the people of PNG can feel a real connection with the police. They are building a more professional policing identity. The AFP officers are making a real difference, and this can be evidenced by just two incidents, which I will cite. The first is a motorcycle course that has been led by AFP Inspector Mike Smith, which has seen members of the PNG Constabulary go from just being able to ride pushbikes to now taking part in a motorcade. Another example is the work being led by Commander Scott Lee, who has overseen a condemned watch house being upgraded to a fully functional modern watch house and holding cells. These are only two examples of the many ways the AFP is making a difference in the Pacific.

However, all this hard work does not seem to be appreciated by this government, who are currently expecting members of the AFP to accept an enterprise agreement that will leave them worse off. Despite the nature of their work, the AFP is being treated as just another Public Service department when it comes to their enterprise agreement. The Australian Federal Police Association president, Angela Smith, and vice-president, Graeme Cooper, have been pressing Minister Keenan for some time now about the deficiencies of the government's bargaining policy when it comes to operational policing. The minister does not miss a photo opportunity with police and certainly boasts that we have the best-trained officers in the world, but clearly he is not prepared to back his officers when it comes to their current enterprise agreement.

We know that policing comes with a high degree of risk and dangers that, thankfully, most of us will never have to face. We are indebted to those men and women who are brave enough to wear the police uniform and to put their lives at risk to defend our safety and our way of life. Yet in return for an unsatisfactory pay offer, the AFP members are being expected to work an additional week each year, have less rest time between shifts, work excessive hours with fewer people, have inadequate protection and compensation, all the while being expected to give away a percentage of their salary. Understandably, the Australian Federal Police Association cannot support an agreement which will set a new low for attacks on police officers' wages and conditions.

I am advised from the feedback of members of the Australian Federal Police that they are insulted by the way they are being treated by this government and by being expected to support the government's predetermined Public Service outcome. To be clear, our Federal Police officers are being asked to accept a wage deal that will see them lose pay and conditions, at a time when last week the Australian Defence Force hierarchy concluded an agreement with the government on a new three-year deal that carries a pay increase of two per cent per year with no loss of conditions. How is the way the Australian Federal Police are being treated fair? I support our police and I challenge those opposite to not just give us mealy-mouthed words but to also do the same.

It is all very well to come in here and make speeches about how good and how brave our police are in protecting and servicing our community but, when it comes to payday, we will treat them like any other public servant. We are talking about people who do put the uniform on, who do take the risks that thankfully the rest of us will never have to face, who do take their job so seriously that, regrettably, some have lost their lives in their deployments yet when it comes to payday, they are being confronted by a Public Service agreement which fails to recognise the significance of the work they undertake.

This is a government that, as I say, wants to come to most question times and boast about the funding that they are giving to the Australian Federal Police to accommodate operational requirements. Yet when it comes to their pay and conditions, the government are doing the exact opposite. It should serve people to be a little bit more honest when they come into this place. Do not just treat these people as just another group of workers; treat them with the respect and dignity they deserve.

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