Arch Bevis (Brisbane, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Homeland Security) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In the course of the last two weeks we have seen two occasions on which members of the government have seen fit to use this parliament to attack the integrity and independence of the police force in Australia and in different states. Last night in the parliament, the member for Indi made quite outrageous and scurrilous attacks upon the Victorian police force, referring to what she claimed was an ‘endemic corrupt culture within the police force’. She went on and said:

What sort of confidence and cooperation do the Victorian government and the Victorian police force expect when people know ... that there are criminals dressed up as policemen in Victoria.

What an appalling comment to come from a member of the House of Representatives about the police force in one of our major states, or indeed in any state.

But it was not the first occasion that we have seen this in the last fortnight. She was following in the footsteps of the member for Moreton, who a week earlier, on the 11th, impugned the integrity and independence of the Australian Federal Police, somehow trying to claim that the Labor Party in Queensland were pulling the strings of the Australian Federal Police. That, as every member of this parliament knows, is an absolute nonsense; it is an affront to the men and women in the Australian Federal Police to suggest that.

But it got worse because, after the feigned indignity of the member for Moreton in that address to the parliament last week, it transpired that he would have been better advised to keep his counsel and his head tucked in. As it turns out, the weekend press tells us that, contrary to his often repeated statements that he was cooperating fully with the AFP, he had in fact not cooperated with the AFP in their inquiry.

I want to go back to the start of this year, when there were investigations announced into the activities of three members of the government. The ABC at the time referred to Mr Hardgrave, the member for Moreton, by name:

He says he cooperated with the AFP when they accessed his office on Friday and took documents.

Mr Hardgrave says he will continue to cooperate with the police.

Around the same time, the Queensland Liberal Party leader made similar comments. The ABC said:

A Liberal Party spokesman says the trio is cooperating fully with the investigation, which it is believed centres around the possible misuse of electoral and printing allowances.

For what its worth—and probably not much, even to the Liberals on the other side of the chamber—Mr Flegg, for those of you do not know, is actually the Liberal leader in Queensland. He was quoted as saying:

I would expect that there would be absolute and full cooperation with that police investigation.

His Liberal Party colleagues took as much notice of him on that as they do about everything else; poor old Mr Flegg is in a terrible state of affairs. But this is now more worrying because, not content to make those protests, the Australian on the weekend reported:

Dumped minister Gary Hardgrave and fellow Queenslander Ross Vasta—informed this week they would not face charges—refused requests by the Australian Federal Police for interviews.

I had made no comment prior to last weekend about this in any forum, because it is the proper course of action in these matters for the police to be able to go about their business. It is certainly not proper for any investigation to be under the influence of this parliament or anybody in it—or indeed anybody outside the normal chain of command within the relevant agencies. I remember many occasions when this was in the media, where the member for Moreton regularly protested his innocence, which he is more than entitled to do, and said that he had cooperated and would continue to cooperate fully with the inquiry. It was a commitment he gave the people of Queensland; it was a commitment he gave the constituents in his own electorate. Yet on the weekend we were advised that the opposite is in fact the case and that requests from the AFP for interviews had been declined.

I do not know what the member for Moreton regards as ‘full cooperation’ but, as I said on the weekend, I suspect his constituents have a pretty clear idea about what it means. There is a simple English interpretation of that; you do not need a lawyer—cooperation has not been forthcoming. The member for Moreton stood in this place a week ago and impugned the integrity of the Australian Federal Police quite improperly. Last night the member for Indi went even further and quite outrageously attacked the integrity of the Victoria Police. They were both out of order. (Time expired)