Police weigh up hard line on jabs

TASMANIA Police would be “comfortable” with compulsory Covid-19 vaccinations for officers if it was on advice from health officials, says the force’s association president, Colin Riley.

New South Wales Police said earlier this week it would be a requirement for all employees to be fully vaccinated by the end of November and to have their first vaccination by the end of the month.

“Our opinion is that if it’s a health requirement, we are comfortable with that because they are the ones who are monitoring the outbreaks and what’s happening with the Delta strain,” Mr Riley said.

“In NSW they have a different rate (of cases) and they are dealing with the Delta strain, which we are lacking of here.”

A statement from Tasmania Police on August 2 said it had implemented an internal policy that all police members working in the end-to-end process of international arrivals were required to be vaccinated for Covid-19.

“Since then, the Director of Public Health has issued a direction that, as of September 17, it will be mandatory for all staff working within an international quarantine hotel to be vaccinated. This includes police officers working in those settings.”

Queensland Police has also made it mandatory for all staff members to be fully vaccinated by January 23, 2022.

Mr Riley said if the policy were to be introduced in Tasmania there would have to be exemptions, including for those who can’t be vaccinated for valid medical reasons.

‘The police force had very early access to the vaccination and, anecdotally, there has been a very high take up,” he said.

The Tasmania Police statement said there was no decision at this stage to impose mandatory vaccination.

Earlier this month the state government announced it would be compulsory for healthcare workers in both the public and private sectors to be vaccinated and to have their first dose by October 31.

Major companies including Telstra, airlines Qantas and Virgin, as well as manufacturer SPC have made vaccinations mandatory for all staff.

The Museum of Old and New Art’s owner, David Walsh, has said that vaccination would be mandatory for employees, and they could either get the jab or lose their job.