MP FIRES UP OVER CHOPPER
Minister dodges demands for NQ base
THE answer to whether northern Queensland will ever be home to a dedicated police helicopter remains a mystery, as the police minister dodges questions in what a vocal MP has labelled a “cop out”.
In a recent Question on Notice, Police Minister Mark Ryan tip-toed around a question from Burdekin MP Dale Last about what it would take for a police helicopter to be based in North Queensland.
Mr Last asked what conditions needed to be met to bring a PolAir chopper north, but the state government held its strong stance the region already had access to three rescue helicopters.
“These three helicopters also perform lifesaving search and rescue operations in North Queensland,” Mr Ryan said.
“They form part of a range of resources, funded by this government, that are available for police in North Queensland and this government will continue to fund police resources to ensure community safety is maintained.”
Mr Last said the North and Far North regions deserved the same as the south-east.
“Obviously, the minister is referring to the rescue choppers again and hoping we won’t notice,” Mr Last said.
“It is yet another case of double standards because in the south-east, they have dedicated rescue and dedicated police choppers, but we are supposed to be happy with this hybrid model.”
According to Queensland Police, QGAir has been sent up for police purposes in the Far Northern Region 58 times between August last year and April, and 25 times in the Northern region.
In the past six weeks, it has been sent up multiple times to help police track stolen cars.
Far North MP Craig Crawford previously said in April a dedicated police chopper was not justified and would cost at least $20 million.
Some of the QGAir choppers in the north are fitted out with the same forward-looking infra-red (FLIR) cameras as a PolAir helicopter, but are much heavier and larger.
Mr Ryan said police had the final say on where PolAir choppers were needed.
“The current and future allocation of police resources is determined by the Police Commissioner, following a detailed assessment of area growth, safety issues and any new or emerging issues,” Mr Ryan said.
Mr Last said this was a “cop out”.
“People are fed up with Minister Ryan dodging the tough questions,” he said.