MILLIONS OFF COP BUDGET
GOLD Coast cops helped the State Government save tens of millions of dollars last financial year as part of annual “savings targets”.
Days after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk revealed the city had 44 fewer officers than two years ago, the Bulletin has been told police regions returned about $60 million to the Government in 2017-18 and about $31 million in 2016-17.
THE Gold Coast police region helped the State Government save about $60 million after allocated funding was returned as part of a financial crackdown in the past 12 months.
A Bulletin investigation has found each police district has been assigned a “savings target” which requires an annual return of a so-called “efficiency dividend” worth millions of dollars.
Police sources say that dividend was about $60 million across the state in 2017-18 and about $31 million in 2016-17, and described the cuts as “an absurd expectation” given population increases.
The amount contributed by the Gold Coast district remains a secret, with sources saying Police Commissioner Ian Stewart has kept a lid on it to stop a brawl between the policing regions.
Revelations the Gold Coast faces more cuts with its funds funnelled into Logan sparked a tense private meeting between Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers and Police Minister Mark Ryan.
“I told him that police are stretched,” Mr Leavers said. “I explained to him we as police also have some massive issues that require calls for service such as domestic violence, juvenile crime and crime associated with the drug ice.
“The minister was left in no doubt that we need more resourcing and he gave me the assurance he will go in to bat with the Treasury department, so we will see.
“While I accept the Commissioner has the authority to allocate resources as he chooses, he needs to be upfront with police and tell them why he is putting more into Logan and less into the Gold Coast. Robbing Peter to pay Paul is no way to run the police service.”
The Premier last week told Parliament the Coast district’s current police allocation was 842 officers, well down on the 886 in June 2016. It does not include another 44 officers promised last year.
However, a Government spokesman yesterday said the Coast had more than 1000 police officers when taking into account “officers deployed to specialist taskforces and squads”.
The Government now claims the latest data from QPS shows there are 1054 police officers on the Coast which compares to 1019 in June last year and 1006 in February 2015.
The Commissioner declined to comment on the savings from efficiency dividends but said “there will be no negative impact to policing numbers on the Gold Coast” and the QPS would honour the promised extra 44 general duty officers.