COAST WANTS ACTUAL COPS

STOP playing semantics, Premier.

Stop hanging your police commissioner out to dry by claiming he has responsibility for budgeting and police numbers on the Gold Coast every time the going gets tough in the Bulletin and in Parliament.

Yesterday the Gold Coast learned, as a result of a fiery question time, that there will be no drug squad based here despite increasing overdoses; despite out-of-control production, peddling and use of the dangerous drug ice; despite the acknowledged link in many instances between illicit drug use involving ice and steroids, and domestic violence; despite the armed robberies, break-ins and bashings that go with the illegal drugs industry; and despite the misery caused to thousands of families having to live with addicts or cruel partners, and the hurt suffered by victims of crime.

The Government will also not channel any of the $60 million left over from Commonwealth Games funding to policing, even though the city’s northern suburbs in particular are feeling the impact of soaring crime that is accompanying a soaring population.

Police Minister Mark Ryan likes to tell Parliament the Government does not hide bad news, yet in the raging debate about police numbers on the Gold Coast over the past two weeks he and the Premier have given changing and conflicting figures on how many officers there are.

The latest strategy is to talk about approved figures rather than actual.

What’s in vogue at this moment is an “approved strength’’ rather than “actual strength’’. In a ministerial statement to Parliament this week, Mr Ryan said the Coast’s approved strength is 1015. That sounds much better than the 842 Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk cited when debate began in earnest out last month ((OCT)).

Now we’re a practical lot here on the Gold Coast. We like to deal with the actual – and when we look at the actual figures, we know we’re being dudded, despite the weasel words of people in power.

Based on the Premier’s figure of 842, the Gold Coast is actually down 44 on the 886 officers it had in 2016. Not only that, but before the election in November a year ago Ms Palaszczuk actually promised the Gold Coast would be allocated an extra 44 police. That has yet to eventuate.

And that means we’re actually down 88. Labor’s Gaven MP Meaghan Scanlon, herself the daughter of hardworking police officer, was elected in part off the back of that pledge. She is the Government’s only representative for this city.

It is time the Palaszczuk Government honoured its promise and began doing its job of protecting all Queenslanders, instead of playing games with words and figures to protect itself.