 Well good afternoon everyone thanks for your time. I think I'll be fairly brief and then we'll go straight into questions. Today's report signals the end of an inquiry that's taken place for over two years. It was extensive, exhaustive. The Queensland Police Service assisted the CMC quite significantly. As you'll probably recall when the Tesco matter broke publicly at the beginning of last year there were quite serious allegations in terms of the scale and extent of alleged improper practices. It's good to see that those extreme claims have not been confirmed at all. Having said that any improprietary within the Police Department is a serious matter and one that we take seriously and we need to deal with. We are an organization of 15,000 people in nearly 11,000 Swan Police officers. We are one of the largest police departments in the English speaking Western world. Sadly but inevitably from year to year each year some of our 15,000 people will let us down. What we need to do is to minimize the extent of that to the greatest extent possible but we also need to identify that misbehaviour and inappropriate behaviour where it occurs. The CMC of course together with us, we don't shirk from our responsibility in that space, have a vital role in that regard. I think that what this has done is demonstrate the thoroughness, the vigor, the extent of the links that both organizations are prepared to go to to investigate improper practices in the Police Department. I'm obviously not pleased with what happened but I am pleased that the claims that were made at the beginning of last year have not been substantiated and you might recall those claims. They were along the lines of up to 20 senior police involved in the importation and trafficking of dangerous drugs which would imply systemic organized high-level corruption. None of that has been substantiated and I did not believe that it ever existed nor does it exist now. But certainly there's been learnings from this. As you recall towards the middle of last year we announced a number of initiatives. Some of those are in place, some of those are still work in progress and I think that those things and I think the CMC indicate those things that we've done have been worthwhile. So with those few words perhaps I could open it up to your questions. I think that the initiative certainly have been very worthwhile yes. I think that it was necessary to have a thorough and comprehensive investigation because of the very serious nature of the claims made at the outset and that was important as well and certainly that occurred. That the price of being a professional police department it never ends. That we must constantly be on guard. That we must be always of a mind to improve and do things better. But also we must be very careful about complacency and slippage. So certainly you know I think the other two lessons always look for improvement but also always guard against slippage. Where it's been referred to and forgive me because I just haven't had a chance to thoroughly read every page but I think that what it says in there that the CMC have referred which they have to us a number of matters to consider taking discipline reaction and that's what we're doing at the moment and you have my assurance that if discipline reaction is appropriate it will be taken in each and every case. There's some new legislation which I think is really quite good and for the two who are referenced there who've resigned the recommendation and the potentiality is what's called a 7A procedure which basically means a finding even though the person's left. I mean once someone leaves the police department there's nothing more we can do. The most serious thing we can do to someone in the police department is to sack them. If they leave they're gone so we can't take discipline reaction against them. But this is a discipline refining if you like in their absence and what it does it's on the person's record with us and the intent and purpose of it which I think is very worthwhile is if they seek employment in another police department anywhere in Australia or if they seek employment in the public service in Queensland that adverse finding is on their record. Well I'd like to think that we've always cooperated with the CMC and certainly in this case we and I think they've indicated that in the report we provided significant resources to them and again that was because of the serious nature of the original allegations which fortunately haven't been substantiated at all. Look there's always room for improvement and I accept that within the police department there is currently room for improvement and we are certainly working towards trying to achieve that but I do believe that our Colser is in good shape. There are many good aspects to the police Colser. There is a commitment to the community. There are people who give hours and hours of unpaid overtime. There are people who work in isolated remote difficult areas of the state and stay there. There are people who work in indigenous communities that are dry communities that are prepared to live there for years to work with the local community and sacrifice a lifestyle that many of us would not would miss greatly here. So there are lots of good aspects to the police Colser. The negative aspects have been well identified from the Fitzgerald inquiry and onwards and I'm not going to sit here today and tell you that they've completely gone from every one of their 15,000 people but I do believe we're in solid shape and I think we're well placed for the future. That's a matter for the court. Obviously you know that's a matter for the magistrate that dealt with it I guess really to make the determination. But I don't think that has any bearing at all on that former officers employability that potentially certainly never be re-employed with us. And I don't think it would ever be likely to be re-employed in the public sector. So despite the fact that no conviction was recorded there was still I think a plea of guilty to and I think it was a $4000 fine which is quite a significant fine. No I don't. I can find out for you but can I come back to you on that? Okay can I try and work through that? The first one is a matter for the CMC. I have no knowledge at all as to whether the CMC have ever been sponsored by an alcohol company or a wine company. You'd have to go to the CMC on that. It's not unusual though for organisations hosting conferences to seek sponsorship. The second one is I understood it that I get transport indeed I do whenever I try to travel around Queensland as much as I can. Generally as a professional courtesy the senior officer where I go picks me up at the airport and quite often and usually drops me back at the airport later. I'm on duty. I am working. When we're in the vehicle together we discuss you know police issues. I think there is a vast difference between my doing that and an off duty police officer getting a free lift home from licensed premises late at night. So I don't think there's a double standard there at all. The third one I'm sorry could you just repeat that that was about half price burgers. Can I talk about that for a little bit because that is a really quite interesting and significant topic that relates to gifts, benefits, gratuities. Now what we say is this and we're still finalising our policy and we're still in consultation with the police unions about this and I think it would be really good and healthy to have a public debate about this. We don't shrink from that and we're happy to discuss it with the media at any time. There are clearly some things at one end of the spectrum that are totally, totally unacceptable in terms of gifts and gratuities and they are free entry for police into nightclubs. They include free alcohol or half price alcohol in nightclubs which is not available to the public through a promotion so that police officer is treated differently because they're a police officer. They include receiving obviously kickbacks for arranging tows at the scene of vehicle accidents. Now at the other end of the spectrum there is a benefit that I believe is quite acceptable and that is the benefit of police officers travelling by trains free of charge because I believe there is a community benefit there. There is a community benefit if the police officers are using public transport we have an expectation that if something happens they'll become involved and deal with it and I believe that adds to the safety of the travelling public who use public transport so that's there if I could the two ends of the scale. Now towards the bottom end of the scale in my view is the issue of half price hamburgers and discounted coffee and that sort of thing you know from fast food outlets. We're not saying that that is corruption. I'm not saying that police officers who've engaged in that practice in the past and even would do so today and tomorrow are corrupt police. I'm also not saying that that even though there is a view that this is the case it's not my view that that is what's called the slippery slope. In other words that starts you on the path of corruption that accepting a half price burger somewhere at a fast food outlet starts you on the slippery slope to corruption some have that view it's not my view but what I do say is this that I put that in the in the category of of practice and that that is something we shouldn't do. I don't think it fits with us being a professional police department and what we should aspire to be in terms of professionalism. I put it in a similar category if hypothetically and I hope you wouldn't but if hypothetically you saw a police officer in uniform leaning up against the wall of the building with hands in pockets perhaps chewing gum with hat crooked you would look at that person and say gee that's unprofessional and that's not a good image and look for a police officer. That's the category that I see this issue of the half price burgers. It's professionalism. It's how we appear to the public and it's about where I would like the police department to be into the future in terms of what our own professional standards are. Yeah and look I think from a cost from a pure cost benefit analysis I think you know that's probably still the case but however I think that we and it's under consideration at the moment and I think it's something that may well regardless of the cost benefit analysis that just the bare bones of that I think it's something that we may well have to introduce. It's also currently a recommendation of the most recent review into the police discipline process and it was recommended that there actually be an examination of the cost benefit. That's my recollection of the recommendation anyway and I think we may well have to explore going down that path. Yeah look you'd have to it's a complex issue. Can I just talk about that for a minute in terms of some of the complexity. Firstly you need legislation change. Secondly it's generally accepted that the best way and the only thorough way to do a drug test is a urine sample. We are a vast state I have police from Kirlin Gatta to Cape York to to Birdsville to Mornington Island. To take a urine sample currently in Queensland under current legislation you have to be a doctor or a registered nurse. This is an expensive business and logistically it's a difficult business to do it properly and to do it randomly with nearly 11,000 police across the state so it's not something you know you say look this is really easy to introduce and it can be done overnight. There is a significant cost factor and there is a significant logistical factor to it but it needs to be explored and that's what's going to happen in the near future in terms of examining what it would cost and how we would roll it out in a practical sense if it were to happen. I would understand their sensitivity but we've introduced random alcohol testing and it is a fact that random drug testing takes place in other industries such as the mining industry and hopefully if it does come in if it does come in because ultimately it's got to be a government decision okay it's not one that I may be a government policy decision and as I said it would require legislative change in my view it would sorry it would require legislative change because currently we can drug test police in a targeted sense okay so if we have information or we suspect that an officer is using drugs then we can conduct a urine test for drugs but at the moment it's not random as it is you know for motorists they can be a drug or breath tested anyone can driving a motor vehicle so all of those you know things would need to be taken into account but I would hope that if it does come in that police would accept that it is part of the price of professionalism and that no one is being tested if it's a random testing regime because people think oh yes you are using drugs and it's just a matter of trying to catch you that that's not the case at all and certainly a random testing with alcohol has met with a very very hardly ever is anyone you know found to have consumed alcohol on duty which I think is really quite significant and a very good very good thing no no what let me restate that what I've said is the government it would be a policy decision that would be for the government finally you know to decide and in my view it would require legislative change which the government the only ones who can introduce what I've said was that previously my view was that the cost benefit of it didn't justify it that the world moves on and I think we have to revisit that and currently there is a recommendation in the very latest discipline review report which was by a lady named Simone Webb retired Supreme Court Justice Glen Williams and retired assistant commissioner Felix Grayson this is one the government commission I think it's on the premier's website and if you wish I can you know come back to you with the specific recommendation I just don't have it you know with me at the moment but it was to the effect that we revisit and re-examine this issue which which I'm sure is going to happen it's yes the New South Wales police and the Australian Federal Police I believe conduct a random drug testing I think it's well I think it's probably going to be inevitable again I think it's the it's a matter for the government to determine that and as I said we've got to get around the logistic issues and obviously it'll need to be funded but I think that there seems to be a view that that and it is a changing world and I'll come back to that in a moment but I think it's the price of professionalism as well you know look every time we have we do do some drug testing now I should have mentioned that all of our recruits are tested for drugs on the second day they're at the police academy every single recruit is tested every time there is a critical incident in other words something where the police have to use their firearm and tragically someone might be shot all of the officers involved the critical incident tested for alcohol and drugs okay so that happens now but it's limited of course but the latest research on Australian drug use which I think was in 2007 indicated that one in this is my recollection one in seven Australians admit regular illegal drug use one in seven and that thirty eight percent of Australians admit at some stage in their life having used an illegal drug so the issues of illegal drugs and generally fall into four broad categories there's cannabis amphetamines cocaine and apiates in other words heroin type type substances that increase sadly is within our society today you know over time so what we the police come from the community so you know and that's obviously how it should be but we're going to reflect society so I think for there's a range of reasons there why why I see the argument to do this okay to bring this in why did I bring it up I thought you brought it up well not you personally but I thought that the media brought it up over here I'm sorry the decision on whether it proceeds I would think that will be done within a month within a month this the if discipline reaction is taken that in all probability would not be finalized within a month but the decision as to whether to take discipline reaction should be complete within a month and we undertake to let you know the outcome of that of that decision is that if that's what you wish okay yeah I hope so I really do I you know I mean we all know that it's a difficult working environment we know the tragedy that could there recently and and I mean just last night you know stolen vehicle two people killed driver absconded yeah it's a very very busy place and I think they do a fine job and I think they deserve support and I think that will all be pleased that this this report has been produced and we can now move on you know it's a really good point and I thank you for raising it I said when I gave evidence at the hearings that our sergeants and senior sergeants in my view the most important people in the organization and we have approximately two thousand two hundred sergeants and about 800 senior sergeants so we have three thousand we are a large police department three thousand sergeants and senior sergeants and they are the heart of the organization and I truly believe they're our most important people you see the ones at the Colface and with the younger officers are out on the street providing you know the leadership for them we have put extra supervisors in at the Goldcast and the role of the supervisor as supervisors can't be understated in terms of its importance and we are going to introduce a training program for supervisors we had hoped that would be two weeks but again logistical and and other reasons I've had to bring that back to a week so we're starting with a one week course for supervisors and we'll bring them in from across the state or train them locally can try that training locally and I'm hopeful that over time we'll be able to expand that supervisor training I know and sorry this is beyond the goal cause we're talking statewide no no but it's it's it's very close to starting and and we'll be underway with it soon and and and I see that as something that really needs to expand and you know it's it's something that probably you know it's something we would like to have done a long time ago but we have a police department in a geographical area the size of Queensland there are challenges in terms of bringing people back to Brisbane for week two week three week four week training programs no that's a separate thing entirely and that's part of the work we do as well in terms of looking at you know people who the subject of excessive complaints or who their senior officers have a concern about and obviously you'd expect us to do that and we do the test-gate report no I don't as far as the free these go the police union obviously have been saying that we're going to keep them and GPS cannot stop us probably through an industrial law the advice and I don't speak to you about this previous year the advice at the time was the force what steps would you take yeah we'll only know that into the future and they're all very valid points as I mentioned in terms of the gratuities if we're talking about the half price hamburger and the half price coffee or the free hamburger and free coffee as I said I don't see that as corruption and I don't think that a police officer who has received a half price of free hamburger is corrupt and I'm not saying it is and I also don't believe as some do that that starts an officer on the path to corruption I don't don't that's not my view people hold that view but it's not mine but what I do believe as I mentioned this before is that in terms of where I want to see the police department be where I want to see individual police officers be is is highly highly professional people who were well regarded by the community I think this is something where we need to say and we have okay time's up for this practice now having said that the union and we are engaged in consultation with them at the moment the union as you quite rightly point out have a very different view they say there is nothing wrong in the practice we already know that some proprietors of fast-food outlets have flagged that they will not stop the practice they intend to keep doing it now it may well be that there is a legal challenge ultimately to what we're trying to do here and the outcome of that of course will if there is a legal challenge the outcome of that would be a matter for the courts and I think to some extent I can't speak for other policing jurisdictions but I think that certainly here in Australia what we're saying here is quite possibly cutting edge you know in terms of of where this sits but this has been a debate that's been going on for a long long time this issue you know free hamburgers and generally it's not free it's half price heavily discounted and there there are arguments for and there are arguments against but I think and those in the senior executive of the service share my view that it's time to call it a day whether we're right in that time will tell look I think that's that's to what if and to hypothetical I think we take it a step at a time I'm committed to introducing this policy but after proper consultation and consideration of how we roll it out and what we do with you know in terms and as I said I don't see this as corruption I want to really stress that point what I'm talking about here is is it's about professionalism and it's about image of a police officer and what a police officer is and represents so that's where I see it sitting and we've a little bit to work through yet in terms of the rally out of the policy that I have committed to it as we've said equally that it's a no-brainer that free entry into nightclubs and free alcohol is not acceptable and as we said I said equally that I think it's okay it's fine for police to travel free on public transport because I think they provide a community service and enhancing public safety this one's a grey area and it's middle ground that's the one about the discounted food but we've got to have a position on it and our position on it is that we think that time's up for it yeah look look that's a body of work that we would have done we are doing now but and I don't put this to you as an excuse for not having done so to date but as you recall back in December you know they were unprecedented flooding cyclones and natural disasters in Queensland and we have been pretty much consumed by a lot of that and the follow-up with that with the Commission of Inquiry so it's only been in recent times we've been able to restart you know our work and our consultation process we are doing at the moment an examination of policies interstate in in similar police departments and we see those as being New Zealand, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom similar police jurisdictions okay yes all of the other interstate jurisdictions New Zealand, Canada, the United States and United Kingdom they're the police jurisdictions we generally look at in the comparative sense and thank you for your time