A parliamentary inquiry has been established into Tasmania Police’s responses to allegations of officer misconduct, to be conducted by the House of Assembly Standing Committee on Government Administration B.
The inquiry has its genesis in comments made in the Commission of Inquiry’s final report, where they raised concerns about the responses of Tasmania Police to the Paul Reynolds matter. Since then, the Weiss Review was empowered to investigate some of the questions raised by the COI, but did not have jurisdictional scope to consider the matter fully.
Information aired late last year on the Badge of Betrayal podcast raised yet further questions about the matter. The Greens announced our intention to seek the support of the Committee to examine this matter in February.
The inquiry’s terms of reference allow examination of the adequacy of the systems, processes and oversight arrangements for responding to allegations of serious misconduct within Tasmania Police, including sexual misconduct and family violence. In so doing, it will investigate the culture in relation to these matters, as well as examining the response from Tasmanian Police and the Tasmanian Government in relation to the Paul Reynolds matter.
The Committee will have the power to hold both public and confidential hearings, under the protection of parliamentary privilege, and with witnesses required to swear truthful testimony. The Committee, to be chaired by Ella Haddad MP, is committed to a trauma-informed approach and will consult with expert stakeholder organisations during the inquiry to ensure this occurs.
The work of the Commission of Inquiry, and the testimony of child sexual abuse and family violence survivors, reminds us of the need to ensure Tasmania Police is capable of independent and rigorous investigation of allegations of wrongdoing by officers. We will work with other Committee members to ensure this inquiry identifies past failures and mistakes in Tasmania Police’s responses, and recommends measures to ensure lasting change into the future, long-called for by victim-survivors.
