The disturbing circumstances surrounding former senior police officer Paul Reynolds, raised by the Commission of Inquiry, require a standalone and entirely independent investigation, conducted by someone from interstate, and with full powers.
The Greens have been demanding an investigation of this type for the past week, and have still heard nothing from Police Minister Felix Ellis. We note the Minister would have known about the Commission of Inquiry’s reporting on this matter for over a month now.
Unfortunately, the newly released statement from Police Commissioner Donna Adams does not provide us any confidence the necessary investigation will be undertaken. We need Minister Ellis to immediately announce this matter will be taken completely out of Tasmania Police’s hands and investigated by a senior judicial figure from interstate. It is also crucial that this investigation has wide-ranging powers, including the ability to refer people for prosecution.
We were also disappointed to see the Police Commissioner continue to refuse to give a full and unqualified apology for the distress caused by the previous Commissioner’s decision to hold a full honours funeral for Paul Reynolds. Saying sorry to people “aggrieved” by the decision is not good enough.
We hope tomorrow the Police Minister and the Commissioner will act to give the community confidence that this matter is being treated with the utmost seriousness, as is required.
