Shifting the Emphasis: The Impact of Police Unionism in Queensland: 1915 -1925

Abstract

Contemporary debates surrounding what many see as the 'increasingly intrusive, public (and) political' role of the police and in particular, police unions, in administrative matters and law reform, have largely been a response to the numerous reports and inquiries in recent years into aspects of policing in Australia.2 While these debates have generated a considerable body of literature on matters pertaining to police and crime, more narrowly defined studies of police practices and police organisations have been few in number and largely confined to work undertaken for the Australian Institute of Criminology. Specifically, there has been a dearth of published academic comment on police unionism in Australia, although Bruce Swanton's extensive police-related research provides some insight into the organisational structure of such organisations and their industrial concerns. This work makes an important contribution to our understanding of police unionism in this country but if we are to address current concerns about the considerable influence exercised by police unions in this country, more specific studies are called for. The political importance of a police union is estimated by the degree to which its existence affects relationships between the government, the administration and the police officers the union represents. 'How, precisely is the power structure changed by the formation of a police union'?3 How significant is such a police labour organisation for the maintenance of a strong police culture? These are the questions to which studies of police unionism should be directed. Given the longevity of police labour organisation in this country, more historical investigations into the origins and development of police unions are required. In the eighty years since police unionisation began in Australia (The Police Association of South Australia was the first police union to be established in 1911), Australian police unionism has successfully participated in the industrial sphere and has come to play an important role in 'improving the welfare and interests of police generally7. While the various State police unions were all formed within twelve years of each other and generally as a response to 'rank and file dissatisfaction concerning pay, pensions, and conditions of service', local influences have differentiated the development of these unions.4 This paper evaluates the impact of police unionism in Queensland in the period 1915 -1925. While it looks briefly at the origins of police unionism in that state, it is primarily concerned with the administrative changes that were effected as a result of formal police organisation. Further, it looks at the way in which the Queensland Police Union (QPU) achieved its aims and the way in which in doing so it marginalised the authority of the Police Commissioner. It suggests that the formation and development of the QPU substantially altered the structural base of police administration in Queensland. By capitalising on what it perceived as the politicisation of the Police Force, the union, by 1925, had consolidated its position