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RESEARCH NOTE
INTRODUCTION
Such strategies are not unique to the QPUE but have been used in
varying degrees by other Australian police organisations. As in
Queensland, the concerns of these organisations have been addressed
mainly through negotiation and/or through the relevant industrial
channels. Since the 1970s, there has been less emphasis on wages and
other routine conditions of service in the context of ‘police grievances’.
The ongoing emphasis on efficiency and productivity has increased the
pressure on police ‘to justify their budgets and to demonstrate that their
resources are bring used efficiently’ (James, 1989: 8). Some of the more
dramatic examples in recent decades of political action by police unions
and associations in other Australian states and territories are
highlighted below.
Tasmania
The New South Wales Police Association (NSWPA) has often used the
public arena to air its grievances and elicit public support, thereby
136 Jenny Fleming and George Lafferty
Victoria
Other than the ultimately unsuccessful police strike of 1923, the activities
of Victoria’s Police Association were relatively low-key until the 1970s,
when a series of protracted disputes between the Victorian Police
Association (VPA), the Police Minister and the Commissioner laid the
foundations for more serious conflict in the ensuing years (Swanton,
1983). During the 1980s, senior police officers and the VPA had sought
amendments to police powers, an issue that was given enormous media
Police Unions, Industrial Strategies And Political Influence: Some Recent History 137
attention. During the 1988 state election, the VPA intensified its campaign
for additional powers, lending its support to the Liberal Opposition’s law
and order platform, and actively canvassing public support in sixteen
marginal electorates. To overcome legislation prohibiting serving police
officers from direct political campaigning, the VPA used retired police
officers to deliver its pamphlets. While the union’s campaign was
generally seen to be unsuccessful, as the government was returned albeit
with a reduced majority and few marginal seats changed hands, it ‘clearly
signified the commitment of a police union to take explicit part in the
processes of electoral and political decision-making’ (James, 1989: 7).
Western Australia
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES
Fleming, J. (1997), ‘Power and Persuasion: Police Unionism and Law Reform in
Queensland’, Queensland Review, Vol. 4, No. 2, October, 59-74.
White, R. and Richards C. (1992), ‘Police Unions and Police Powers’, Current
Issues in Criminal Justice, Vol. 4, No. 2, November, 157-174.