Police Journal April 2022 by Police Journal

APRIL 2022

“That’s all we were after: some information as to what brought these directions about.”

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ON WHAT BASIS THE MANDATE?

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2022 FEBRUARY

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Journal

ADVERTORIAL

Health check your health insurance O

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April 2022

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President 10

Time now to boost police numbers Industrial 28

Front-line well-being still to be addressed

EDITOR

Four police officers who chose to remain unvaccinated in the COVID-19 environment speak of life on furlough and their quests to get back to work. Two of them explain how they became plaintiffs in the Supreme Court judicial review of the vaccination mandates. Another one tells of the suspected myocarditis he suffered after he had held out as long as he could and got vaccinated. All four outline the reasons for their concerns about the vaccines and why they disagreed with the mandate on police. Another five police officers had stories of victory to tell after the Police Association general election of last April and by-election last December. All are now association committee members, and we found out which couple of issues they see as the most pressing in 2022. Deputy President Wade Burns writes of the current “relentless pressure” on police, the incidence of suicide, and the need for a culture of openness. Dr Rod Pearce explains the importance of water consumption and the many purposes water serves in the body. Police Association president Mark Carroll reflects on the clear results of the recent member survey and outlines the action now needed as a response. And, in Jobs you never forget, Sergeant Darren Lindow details one he responded to just this month and suspects it’ll stay with him for good. Brett Williams brettwilliams@pj.asn.au

Health professionals for cops in the workplace Health 31

No life without water

Motoring 32

Subaru BRZ Mitsubishi Outlander Banking 35

Reducing your carbon footprint Books 36 Cinema 38 Wine 41 The Last Shift 42 Jobs you never forget 46

Publisher: Police Association of South Australia Level 2, 27 Carrington St, Adelaide SA 5000 T (08) 8212 3055 F (08) 8212 2002 www.pasa.asn.au Editor: Brett Williams (08) 8212 3055 Design: Sam Kleidon 0417 839 300 Advertising: Police Association of South Australia (08) 8212 3055 Printing: Finsbury Green (08) 8234 8000 The Police Journal is published by the Police Association of South Australia, 27 Carrington St, Adelaide, SA 5000, (ABN 73 802 822 770). Contents of the Police Journal are subject to copyright. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission of the Police Association of South Australia is prohibited. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the editor. The Police Association accepts no responsibility for statements made by advertisers. Editorial contributions should be sent to the editor (brettwilliams@pj.asn.au). 4

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12 April 2022

12 On what basis the mandate? Among the cops who remained unvaccinated, some just wanted to know what medical advice Commissioner Grant Stevens relied on to impose his vaccination mandate.

New to the boardroom

The five newest Police Association committee members, including the new deputy president, had specific reasons they vied for seats at the board table.

COVER: Probationary Constable Rosalyn Smith and Sergeant Zac Cook. Photography by Steve McCawley.

April 2022

COMMITTEE Chris Walkley

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Darren Mead

Julian Snowden

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Michael Kent Treasurer

Bernadette Zimmermann Secretary

Wade Burns Deputy President

Police Journal

Leonie Schulz

Police Association of South Australia Level 2, 27 Carrington St, Adelaide SA 5000 www.pasa.asn.au

Daryl Mundy Vice-President

P: (08) 8212 3055 (all hours) E: pasa@pasa.asn.au Membership enquiries: (08) 8112 7988

Trevor Milne

Samanda Brain

Anthony Coad

POLICE JOURNAL

MEDIA AND COMMUNICATIONS

PRESIDENT

Brett Williams Editor

Nicholas Damiani

Mark Carroll

EXECUTIVE SECRETARIES Sarah Stephens

Anne Hehner

Andrea Mather

FINANCE Tegan Clifford Assistant Finance Officer

Wendy Kellett Finance Officer

INDUSTRIAL Andrew Heffernan Member Liaison Officer

OFFICE Shelley Furbow Reception

Nadia Goslino Grievance Officer

Steven Whetton Assistant Secretary

POLICE CLUB Bronwyn Hunter Manager

April 2022

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Police Association of South Australia

REPRESENTATIVES Superannuation Police Dependants Fund Leave Bank Country housing Commissioner’s Office Health Safety & Welfare Advisory Committee Legacy Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity & Intersex members

Mark Carroll and Michael Kent Bernadette Zimmermann Andrew Heffernan Andrew Heffernan Steven Whetton Julian Snowden Nadia Goslino and Andrew Heffernan

DELEGATES & WORKPLACE REPRESENTATIVES Metro North Branch Gawler Golden Grove Henley Beach Northern Prosecution Parks Salisbury

Andrew Wearn Darren Quirk Sean Hobbs Tim Pfeiffer Matthew Sampson Stuart Smith

Country North Branch Ceduna Kadina Nuriootpa Peterborough Port Augusta Port Lincoln Port Pirie Whyalla

Anthony Taylor Gavin Moore Andrew Dredge Nathan Paskett Peter Hore Mark Heading Gavin Mildrum Paul Velthuizen

Crime Command Branch Adelaide Forensic Services Fraud Major Crime Port Adelaide South Coast

Alex Grimaldi Kristin Enman Sam Agostino Alex McLean Scott Mitchell Scott Milich

Metro South Branch Adelaide Hindley Street Netley

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James Cochrane Dick Hern Paul Clark

Metro South Branch continued Norwood South Coast Southern Prosecution Southern Traffic Sturt

Phillip Buttfield Andrew Bradley Sallie McArdell Joshua O’Dwyer David Handberg

Country South Branch Adelaide Hills Berri Millicent Mount Gambier Murray Bridge Naracoorte Renmark

Joe McDonald John Gardner Nicholas Patterson Robert Martin Stephen Angove Michael Hutchinson James Bentley

Operations Support Branch Dog Ops Academy Comcen Human Resources Mounted Ops STAR State Tac/Op Mandrake Traffic

Bryan Whitehorn (chair) Melanie Smith Vilija Sabeckis Eugene Wasilenia Sonia Wellings Andrew Suter Duncan Gerrie David Kuchenmeister

Officers Branch

Les Buckley

Women’s Branch

Kayt Howe (chair) (no delegates)

Critical Incident Response Industrial staff on call 24/7 and ready to support you

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Working for you P: (08) 8212 3055 (all hours) www.pasa.asn.au

P PRESIDENT Mark Carroll

Time now to boost police numbers T

he Police Association is always prepared to stage, when necessary, a public campaign against SAPOL and the SA government. It’s always been a simple equation for us: it matters not who is in power, or what political colours they wear. If they’re hurting cops, we’re going to respond. The Weatherill government discovered what that was like in 2015 and 2016, when it tried to strip cops of their compensation entitlements for injuries sustained in the line of duty. The proposal showed poor judgement and sparked outrage, not only among cops but also the SA community; and the association took the campaign against the government all the way to the steps of Parliament House. Justice eventually prevailed and, thanks to our campaign, cops who put their bodies and lives on the line for the community can still do so without fear of being financially crippled with medical expenses. It was a fork-in-the-road moment for policing in SA. A massive and necessary win which is now written into the history books. But it shows the extent to which government bureaucracy can attempt to quash even the most obvious ideas of common sense and justice. The other big loser to come out of the Weatherill government’s moment of madness would have been the SA community. Its police would have been forever second-guessing their front-line reactions for fear of financial ruin. 10

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The government and SAPOL must commit to grow the force, so the SA community can be safe in the knowledge its calls for assistance won’t go unanswered.

But why is this historical context so important? Because it’s exactly what SAPOL and the current government should be using to frame the results of our recent member survey about police-officer shortages, the state’s COVID-19 response and other urgent resourcing issues. We conducted this research across the entire membership, to get a clear and precise picture of where the shortages are, why they exist, and what can be done to alleviate them. And the results couldn’t have been clearer about what the majority of members are seeing and experiencing. In layman’s terms, there are simply not enough cops to meet the current community demand. Members are telling us that a prompt response to a call for police assistance is no longer a guarantee. Like the situation with the former Weatherill government and its unthinking proposal on injury compensation, this moment threatens to be a defining one for the history of SAPOL. Two years of relentless COVID taskings have taken a toll on a force already compromised by the early-2020 introduction of SAPOL’s controversial district policing model. Back then, we warned SAPOL that a similar model had failed in Western Australia, and that it needed to take steps to ensure the same wouldn’t happen in SA. Nobody knew at the time, but the situation was about to be compounded by a two-and-a-half-year-long COVID emergency response, in which hundreds of cops would be forced to act as proxy SA Health workers. It has come at an enormous price. Many cops have had their work impacted by the response — almost three quarters of research respondents, in fact. And almost as many have experienced a negative impact on their personal life in the past year.

Members have also highlighted that SAPOL’s inaction on an extendedhours roster is causing them unnecessary heartache. Earlier this year, we campaigned for SAPOL and the government to lift some of the COVID requirements and mandates so that hundreds of absent police officers could rejoin the workforce. State Emergency Co-ordinator Grant Stevens responded by lifting the vaccination mandate, but the closecontact and quarantining rules still allow for hundreds of police officers to be absent from work at any one time. And, after more than two years, COVID deployments — on which cops act as pseudo SA Health workers checking up on citizen compliance — must stop. These are not roles for sworn members, and they erode community trust in police officers. Prior to the state election, we flagged our intentions for a premier’s taskforce to begin with the new term of government. That taskforce, consisting of the association, the government and SAPOL, would work together with a view to increasing the number of police officers recruited now and over the next decade. We know as an absolute matter of fact that it’s no longer enough to recruit for attrition. The government and SAPOL must commit to grow the force, so the SA community can be safe in the knowledge its calls for assistance won’t go unanswered. New premier Peter Malinauskas committed to establishing this taskforce before winning the March state election. Also encouraging is a recent meeting I had with the new police minister, Joe Szakacs. He has heard the association’s concerns, and I am confident that he’ll work with us with a view to alleviating these issues. Now — not later — is the time for the new government to act on this and commit to increasing police numbers which are commensurate with community demand.

POLICE CLUB CLOSURE

And now that it’s no longer viable, we’d be financially irresponsible to keep it going. The onus is on us to take responsibility, recognize the commercial realities, and make this very hard call.

I recently delivered the sad news that after more than 60 years of operation, and as a place of such good times and great memories, the Police Club is to close permanently. This has been an extraordinarily difficult decision for the Police Association committee of management. But we’ve had to face the realities of the hospitality industry in South Australia. Today, our members and, indeed, the general public look to socialize in settings vastly different from the Police Club. This particularly applies to a growing number of younger members, which has been evident for a few years now. Plus, the last two years of COVID have come as another heavy burden. We, as the club owners, along with our Police Club staff, have worked so hard to make the club viable. Sadly, however, it has continued to struggle to support itself. And now that it’s no longer viable, we’d be financially irresponsible to keep it going. The onus is on us to take responsibility, recognize the commercial realities, and make this very hard call. The Precinct Café will continue to operate from 7am to 2pm, Monday to Friday, but the club proper will cease operating on Friday, July 1. I appreciate how disappointing this news will be to so many. I’ve been happy to speak directly with members about the decision and alternative ways they might stage their social gatherings and events. I’ll continue to do so. It’s been a wonderful 60-odd years, and I am myself deeply saddened to see the club close. But to keep the whole of the Police Association operations relevant and financial, we must adjust to the changing times. I thank all members and, indeed, everyone among the general public who has supported the club over the years. I hope to see you there in its last months of operation. April 2022

ON WHAT BASIS THE MANDATE? Some police were just not prepared to surrender their right to reject a COVID-19 vaccination, even in the face of a mandate. But exercising their freedom of choice came at a crushing personal cost. By Brett Williams

Police Journal

ROBATIONARY CONSTABLE ROSALYN SMITH knows what

Probationary Constable Rosalyn Smith

discrimination looks like. She had lived her whole life in South Africa, in both the apartheid and post-apartheid eras, until she and her family immigrated to Australia five years ago. Ongoing discrimination and government overreach, even after apartheid ended, led the Smiths to the decision to leave the country. They never again wanted to see bureaucratic power used in a way they perceived as inappropriate. But then COVID-19 emerged, and Australians had to suffer through lockdowns, school closures, vaccination mandates, QR check-ins, caps on visitor numbers in their own homes. Not even the choice of standing or sitting with a drink in a pub was theirs to make. “I thought that what I’d seen and grown up with in South Africa was starting to happen here,” Smith says. “I would look at it and go: ‘This isn’t okay! They’re dehumanizing people. They’re encouraging division between people. They’re encouraging discrimination.’ “I look at what’s happened in the last two years in Australia. It took 15, 20 years in (post-apartheid) South Africa to reach that same point. Where are we are going to be in two years from now unless people stand up and say that this is not okay?” When Commissioner Grant Stevens used controversial legislation to restrict civil liberties and impose vaccination mandates, his actions “raised red flags” with Smith. She came to view herself as a victim of discrimination and subsequently stood – and continues to stand – against Stevens’ mandates. When one of them came into play for police on November 15, she was due to graduate with Course 50/2021 around six weeks later. She had stood up to eight months of recruit training, had undergone her swearing-in, and was excited to start actual police work in January. But she was one of the few who had thoroughly researched the vaccines and their serious side effects, like myocarditis. She found that vaccines generally took up to 15 years to develop and so was uncomfortable with initiatives like Operation Warp Speed.

So, along with others, she dared to question the rationale behind the mandate which Stevens had announced in late October. “Had I thought I had a 30 per cent chance of dying,” she says, “maybe even a 10 per cent chance, I would’ve gone: ‘Okay, it’s worth the risk.’ But it wasn’t worth the risk. “Not once did I ever find anything that said to me: ‘It’s worth the risk.’ “Some of the most cursory research showed that vaccinated people were still able to transmit the virus. You only had to look at some of the studies that were out there, but people didn’t want to look at them.” By November 15, Smith had already decided that she would not undergo a COVID vaccination. So, the announcement of the mandate devastated her. For 30 years, it had been her ambition to be a police officer. She had even attained degrees in criminology and business management to improve her chances of employment with SAPOL. Smith hoped her willingness to wear a mask, undergo RATs, or take any other measures might win her some understanding, even a reprieve. SAPOL, however, was not open to negotiation on the issue. And Smith knew what that meant: she would lose her opportunity to finish the last few weeks of her training and graduate. Still, she remained committed to her work, right up to the moment she had to vacate the police academy on Friday, November 12. “I submitted an assignment an hour before I left,” she says. “Part of me was always hoping that sense would prevail, that they might realize the mandates weren’t a good idea. “They gave me a window of two weeks to get the jab and start back with the course. Once I hit that two-week period, I realized that I wouldn’t graduate with my course.” From Monday, November 15, Smith was on furlough and unwelcome back at the academy unvaccinated. SAPOL had issued furloughed cops with bluntly worded written directions, one of which was not to enter any police buildings. Smith took some umbrage in response but felt more for the cops who had given decades of their lives to policing and were now pariahs. Far harder for her to take was the January afternoon she spent at home, unable to graduate with her coursemates. April 2022

Probationary Constable Rosalyn Smith (centre) at her swearing-in ceremony

“It wasn’t about wanting to take SAPOL down. Rather, it was about what we could do to educate SAPOL, to make SAPOL realize that its decisions were not necessarily fair.” “I wasn’t even allowed to go and watch them,” she recalls. “It was absolutely awful and, in a way, it felt like it was almost punitive.” With Smith unpaid for most of her time on furlough, and her daughters unvaccinated and not working, the household incomes reduced to one. The family would never have survived the financial impact had Smith’s husband not received the okay to perform his IT job from home. But even on that one income, surviving has still been “an enormous struggle”. Smith is just grateful that she and her family have not wound up broke. “Because” she says, “I’m aware of police officers who’ve become virtually destitute because of this (vaccination mandate).” Only if Smith and her family had ended up penniless was she prepared to sell the family home and, to her great regret, leave the country. While she endured her forced separation from work, she set about connecting with other furloughed police officers. She wanted to be around like-minded people who could not only exchange support with one another but also conceive ways to “fight back”. 14

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A group did indeed form and its furloughed members met up weekly to discuss their options. “These were human beings,” Smith says, “people who had been absolutely devastated, their lives turned completely upside down. So, we formulated a multitiered campaign. “It wasn’t about wanting to take SAPOL down. Rather, it was about what we could do to educate SAPOL, to make SAPOL realize that its decisions were not necessarily fair.” The group drew on Police Association support, engaged with politicians, and considered how to educate those who wrongly branded them crazy and conspiracy theorists. “There was this group of us (within the larger group) who were strong, passionate and dedicated to this,” Smith says. “So, for me, it’s been a full-time job literally from day one since I went off on furlough.” Smith and other group members knew that, as they went about their fight back, another contest was under way. Registered nurse and Adelaide Crows player Deni Varnhagen and three others were to challenge the vaccine mandates in the Supreme Court.

It would be a judicial review in which the court would determine whether Stevens had made his decision to mandate vaccinations properly. The plaintiffs at that stage, along with Varnhagen, were nurse Courtney Millington, teacher Craig Bowyer, and healthcare worker Kylie Dudson. Furloughed sergeant Zac Cook had discussed the court action with retired Federal Circuit Court judge and mandate opponent Stuart Lindsay. And out of that discussion came the suggestion of a police officer joining the action as a plaintiff. Cook then ran the idea by Smith who later joined him in a meeting with members of the legal team representing the four plaintiffs. And it was a team of heavy hitters: solicitor Loretta Polson, barristers Simon Ower, QC and Paul D’Assumpcao (assisting), and Stuart Lindsay (special counsel). By the end of the meeting, both Smith and Cook had agreed to join the action as plaintiffs five and six. “It was such an easy decision to make at that point,” Smith says. “Right from the word go, I’ve had a very deep sense of conviction that this is the right thing to do. And when you’ve got that sense of conviction, it kind of steamrolls everything else. “It’s about holding our leadership to account. If you’re in a position of leadership, you have to be accountable and transparent in everything you do.” Stevens announced on March 4 that the vaccine mandate he had imposed on police was to end. But unvaccinated police officers returning to work were to undertake RATs at the start of their shifts and wear masks all shift long. The direction left Smith asking why, if a RAT proved negative, would a member need to wear a mask all shift. “To me, again, it feels punitive,” she says. “If our vaccinated colleagues don’t take a RAT, they can still be positive. It doesn’t make sense. To me, it’s again the process of dehumanizing us (because we’re not vaccinated for COVID-19).” If her experience of the last five months has left Smith mentally scarred, few, if any, would know. A strong, intelligent woman, she shows no outward signs of grief or emotional pain. And she still wants to realize her dream of 30 years: to serve as an SA police officer. “Right from when I was 16, that was all I wanted to be,” she says, “but, in South Africa, it wasn’t a career to have. But, when I moved to Australia, I knew then that this was my chance.”

IT WAS 4 O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING and just 37 hours after he

“If it wasn’t for the mandate, I wouldn’t have got the vaccine. I wouldn’t have this injury.”

had received his first COVID-19 vaccination on November 14. Senior Constable First Class Rob Kronitis, then 51, woke with his heart racing and short of breath. He felt as if his heart rate, which he monitored regularly, was somewhere around 150 beats per minute. And, as a long-time rower, swimmer and hiker well in tune with his body, he was likely pretty accurate. Around 10 minutes later, after he had charged his watch and strapped it on, he found his heart rate had slowed but was still high at 120bpm. He eventually dropped off to sleep again and “didn’t think much more of it”. Kronitis had been a long-time sufferer of super ventricular tachycardia (SVT) and knew that that might have caused his racing heart. He had also read that an increased heart rate was, for some, a reaction to the COVID-19 vaccination. So, when his heart rate accelerated a few more times over the next few days, he simply thought “it will eventually pass”. But at the beach, eight days after his vaccination, he dived under the water, came up, and felt his SVT kick in with a “boom”. His heart pounded as he felt a kind of pressure in his chest. And as he walked back across the sand to where he had left his towel, he again found

himself short of breath. He lay down and tried to rest but the slightest movement, like the turn of his head, ramped the symptoms back up again. Rightly concerned, Kronitis decided to drive himself to hospital but struggled even to put his shorts and T-shirt back on and gather up his few belongings. And on the walk back to his car, he had to stop several times to rest momentarily and regain his breath. Once in his car, he set out for Noarlunga Hospital but only got halfway there. The SVT “just kicked in hard” and his struggle to breathe intensified. Totally overcome, he pulled into a service station so people could see him and, from his car, “just spilled out onto the ground”. Already on his phone to the SA Ambulance Service and trying to stay calm, he described his erratic up-and-down heart rate and strained breathing. He also mentioned his SVT and the possibility of a reaction to the COVID vaccine. One of two people who approached the imperilled Kronitis took over the conversation with SAAS for him. The other, an off-duty nurse, took his pulse. After that, she looked to the person on the phone and said: “Tell them to hurry.” And, by now, Kronitis felt as if his heart was literally going to stop.

Senior Constable First Class Rob Kronitis receiving hospital treatment

April 2022

Senior Constable First Class Rob Kronitis

Police Journal

Within a few minutes, paramedics arrived, hooked him up to machinery and gave him an intravenous dose of adenosine, a drug used to terminate episodes of SVT. They warned him it would hurt, and it did. “It’s a horrible sensation,” he says. “It feels like you’re just about to die, like you’ve just been poisoned.” The adenosine gave Kronitis only momentary relief before the crushing chest pain returned during the ambulance ride to hospital. So, a senior paramedic in a second ambulance following the first gave Kronitis another dose of the drug after both vehicles had stopped. Soon at Flinders Medical Centre in the care of a team of doctors, Kronitis seemed a little more stable but his heart rate remained around 140bpm. The doctors stuck defibrillator pads to his chest and prepared to give him more adenosine. He remembers them telling him that, just in case the adenosine didn’t work, the defibrillator would “hopefully bring you back”. “Then,” he says, “they gave me a double dose and I really thought I was going to die. I went into spasm like a fish out of water on the barouche. And then: bang. It was gone. Everything resolved.” The diagnosis was that Kronitis, who remained in hospital overnight, had suffered two tachycardia episodes at the same time. A senior doctor asked him to confirm whether he had recently had a COVID vaccination. Kronitis told him he had indeed had one and queried whether his tachycardia was a reaction to the vaccine. The doctor indicated that it was highly likely. Two days later, as Kronitis was eating his breakfast, the same symptoms which had overcome him at the beach struck again. That meant another ambulance ride to hospital, where doctors gave him a dose of beta-blocker drug metoprolol. And as much as Kronitis might have hoped that that was the end of his dilemma, it was not. Before the end of January, he wound up headed for hospital in an ambulance eight more times, suffering the same strained breathing and heart trauma. Whenever the symptoms struck, he first took his own blood pressure, monitored his heart rate, and took a beta blocker. Only if his symptoms persisted or worsened would he call an ambulance.

“And it wasn’t to do with any particular stance on vaccines. I’ve regularly had vaccinations. Sometimes I have a flu vaccine, sometimes I don’t. But, in this case, I just made the decision that I wasn’t going to have it and left it with that.” And each time he went to hospital, the medical thinking was the same. “A doctor or a nurse or someone treating me would say it (my condition) was very likely, or definitely, vaccine-related,” Kronitis recalls. “They had all seen similar cases before.” Kronitis would come to wish he had never had the COVID-19 vaccination. Indeed, he had decided against it even before Commissioner Grant Stevens imposed the vaccination mandate on police. Given his SVT, and other medical issues he had suffered from, like blood clots, he wisely consulted his GP and undertook considerable research. Many of the facts he discovered were in peer-reviewed medical journals. “Some studies showed that the vaccines were more likely than not to impact people (like me) with SVT,” he says. “There was enough to make me think: ‘Okay, there’s my risks with illness versus taking my chances with a vaccine. The risks far outweigh any possible benefit.’ “And it wasn’t to do with any particular stance on vaccines. I’ve regularly had vaccinations. Sometimes I have a flu vaccine, sometimes I don’t. But, in this case, I just made the decision that I wasn’t going to have it and left it with that.” Kronitis made his position known to SAPOL after the announcement of the Stevens mandate. Then, from SAPOL, came registered mail, worded in ways that appalled him. He read that, without a vaccination, SAPOL would furlough him, bar him from entering police buildings, and no longer consider him a police worker. “After all my years of service and all the things I’d done,” he says, “I found it offensive and also threatening.

“You’re given a letter saying: ‘You're not allowed to enter a police building so, if you have anything personal in your locker, clear it out now.’ It really felt like we (the unvaccinated) weren’t coming back. “And it was things like that which, in the end, pushed me to the decision to get vaccinated. I looked at resigning but I wanted to stay employed because I actually love what I do.” So, sensing a threat hanging over his livelihood, the reluctant Kronitis fronted up to receive his vaccination. And, in fewer than 48 hours, he would find himself in the grip of a racing heart and strained breathing. Worse still was that Kronitis was due to receive his second dose of the vaccine on December 26. Not taking it would put him out of line with the rules of the mandate. But he got to consult an electro cardiologist who warned him not to have that second shot. At that late-December appointment, Kronitis explained to the cardiologist that, because he was under a mandate, he would need a formal medical exemption. The cardiologist prepared one. In it, he wrote: “Onset of severe cardiac arrhythmia post first COVID vaccination for hospital admissions and physically disabled. Diagnosis of probable vaccine-induced myocarditis.” Before the last of the 10 heart-related episodes he suffered, Kronitis returned to work at ComCen in mid-January as his leave had expired. Try as he did, he lasted only a few six-hour shifts. His heart palpitations continued to plague him and he simply could not concentrate.

ReturnToWorkSA accepted – on an interim basis – a claim he later made for compensation. But the insurer required confirmation that the injury was a case of vaccine-related myocarditis. So, the cardiologist applied to a medical panel, working under the direction of Chief Public Health Officer Nicola Spurrier, for an exemption. “And they (the panel) gave her an assessment that it was a valid diagnosis and she signed off on the exemption,” Kronitis says. “But, at this stage, I’m still interim, yet to be confirmed.” Kronitis underwent a medical procedure known as an ablation, which addresses irregular heartbeats. He endured it the day before Stevens revoked the vaccination mandate on police. Kronitis was never a candidate for an ablation, but that was before he accepted a dose of COVID-19 vaccine – under the pressure of the mandate. “When I heard the mandate had been lifted, I was livid,” he says. “If it wasn’t for the mandate, I wouldn’t have got the vaccine. I wouldn’t have this injury. “And this direction (to have the vaccination) was meant to be for my safety. In fact, the SAPOL website said: ‘This is for your safety.’ “It's done zero for my safety. I’ve now been absent the entire mandate period and I’m still going to be sick for a further period.” Kronitis continues to suffer spikes in his heart rate but remains under the care of his cardiologist, who still suspects myocarditis. “It’s just going to be a case of wait and see,” he says. “I think I’ll still be a while recovering yet.” April 2022

HER CHOICE TO REMAIN UNVACCINATED left furloughed

senior constable first class Anthea Ellis searching employment websites. She had had a sideline job with Enjo for six years but needed much more than that to support herself and her children. One way she desperately tried to make ends meet while on furlough was as a supermarket worker with Coles. But the company came to implement its own vaccination mandate in February, so Ellis lost that stream of income after only a month. Adding to the crushing financial pressure on her was the mortgage she had to pay on a shack she and her partner had bought in October. And that was on top of lease payments she had to make on her car. As hard as she tried to exist on leave without pay – after exhausting her other leave entitlements – she plunged into “dire financial straits”. Ellis, 46, lived in the hope of a court challenge to the mandate. But the anguish of her status as an outcast police employee and her struggle to survive made her dispirited and somewhat reclusive. And it was all because the police officer of 25 years had exercised her right not to take one of the TGA-approved COVID-19 vaccinations. Necessarily sceptical, as cops are, Ellis doubted the integrity of the vaccines right from the time they became available. She, along with others, did not accept that any pharmaceutical company could have developed and produced them so soon after COVID-19 emerged. Ellis had done her research on the vaccines and knew that “there was no way I wanted one”.

“It takes years to produce a vaccine,” she says. “And, with this one, there’s no proof of what it’s going to do in the long term, how much harm it might cause. There’s no knowledge of that. “And the mandate is simply not fair. This is Australia. We have freedoms and rights. We should be able to make a choice – without threats to our livelihood. “Governments can recommend it or even push it strongly, but I don’t think in any place, anytime, anyone should be able to mandate it. “When it’s to do with your health, no one should be able to dictate what you put into your body.” Of course, in September, Queensland police commissioner Katarina Carroll became the first police chief to impose a vaccine mandate on cops. Commissioner Grant Stevens had indicated as late as mid-October that he had not “made a determination about mandatory vaccinations”. That was at the Police Association annual conference, where he also stressed that vaccinations were then optional for SA police. The concern for Ellis was that Stevens would indeed follow his Queensland counterpart, despite the serious side effects attributed to the vaccines. Later, she was not only concerned but also certain that he was about to impose the mandate. It was after he ordered his employees to inform SAPOL of their vaccination status. “I knew instantly from that moment that that’s why they were doing it (seeking members’ vaccination status),” she says.

“They were going to find out how many police hadn’t had the vaccination and were willing to lose that amount of police by mandating it. And, sure enough, that happened.” Other aspects of the mandate, like the registered mail furloughed cops received from SAPOL, added to the stress Ellis was suffering. To direct police officers not to set foot in SA police buildings was to treat them like criminals, at least to Ellis. “And yet, if I’m unvaccinated, I’m allowed to go to the shops and do anything like anybody else,” she says. “But I can’t step foot on police premises or go to work. “And no one checks in on you. I got two phone calls the whole time on furlough. And that was only to find out if I’d had the jab or if I was coming back, not to see how I was going.” Those who did support Ellis were her partner, an unvaccinated neighbour, and the Police Association. The neighbour had wound up barred from her workplace, too. She taught special-needs children, who lost her as their teacher because of another vaccination mandate. “It’s been great to see and hear (association president) Mark Carroll in some of his media interviews,” Ellis says. “I was very thankful for what he said and what he’s doing.” Ellis was always aware of the mental suffering the mandate caused others. She saw its impact on some of her ComCen colleagues and understood their plight. One of them was Rob Kronitis, whose case of suspected myocarditis is now well known.

“… the mandate is simply not fair. This is Australia. We have freedoms and rights. We should be able to make a choice – without threats to our livelihood.” 18

Police Journal

Senior Constable First Class Anthea Ellis

“A lot of us at work hadn’t had it or didn’t want it (the vaccination),” she says. “One member has ended up taking a year without pay because it’s just stressed her out so much. She’s in a really bad place. “Other girls I’ve spoken to ended up getting it (the vaccination) because they wanted to travel or just couldn’t afford to lose (their livelihoods). But they kept supporting and encouraging me to just hold out.” And Ellis did hold out for as long as she could. But, by Friday, February 25, she found herself no longer a match for the power Stevens wielded over the entire state. As if beaten into submission, she finally allowed into her body a vaccine she did not then – and does not now– trust. And that was exactly one week before Stevens revoked the vaccination mandate on police. Had Ellis been able to hold out just seven more days, she could have returned to work unvaccinated. “It was like sticking the knife in and twisting it or pouring salt onto a wound,” she says. “I had that gut feeling that, as soon as I got it, something was going to change.” After more than three months on furlough, Ellis returned to duty on February 26 and worked a week of shifts up to the March 4 revocation. From then, the directions as to RATs and masks came into force for unvaccinated police returning to work. And, as Ellis had only had one shot, SAPOL did not consider her fully vaccinated. She could not therefore work despatch unmasked, as ComCen policy required. The apparent basis for the policy is that the voices of masked radio despatchers might sound muffled and therefore hard to understand. “But back when masks were mandatory,” Ellis says, “you had to wear them in the workplace. People were sitting at their desks in ComCen every day wearing bloody masks. What difference does it make now? “I’m not allowed to wear a mask sitting at my desk speaking to the public or despatching to patrols, but patrols can speak to us through masks.” Despite the intense hardship the Stevens mandate inflicted on her, and her frustration since returning to work, Ellis still wants to continue her police career. “I don’t hate the job,” she says. “I like doing what I’m doing and I’ve been in it for 25 years. It’s the only thing I really know. A lot of people said: ‘Resign and go find something else,’ but I don’t want to and shouldn’t have to.” April 2022

Sergeant Zac Cook

“Probably 95 per cent of people we’ve interacted with during this whole furlough period have been completely supportive. They’ve said: ‘Yes, this (action you’re taking) is the right thing to do.’ ” 20

Police Journal

SERGEANT ZAC COOK was one of many furloughed cops who tried but could never get an answer from Commissioner Grant Stevens. And he never considered his question complicated or unreasonable. He and others just wanted to know what particular medical science or advice Stevens had relied on to issue his vaccination mandate on police. The mandate had, after all, come with a profound impact on police who chose to remain unvaccinated. There were issues like lost income, bans on entering police premises, name-calling by those critical of the choice. Cook and others, like the Police Association, put the question of the scientific advice to Stevens in politely worded letters. But neither Cook, nor the association, nor any other furloughed cops got an answer. “I got a personal reply and I know others did,” Cook recalls. “It was a standard response to basically say: ‘The state co-ordinator is not obliged to give you any information in relation to what you’ve asked for.’ “And then that was it. I got that at 4:30 on Friday, November 12. And the mandate started on Monday, November 15.” Committed to his role at the police academy, Cook worked right up until the death-knock on that Friday. It then struck him as weird leaving the premises he would, after that day, have no right to re-enter. “It was sort of a taste of what retirement would be like,” he says, “but knowing that you might be back next week, or you might never be back. You couldn’t resolve that, so it was quite a strange feeling.” Cook had himself never had a vaccination of any kind other than as an infant. And his wife, Kristy, a former midwife and neonatal intensive-care nurse, was “always a bit hesitant” about vaccinating their toddlers. After the Cooks’ own first-born child suffered autoimmune issues, her parents went about healing her naturally. “And, from that point on, we avoided vaccinations,” Cook explains. “Since (our second daughter) was born, she’s never been vaccinated. We’ve tried to tackle their (our daughters’) health that way. “So, in the end, we’re labelled either conscientious objectors as parents or anti-vaxxers.” Initiatives like Operation Warp Speed and other efforts to produce COVID-19 vaccines so hurriedly gave Cook great concern. He had researched mRNA and was opposed not to immunization science but rather the idea that “the science was settled”.

“If you actually listen to some good scientists,” he says, “they’ll say the science is never settled. And we should always be looking, discovering, checking and researching.” Cook himself did some checking with Queensland police officers after their commissioner, Katarina Carroll, forced a vaccination mandate on them in September. He found much of the same distress and disquiet that was yet to come after the Stevens mandate. Cook and other SA police soon began to wonder whether Stevens might do as his Queensland counterpart had done, and others were to do. But he knew what was coming as soon as SAPOL demanded to know its employees’ vaccination status. “I knew from the experience interstate, that this was it,” he says. “We knew the direction was coming thereafter.” Of course, Cook was right. Stevens did announce the mandate in late October. But, as happened elsewhere in Australia, hundreds of cops were unwilling to allow Stevens, or anyone else, to make health decisions for them. For their own reasons, they wanted no part of a COVID-19 vaccine, despite the threat the mandate posed to their employment. So SAPOL wrote letters to the police officers who had decided against the vaccination and seemed to offend just about every one of them. “The way it was messaged was quite insensitive,” Cook says. “Something to the effect of: ‘You will follow this direction and take leave as is necessary until such time as you comply.’ “If I had sent an e-mail to one of my colleagues, or a group of my colleagues, using that language, there’d be an immediate grievance. I’d never write that to any subordinates.” Cook had already had a colleague or two ask him if he intended to get vaccinated. He politely explained that he had never had a vaccination and did not intend to start now. And, rather than persuade others to follow his example, he encouraged them to make their own choice. Then, when it came to the absence of unvaccinated police officers, SAPOL appeared to Cook to be ill prepared. He could see no evidence of strategies to deal with the associated shortage of staff. Cook foresaw – and wonders why others did not – that the absences would come with an impact on “hundreds if not into the thousands” of police. Before he went on furlough himself, he raised the issue with Police Association president Mark Carroll.

“So, it was good to hear that, in January, Mark identified that there were hundreds of people furloughed,” Cook says. “And to what end? We didn’t even achieve the four points or grounds in the direction. These are the things that were aggravating a lot of people.” In another sphere, however, Cook saw police action and culture at “its absolute best” when he and other furloughed cops organized and formed a group. Its members were both sworn and unsworn police employees, as well as contractors. They set out to support one another and conceive plans of action. Cook, 44, became what he calls their “quasi leader” and saw them all connect with a graciousness he had never seen before. “Some became a bit more activist-like and we went to the freedom rally marches,” he says. “We put our years of service on our T-shirts and people came up at random just to say: ‘Good on you for standing up (because) what’s happening isn’t right.’ “Probably 95 per cent of people we’ve interacted with during this whole furlough period have been completely supportive. They’ve said: ‘Yes, this (action you’re taking) is the right thing to do.’ ” Cook discovered that Professor Nikolai Petrovsky, a vaccine development expert and founder of biotechnology company Vaxine Pty Ltd, was developing a proteinbased COVID-19 vaccine. After looking into the Petrovsky project, Cook registered to take part in trials of the vaccine, known as Covax-19. That led him to form connections with the professor and long-time Vaxine business manager Sharen Pringle. And from that connection came the opportunity for Cook to link up with retired Federal Circuit Court judge and mandate opponent Stuart Lindsay. It was Lindsay who had spoken of, and promoted, the idea of a judicial review into the vaccination mandates. The first contact he and Cook had was a 90-minute phone call in which talk turned to the subject of the judicial review. Cook

agreed to meet Lindsay and solicitor Lorretta Polson in the North Adelaide offices of Polson Legal. He alerted the legal team to furloughed probationary constable Rosalyn Smith and, ultimately, both she and Cook agreed to be plaintiffs in the judicial review. They were to join registered nurse and Adelaide Crows player Deni Varnhagen, nurse Courtney Millington, teacher Craig Bowyer, and healthcare worker Kylie Dudson. Cook, who considered Stevens had “well and truly overstepped the mark”, saw the judicial review as “a sensible way” to respond. “We threw some money at it as fundraising,” he says. “Because we thought: ‘Here’s an opportunity to get the answers we were looking for way back in October, when we submitted our letters.’ That’s all we were after: some information as to what brought these directions about. “It was a shame we got to the point where we had to go through a judicial review. But it just ended up being the only real option that might unveil the truth about what brought these directions about. “Had we had some information furnished early on, we probably wouldn’t have ended up in this position of a judicial review.” Highly resilient and a critical thinker, Cook shows no outward signs of strain from his months-long banishment from work and his endless contribution to the fightback. And, on a personal level, he has no grievance with Stevens, whose duty as state co-ordinator he understands and accepts. He is, however, disappointed not to have seen a “more intelligent approach” to the vaccination mandate on police. And he laments what he sees as loss of community support for police owing to the way SAPOL has managed its response to the broader pandemic. Of the greatest concern to him is the issue of damaged relations between furloughed police and SAPOL. “Someone you thought you could trust has breached your trust,” he says, “but there’s still the relationship. It’s going to take years to repair – if it can be repaired at all.” PJ

Since taking part in their interviews for this story, and the revocation of the vaccine mandate, Probationary Constable Rosalyn Smith and Sergeant Zac Cook have returned to work at the police academy. Senior Constable First Class Rob Kronitis remains off work.

April 2022

NEW TO THE BOARDROOM By Nicholas Damiani

UNIQUE SKILLS INSPECTOR WADE BURNS, son of former commissioner Gary Burns, spent nearly a decade managing SAPOL’s industrial relations operations and enterprise bargaining negotiations. And the new Police Association deputy president says he is bringing all that strategic experience, and more, to the committee table. “Between 2013 and 2021, I actually sat across the table from (association president) Mark Carroll,” he explains. “I managed all of SAPOL’s enterprise bargaining, dealing with government executives, treasury, ministers, 22

Police Journal

Mark and the commissioner.” He has no doubt that this experience helps him to bring a unique set of skills to the association boardroom. “It’s all led me down the path of wanting to be able to help our members and use my unique position to protect and support cops,” he says. “Having dad as a former commissioner, and me as an officer with significant IR and HR experience, I think it can really benefit our membership.” And, as he explains it, some of the skills he has picked up from his father include the ability to make sound, courageous judgement calls. “One of the things I learned from him is to back yourself to make decisions,” he explains. “Make the best decision you can on the information you have at the time. And surround yourself with good people who can provide you with counsel.” Burns’ experience in SAPOL is impressive and extensive. A former STAR group officer, he understands policing across a range of areas. “I’ve worked in patrols and investigations, STAR operations, been a

patrol sergeant, a traffic senior sergeant and an officer of police in senior strategic and political roles,” he says. “I think my unique experience of how SAPOL works, from both the bottom up and the top down, places me in quite an influential position to be able to support and protect members.” And, in Burns’ judgement, the biggest issue currently affecting members is health and well-being, both mental and physical. He attributes the issue directly to resourcing, with the demand for police services far exceeding SAPOL’s current capacity. “Our members are stretched far too thin,” he says. “They’re tired, fatigued and exhausted. “I’m in a unique position as a front-line manager, a district duty inspector working 24-7 shifts in an operational environment. I see it daily. “I see how many jobs are on hold, I see the complexity of the work, and I can hear in people’s voices how fatigued they are.” Burns also touches on steps the association can take to ensure the best outcomes for members. He insists that there is always scope for

“I see how many jobs are on hold, I see the complexity of the work, and I can hear in people’s voices how fatigued they are.”

MORE COLLABORATION

improvement and introspection within the union’s ranks. “I think we have to be about empowering the whole membership to assist us in achieving outcomes,” he says. “It has to be about bringing our members on board because, with a membership of nearly 5,000 people, there are going to be so many solutions and ideas among members and we should be listening to those.” Burns calls it an “honour and a privilege” to be elected as deputy president, but he is quick to point out that it comes with a special responsibility. He makes it clear that he does not intend to let members down and expresses his desires to be a long-term member of the association committee. “I’m totally committed to the role,” he says. “And should members be happy with my representation, I’m keen to have a long future within the association. “I was humbled to be elected, but also excited at the opportunity to create lasting positive change and have an influence on how SAPOL conducts its business. “I’m from a police family. I understand the harsh realities of the job. “I want to represent the interests of all members regardless of rank, experience, or work location.”

A commitment to justice and “finding out the truth” is what inspired newly elected committee member DETECTIVE BREVET SERGEANT LEONIE SCHULZ to run for office. Currently attached to Financial and Cybercrime Investigation Branch, she first required association support when she uncovered an issue with her leave entitlements. “I discovered my police service leave dates were wrong,” she says. “After a long industrial relations process with the association’s involvement, SAPOL realized there was an incorrect code for people who went on maternity leave.” Schulz remembers how the process uncovered how her entitlements were out of whack by 18 months — an administrative code error which had affected other members as well. “That process actually initiated an audit for SAPOL employees who had gone on parental leave,” she says. “It revealed that there was about 380 members who’d had (something wrong) with their police service leave dates.” Married to a fellow police officer, the former Serious and Organised Crime Branch detective insists that she would happily do the same level of follow-up for a colleague in a sticky situation. “I’ll always be the person who will challenge something that isn’t right and fight for change and be the voice for members,” she says. Schulz’s involvement with the Police Association dates back to her roles as a delegate at South Coast and Serious and Organised Crime branches.

“We need SAPOL and the association to be pulling together in the same direction in terms of listening to members and bringing about change.”

And, in that time, she has seen resourcing and staffing levels suffer significant pressure. “It’s the biggest industrial issue facing members right now,” she says. “No doubt about it. “Part of what’s happening is that there are issues with understanding people in an HR sense, including their mental health.” Schulz asserts that SAPOL needs to continue to improve when it comes to managing people and workplace flexibility. “Morale (in SAPOL) is low at the moment,” she explains. “I think maybe we’ve lost our way in terms of handling the team environment and fostering camaraderie.” And, according to Schulz, a more collaborative approach between SAPOL and the association might be one of the ways forward. “We should be looking to create a team between us and SAPOL, working together,” she says. “Communicating with members, getting their ideas on board, and bringing it up with SAPOL management. “We need SAPOL and the association to be pulling together in the same direction in terms of listening to members and bringing about change.”

April 2022

POLICE FIRST

“You get some understanding of what the association can do, and I wanted to be able to give back to other members as well, so they can experience what I did.”

Police Journal

A life-changing experience led SAMANDA BRAIN to her first direct interaction with the Police Association. The recently elected committee member lost her husband, Detective Senior Constable Michael Nasalik, to cancer nearly two decades ago. But a turning point in her life came when she participated in a 2002 Police Journal story (His toughest-ever challenge) about her terminally ill husband. “Our first experience was with (journal editor) Brett Williams,” she says. “He wrote an article about my husband’s illness, and our family situation. I found the experience to be quite significant for both of us. “We wanted to give people a bit of perspective about what sort of illness it was, and how much time he had left. “And it was an opportunity to thank everyone for the support they had given him, and I think he wanted to pave the way for future support for me and the children. “It was incredible the effect that journal had on the whole membership. “SAPOL wound up getting behind us as a family, donating us money and sent us on a holiday. “It’s amazing how much influence the association and the Police Journal have.” Though she had post-traumatic stress disorder in the aftermath of her husband’s death, Brain says she was reticent to seek help. So, like many cops afflicted by the scourge, she suffered in silence. “I kept it from a lot of people at first,” she says. “But I found the association was working towards introducing better forms of welfare for members, in the mental health and well-being space. “I continued to get really good support after my husband passed away too. “You get some understanding of what the association can do, and I wanted to be able to give back to

other members as well, so they can experience what I did.” Brain has spent most of her 33 years in policing on the front line and sees the resourcing issue within SAPOL as now at a critical point. “The biggest issue, especially as a front-line officer, is always going to be staffing,” she says. “Obviously there’s the extra COVID duties that front-line officers have had to perform, where we’ve had to plug gaps, and have our annual leave cancelled. “And the burnout that front-line members are experiencing now is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.” But Brain feels strongly that, despite the challenges facing members, she can make a significant difference on the association committee — and she brings experience with her. “I’m on the Police Legacy board,” she explains. “This association committee feels like a step-up in terms of responsibility. The elections are always really competitive. There’s always good people who have a lot to offer applying for those positions. “It was very daunting to start with, but it’s only taken a couple of months for me to feel comfortable with the other committee members and have an impact.” And there are no signs of the passion fading, now or into the future, according to the brevet sergeant. “I’m really enjoying it,” she says. “I’m becoming really passionate about what the association does, and I’ve gained some experience from doing the training and leadership programmes. “I’d definitely be looking to be re-elected for another term if and when the opportunity comes. I think I will build on what I’ve learned so far and get better and better. “I’m grateful for our members’ support in electing me, and I’m proud to be representing an organization that puts police officers first.”

THE VOICE The Police Association’s 2015 Protect Our Cops campaign was deeply personal for SERGEANT TONY COAD. And it wound up being the inspiration behind his election to office as a committee member. His wife, Senior Constable Alison Coad was one of the faces of that historic campaign. She contracted a lifelong communicable disease during an arrest earlier in her career. And a proposed Weatherill government revamp of workers compensation legislation threatened to strip her, and other injured cops, of their medical entitlements. The association won the campaign against the government, with legal experts calling the outcome the best deal for injured workers anywhere in Australia. “The association fought so hard during that campaign,” Coad says. “Without it, Ali would never have ended up with the entitlements she gets today. We never would’ve been able to afford to fight SAPOL on our own. We would’ve been paying our own medical bills for life. “That had a massive influence on me. It inspired me to be a part of it and run for a committee position. This is me wanting to give a bit back.” Coad began his career back in 1988 and has spent 28 of those 34 years in and around Hindley St and the CBD. He describes operational policing as “my greatest love in the job,’ and hopes his experience in that arena can help the association work closely with SAPOL to build collaborative relationships.

“The other issue with the DPM model is that, when you separate uniformed groups into two distinct groups – response teams and district policing teams – you have segregation of uniformed members who now see themselves as different entities. So the collaboration isn’t there.” “I have a genuine rapport with that upper level,” he says. “Longevity in the job helps a lot with that. “I know a lot of managers, I know a lot of the bosses and, like all of us, they started off as rank-and-file members. “I think that anger you can have with management at times — when you think the members are being harshly dealt with — you always need to temper that sentiment with logical discourse. “We need managers and members working together for the benefit of all. My main goal is to make sure we get the entitlements we deserve.” Coad, a patrol sergeant, echoes the sentiments of many members when he touches on the resourcing issues currently gripping SAPOL. He sees it as the number one industrial issue of 2022. “The stress members are under currently, with COVID…” he laments. “These are strange times. We haven’t been through anything like this before. “I can see from an organizational perspective what they’re trying to accomplish with the district policing model, but for it to have any chance of working it needs to be staffed properly. “I had so many members come to me and say they participated in the recent association survey. Members want to talk about how they’re constantly under pressure with taskings and jobs. And it’s not just operational members either. “A lot of members of all stripes are stressed and suffering, and it has a snowball effect, rolling on to their friends and families.”

Coad believes the DPM had some issues right from the outset, and that it is incumbent upon SAPOL to review and address those. “The mistake from the get-go was treating the city and the entertainment precinct as just another suburb,” he says. “That was always an error and we tried to point that out when the DPM was conceived. “The other issue with the DPM model is that, when you separate uniformed groups into two distinct groups – response teams and district policing teams – you have segregation of uniformed members who now see themselves as different entities. So the collaboration isn’t there. “It needs to be reviewed.” Coad remembers his entrée to the committee of management as slightly overwhelming, but he relishes the challenge of representing the entire association membership at the board table. He is also quick to point out the responsibility that comes with that challenge and the commitment required to fulfil the role. “My very first committee meeting went more than eight hours,” he laughs. “But that committee table is so important to the direction of the association. “We are the voice of the delegates, and the delegates are the voice of the whole membership. I certainly don’t take that lightly. “And all the committee members are very passionate people. They want to have their say. It can get robust but, in the final analysis, we all want similar things in policing.” April 2022

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To arrange a preliminary in-person or phone appointment contact PASA on (08) 8212 3055

DISCIPLINARY & ADMINISTRATIVE LAW • ICAC

• Police Complaints

• Coroner's Court

• Equity & diversity

• Criminal Law

Luke Officer

Dan Weekley

Gary Allison

Amber Sprague

Wendy Barry

Dina Paspaliaris

John Caruso

Giles Kahl

Rosemary Caruso

Michael Arras

INJURY COMPENSATION • Motor accident injury compensation

• Public liability

• Workers compensation

• Superannuation claims (TPD)

FAMILY & DIVORCE Matrimonial, De Facto & Same Sex Relationships • Children’s Issues

• Property Settlements

• Child Support matters

• “Pre Nuptial” style Agreements

BUSINESS & PROPERTY • General business advice

• Business transactions

• Real estate & property advice

• Commercial disputes & dispute resolution

WILLS & ESTATES • Wills & Testamentary Trusts

• Advice to executors of deceased estates

• Enduring Powers of Attorney

• Obtaining Grants of Probate

• Advance Care Directive

• Estate disputes

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MEASURED APPROACH Accepting constructive criticism — and acting on it — should be a significant part of the job of a committee member. As one of the newest occupants of the Police Association board table, that’s how SERGEANT DARREN MEAD sees it. The former CIB member and patrol sergeant, who now works in SHIELD explains that, around that table, he is prepared to give member grievances the hearing they deserve. “Members have told me their stories of where they think the association could improve,” he says. “Since I’ve been elected, I’ve been able to talk to them, listen to their

points of view and understand where they’re coming from. “I try to represent that feeling around the committee table and work out a way of resolving those issues.” A shooting incident, in which Mead was involved three years ago, demonstrated to him how critical it was to have association support during difficult times. “I needed a lot of assistance and legal advice during that period” he says. “I got some incredible help and that was partly my motivation for running for the committee position.” Mead, whose experience in the job spans two decades, sees the biggest current industrial issue as the number of members in close contact and COVID isolation. He also believes the mandatory vaccination order has created unnecessary division within SAPOL. “It’s definitely one of the biggest issues in the workplace at the moment,” he says. “A member of my team had a severe adverse reaction (to the vaccine). She had an identified medical issue, that if she took the vaccination it was going to be dangerous to her. “It went ahead, and what she said was going to happen, happened. She had the adverse reaction and is now suffering because of that.

“There should be no stigma. The attitude should be that it’s okay to talk to someone, it won’t ruin your career.”

Group Life Insurance Beneficiary Nomination Forms

A S S O CI A

I CE

“I definitely think that a lot of members did it because they felt they had no other option.” And, on the issue of mental health, Mead believes there is still more SAPOL can achieve to tackle the stigma surrounding those who seek help. “The biggest thing SAPOL needs to be is more proactive with its members,” he says. “There is still a stigma behind people going to see psychologists and the like. “There should be no stigma. The attitude should be that it’s okay to talk to someone, it won’t ruin your career. “If there’s a serious incident, we should be getting people coming out to the districts to talk to people, instead of waiting to be asked.” Ultimately, Mead doesn’t intend to take his foot off the gas in keeping SAPOL accountable. “I’ve been elected by the members,” he says. “There’s members who think I’m worthy of being here, and I don’t intend to let them down. “I’d like to think that people know I have strong ethics, my integrity is intact, and I attack everything with a measured approach to ensure I get the best outcome for everybody. “Ultimately, it’s not about me, it’s about the people who voted me in. That they can be confident the issues they’ve raised will at least be brought into the conversation. “We can’t always promise an immediate solution, but I can at least promise their story can be heard.” PJ

T H AU S T R

Owing to a Supreme Court decision, the Police Association no longer uses the GLI beneficiary forms. Existing forms held at the association have been destroyed. Now, in the case of the death of a member, the GLI benefit (currently $300,000) will be paid to his or her estate. Accordingly, the association’s strong advice is that you ensure that your estate is well-administered. This is best achieved by having a valid will.

Tindall Gask Bentley Lawyers provides a free legal advice service to Police Association members and their families, and retired members. To make an appointment to receive free preliminary legal advice covering all areas of law, particularly families and wills, members should contact the Police Association (08 8212 3055).

April 2022

Steve Whetton Assistant Secretary Police Association

I INDUSTRIAL

Front-line well-being still to be addressed S

APOL replicated its mental-health and well-being strategy in the Response Extended Hours Roster Trial review and evaluation (June 2, 2021). Commissioner Grant Stevens acknowledged that: “Prioritising the mental health and wellbeing of our people is a collective endeavour. In alignment with the SA Mental Health Strategic Plan 2017-2022, we have adopted a whole of employee, work lifecycle, and organisational approach. Now is the time for the entire workforce to accept that we can all contribute to promoting, protecting and restoring the mental health and wellbeing of our colleagues.” Support for this statement lies in the South Australia Police Corporate Business Plan 2020-23, which highlights that SAPOL projects would lead to an “enhanced mental health and wellbeing program (2021/2022)’’. But clearly evident is that COVIDrelated duties and insufficient frontline staffing have inflicted a heavy physical and mental toll on members. This has brought about repeated correspondence between the Police Association and SAPOL. The SAPOL annual report of 2020-21 indicated that a daily average of 351 members was removed from their substantive functions to COVID functions, along with 76 police vehicles. The association advocated an increase in protective security officers in order to return members to the front line. But SAPOL has still not addressed the well-being of front-line members: COVID-19 deployments are still in place. 28

Police Journal

Many of these members are in isolation owing to their status as COVIDpositive or a close contact in quarantine. And SAPOL has furloughed unvaccinated front-line members as a result of the Emergency Management (South Australia Police Workers Vaccination) (COVID-19) Direction 2021. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the association has highlighted the additional burdens imposed on members and their families: excessive hours, changes to rosters, border and COVID deployments, cancelled leave. Member frustration is palpable. What SAPOL general orders and policies demand of members, in an env ir on ment of sub s ta ntial understaffing and copious priority taskings on hold, is simply unrealistic. How, in these circumstances, can members deliver the level of response service and administrative actions they provide in normal circumstances? Members face the risk of disciplinary action if they fail to complete administrative functions after a tasking. But, if that failure occurs, it is because members are thoroughly dedicated to their response to banked-up urgent on-hold calls for police assistance.

The District Policing Model Stage two of the SAPOL DPM began on March 26, 2020, as major COVID-19 restrictions took effect. The DPM created instant division among general-duties staff. Members wound up moved from the response function to areas such as District Policing and Public Transport Policing teams. Applicable to these posts are

The district policing model DPT function should be absorbed into the response roster. This would ensure SAPOL has sufficient frontline resources to meet community demand, reduce the ongoing workload intensification, and enhance members’ wellbeing and safety.

different rosters with lower penalty provisions based on variable shift penalties. A trial of a response extended-hours roster began on November 5, 2020, in the Western District (response teams) for 30 weeks (three full rotations of the 10-week roster). The well-being and health benefits which the REHR provides are vital for front-line members and include: • The rapid-rotation cycle of two day shifts, two afternoon shifts, two night shifts and remuneration with the all-inclusive allowance in lieu of current shift penalties. • A minimum 10-hour break between rostered shifts and a paid meal break. The REHR cycle does not average out to 40 hours per week, so it comes without programmed hours off per month. It does, however, average around 30 additional days off per year. This is essential in addressing members’ mental health and well-being. Western District response members currently receive higher remuneration and more rostered days off than do response teams in the three other districts and in the regions. But WD response members are rotated into district policing teams which do not enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits the REHR provides.

Continued page 45

Wade Burns Deputy President Police Association

INDUSTRIAL

Health professionals for cops in the workplace

here’s no question that, today, police are doing it far tougher than ever before. As a district duty inspector working 24-7 shifts, I see it every day. Members are working under relentless pressure. The CAD events just continue to pile up and come with everincreasing complexity and expectation. Members are tired, fatigued and need support and relief. I hear it in their voices and see it in their faces. And the suffering isn’t confined to those on the front line or specific ranks. There is an organizational sense of exhaustion right across SAPOL. People are simply worn out and the impact on morale is obvious. You cannot serve from an empty vessel. And these overwhelming workloads impact on not only members but also their families. It pays to remember that we are people before we are police. Police are members of their local communities and face the same daily challenges that everyone else does. There are the restrictions on movement and travel, financial strain, balancing primary care-giving roles with employment, managing children’s sport and extra-curricular activities, the COVID environment. So, even before police go to work to protect their communities, they are already juggling a host of major personal responsibilities. SAPOL should never forget that its people are mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, sisters and brothers.

Imagine such trusted professionals as members of their local police communities, on hand to chat, listen without prejudice, and educate and support members.

And that imposes a responsibility on SAPOL to provide them with appropriate support and protections. People have breaking points and, in that regard, police are no different. In fact, police are more likely to have a “full bucket” given the pressures of police work coupled with the challenges of every-day life. To better support police, there must first be organizational acknowledgement that it’s okay not to be okay. And not just the acknowledgement of glossy brochures and posters. There’s a compelling need to create a culture which genuinely accepts open discussion about mental health and well-being and rejects the notion of stigma and adverse effects on careers. SAPOL would find immense value in openly acknowledging mental-health problems, and that the right support and commitment won’t end a police career. The current strategies are simply not working. Too many police officers have taken their own lives. Only a culture of openness can prevent the tragic and unnecessary loss of more lives. The best health and well-being outcomes will result not from silence but rather shining a light on the currentday police environment. It is folly for SAPOL simply to hope things will get better and hesitate even to acknowledge that suicide is a problem within its workforce. It might be a difficult subject to discuss but isn’t it one of the most critical ones leaders should undertake?

If someone cared enough to rise up through the ranks, shouldn’t the health and well-being of his or her colleagues be among that officer’s highest priorities? If the hard conversations are left ignored, it will only be a matter of time before another funeral notice is sent out across SAPOL e-mail. In the digital world of today, human connection is more important than ever. Imagine top-quality resident health professionals as part of police workplaces in metro and regional locations, providing regular conversation and support to police. Imagine such trusted professionals as members of their local police communities, on hand to chat, listen without prejudice, and educate and support members. SAPOL provides nurses within custodial facilities to look after police detainees, but who’s there on a daily basis to look after police? Stoicism is a laudable trait but not always the best one with which to create a thriving police culture. A culture in which members find themselves appreciated and achieve job satisfaction will always deliver more productive, high-quality police services to the community. Change must start somewhere. The Police Association continues to pressure SAPOL and government for additional ongoing funding for key health and well-being professionals and services to protect and support police. If SAPOL doesn’t focus on, and genuinely address, the truth behind the mental health and well-being of police, we’ll always be wondering: “Who’s next to fall?” And that is no way to live and work.

April 2022

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Dr Rod Pearce

HEALTH

No life without water D

rinking for the purpose of rehydration after a run helps the body with one of its most essential ways of functioning. What the body uses is the fluidity of water to dissolve nutrients. The very basic start to our bodies being able to function is that they need water. The biggest part of our body managing water loss, and keeping everything in a steady state, is using our kidneys. Next, we manage water loss through our gut. Both these systems rely on input through the mouth. If there is not enough going in, the kidneys and gut decrease what is going out. The next trick is to keep the water in the blood at the right “saltiness”. All our cells basically like a salty environment to function. The most important salts are sodium, chloride and potassium. The body uses the hydrogen and oxygen within these important salts to produce acid, exchange oxygen and combine with carbon, and start most of the other amazing things that occur continuously in our living bodies. The body still needs the water to allow these chemical reactions to take place, so that the molecules can move and come into contact with each other, react, and then move on and out of our systems. Water through the mouth will interact with the acid in the stomach. It will mix with bile and bicarbonate in the small intestine where it will form water again and be absorbed into the circulation. The small intestine and large intestine will absorb or secrete water depending on what we eat and where

Water is essential for life and we need a basic amount of more than 500ml a day. After that, we can trust a normally functioning body to do the rest of the complex calculations about how the water can be used and distributed.

the water is needed. Water then circulates and is filtered in the kidneys. Dissolved in the water are all the things that keep us alive. In the kidneys, about 500ml a day is the minimum needs to flush through waste and do the sorting of what our body wants to keep and discard. Once water gets to the bladder, it can no longer be recycled. If we drink pure water, the salts the body needs and energy supply come from the food we eat. With the minimum 500ml needed to flush, the body will survive with drinking just water as long as the salt and other energy supply comes in the food. We expel water through our breath. When we sweat, the water has salts, so replacement of salts becomes important. When we use our bowels, the water has secreted salts and other nutrients, so replacement needs to be water and other ingredients. The more fluid in our faeces, the more nutrients and probably salts the body will need. When we vomit, we lose water but also potassium, chloride and sodium as they are secreted into the stomach and small bowel. Water in the blood is used to keep our blood pressure high enough to allow circulation of the nutrients to the body, with a priority to the brain and heart, then kidneys, gut and, last, the muscles and limbs. Not enough water intake and the circulation will take away fluid from the gut and muscles and reabsorb into the blood stream keeping nutrition to the brain, then heart and then the kidneys. Any fluid intake less than 800ml a day will challenge the kidneys to be

efficient with their flushing task as they need about 500ml to do that properly. Because we always sweat and breathe out water and have water in our stools, there needs to be a basic input of more than we need for basic functioning. The kidneys seem to be able to handle water of up to 11 litres a day. Essentially, the kidneys say: “I need to get rid of this much waste in toxic break down products. I can dissolve it in 400ml, or I can dissolve it in four litres. “If the body says it wants me to retain water for the circulation, I will. If not, I will send the water to the bladder.” If there is not much water, urine becomes very concentrated. If there is a lot of water intake, it is almost water going to the bladder. If stuck on a desert island, the body needs enough water to allow the basic kidney flush to continue. If you have water and no food, the body will extract nutrients from the breakdown of body tissue and reserves but it can’t make water the same way it can make energy. Without water, you might live one to two weeks. Without food, you might live 10 weeks. Water is essential for life and we need a basic amount of more than 500ml a day. After that, we can trust a normally functioning body to do the rest of the complex calculations about how the water can be used and distributed. It is hard for the kidneys to keep up if you drink more than 10 litres a day but, within that margin, you can enjoy your favoured drink.

April 2022

MODEL Subaru BRZ two-door coupe. PRICING BRZ manual $38,990 (plus ORC), S model adds $1,200, auto with EyeSight adds $3,800 to both models. DRIVETRAIN 2.4-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder (Boxer) engine, six-speed manual or auto, rear-wheel drive. Normal, TCS Off, Track and VDC Off drive modes. FUEL 50-litre tank, 98-RON premium unleaded, 8.8 (auto) to 9.5 (manual) litres per 100km (combined test). WARRANTY/SERVICING Five-year unlimited-kilometre warranty, five-year 75,000km capped servicing and 12-month roadside assist.

M MOTORING Jim Barnett

Subaru BRZ An initial allocation of 500 improved Subaru BRZs to Australia has already sold out. Aside from the yet-to-arrive updated Toyota 86 (late 2022), a handful of hot hatches and the Mazda MX-5, there’s no real competition. The new BRZ offers better performance and handling. A new 2.4-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder Boxer engine brings a substantial increase in power and torque. Under-the-skin changes and the extensive use of aluminium panels has lowered its centre of gravity and improved torsional stiffness and rigidity. Its classic long bonnet, sloping roof and coupe styling remain, but most panels have been tweaked a little. Bulging rear guards, sporty sill panels, a shark-fin antenna, dual exhausts and new 10-spoke gunmetal grey alloy wheels shod with low-profile Michelin Pilot tyres all add to its appeal. 32

Police Journal

No competition

DESIGN AND FUNCTION

Inside, it’s compact and driver-focused. Both front seats offer excellent support with plenty of side bolstering. The rear seat (not much legroom here) easily drops flat to enhance cargo space which is shallow owing to a full-size spare wheel. Cloth trim in the standard model gives way to suede and leather with frontseat heaters on the S variant. A central eight-inch touchscreen features DAB radio, reverse camera, sat nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and wireless Bluetooth streaming. Manual BRZ gets seven airbags and tyre-pressure, blind-spot, lane-change and rear cross-traffic monitoring. The auto picks up paddle shifters, highbeam assist, reverse auto braking and the Subaru EyeSight driver-assistance safety package.

DRIVING Keyless entry and push-button start feature along with a supportive driver’s seat which has manual-only adjustment including height. The small leather-

wrapped steering wheel is reach and rake adjustable with buttons for trip computer, audio and phone. A customizable seven-inch digital instrument cluster with large central tacho and digital speedo keeps drivers informed. It also displays trip-computer, g-force, lap-timer and safety information. The new 2.4 Boxer makes a usable 175kW of power at 7,000rpm and 250Nm of torque at 3,700rpm. With a kerb weight of around 1,300kg, rear-wheel drive and low centre of gravity, BRZ is fantastic to drive. Power delivery is superb. The engine will freely spin to redline, the auto delivers quick changes, and the acoustically enhanced exhaust sounds just right. The Michelins grip well but send out plenty of road noise on coarse bitumen. MacPherson Strut front and doublewishbone rear suspension offer superb corner control and big brake rotors provide excellent braking even though the pedal feels quite firm.

MODEL Mitsubishi Outlander medium SUV. PRICING $34,490 (ES 2WD five-seat) to $49,990 (Exceed Tourer AWD seven-seat) plus ORC. DRIVETRAIN 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol, CVT (auto) with paddle shifters, 2WD or AWD. SAFETY All models: five-star ANCAP, eight airbags, front and rear parking sensors, rear camera, driver-assistance and crashavoidance technologies. FUEL 55-litre tank, regular unleaded, 7.5 – 8.1 litres/100km (combined test). CARGO Between 163 and 1,473 litres. WARRANTY Up to 10 years/200,000km (providing serviced as required at authorized dealer network).

DESIGN AND FUNCTION The latest Outlander is the best-equipped car Mitsubishi has ever sold in Australia, according to its maker. Built on an all-new platform with a new drivetrain it has undergone a much-needed makeover and offers enhanced driving dynamics and increased driver-assistance and safety technologies. Mitsubishi has endowed Outlander not with curved bodylines but rather a bolder, squarer body. Its high bonnet, big grille, aggressive lighting assemblies and a relatively flat roofline deliver a robust, purposeful appearance with a roomy comfortable cabin and generous cargo space. Outlander comes in five trim grades (ES, LS, Aspire, Exceed and Exceed Tourer). Only entry ES is available with a five- or sevenseat configuration (all others get seven seats).

Best equipped ever: maker

Mitsubishi Outlander

Mitsubishi has dropped its diesel option so the only drivetrain is a new 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine mated to a CVT transmission. There’s a choice of 2WD or AWD with the exception of both Exceed variants on which AWD is standard. All models feature a comprehensive suite of driver-assistance and safety technologies, a new nine-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, dual-zone climate control, electric park brake and trafficsign recognition. Front- and second-row seats are roomy and comfortable. The second row (40/20/40) features one-touch folding, so access to the third row – which is best suited to kids – comes easy.

DRIVING Mid-spec Aspire AWD ($43,990) offers plenty of additional equipment (over entry ES) which enhances the driving experience. Keyless pushbutton entry and start, adaptive headlights, wireless phone-charging, power tailgate and a Multi Around camera make life easier.

Drivers also score a heated, power-operated seat (with lumbarsupport) trimmed in suede and faux leather. The multi-adjustable driver’s seat coupled with a low dashboard and flat bonnet provides excellent visibility. Aspire also has an informative 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster in place of standard gauges. Projected onto the windscreen is a superb headup display which offers speed sign, digital speedo, audio, phone, sat nav and safety-warning info. The new 2.5-litre naturally aspirated four puts out 135kW of power and 245Nm of torque. It’s a sweet, smooth and generally quiet engine which goes about its business with a minimum of fuss. The CVT operates better than those of old and provides manual control of eight pre-set ratios via paddle shifters. Ride and handling are up to par and the new S-AWC (all-wheel control system on AWD models) provides brake-based torque vectoring for improved cornering. Selectable drive modes for economy, tarmac and varying terrain also feature. April 2022

It also shows the majority of clandestine laboratories continue to be detected in residential areas, with increased detections in public places.

See the Police Association’s letter to the commissioner and the campaign material on PASAweb

PLATINUM BENEFIT

Starting out, moving up or just treating yourself? Wherever you’re at, our Low Rate Car Loan could help. Call 1300 131 844, email us at platinum@policecu.com.au, head online to policecu.com.au/platinum or visit a branch. Police Credit Union Ltd ABN 30 087 651 205 AFSL/Australian Credit Licence 238991. Terms, conditions, fees, charges and lending criteria apply. Full details upon request. Interest rate is current as at 01/12/2021, subject to change. Comparison rate is based on a secured $30,000 loan over 5 years. WARNING: This comparison rate is true only for the examples given and may not include all fees and charges. Different terms, fees or other loan amounts might result in a different comparison rate. Minimum loan amount is $20,000. New lending only. The information provided herein does not take into account your personal needs, objectives and financial circumstances. Please consider your circumstances before deciding if the product is right for you. This offer may be withdrawn or amended by Police Credit Union Ltd at any time. *Special offer ends 01/12/2022. No further discounts apply. LRCL 20/11/2021

Paul Modra Executive Manager Member Value and Distribution Police Credit Union

B BANKING

Reducing your carbon footprint A

ustralia has a target to achieve netzero carbon emissions by 2050 and, according to emissions projections in 2021, we’re already on track to reduce emissions by up to 35 per cent – below 2005 levels – by 2030. To help Australia reach its goal, there are small ways you can reduce your own emissions and save some money on bills.

Travel lighter “Green” vehicles are now more of a consideration when purchasing a car. Some European and Asian countries aim to phase out petrol and diesel cars by 2040. Green-vehicle emissions do not exceed 120 grams of CO2 emissions per kilometre (g/km). This includes all hybrids (halfelectric, half-petrol engine), electric vehicles and some conventional vehicles. Electric vehicles are currently quite expensive but cheaper models are on the way. This will likely mean more green vehicles on our roads over the next few years. If you’re looking to buy a new car and want to reduce your environmental impact, consider a car loan with Police Credit Union. We’re about to launch an exciting product feature across all our car loans that will be good for your wallet and the environment. Not only will you receive a competitively low rate, but we’ll offset the carbon emissions of the average vehicle for three years – at no extra cost to you with $0 package fees for Platinum members.*

We’re close to launching this new feature, so keep an eye on our website or get in touch with one of our friendly relationship managers.

Reduce your electricity use When buying a new appliance, consider a high star-rated energysaving one. You can also update to LED lighting and turn off that second fridge you don’t regularly use. Each degree by which you increase or decrease your home heating or cooling increases your energy use by up to 10 per cent. Imagine if all Australia households increased their cooling temperature by one degree in summer and lowered their heating by a degree in winter. This would equate to a five per cent reduction in household electricity emissions. Installing solar panels results in a sizeable portion of your energy being generated by the sun. On top of that, you could also feed renewable energy into the grid for others to use. Police Credit Union offers a Solar Eco Loan. This market-leading variable personal loan has won awards in both the Mozo Expert Choice Awards and RateCity National Awards. It can assist you with purchasing solar energy products such as solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, home battery systems and solar water heaters. The loan has no monthly or annual fees and $0 penalties for early repayment, along with a $0 package fee

Imagine if all Australia households increased their cooling temperature by one degree in summer and lowered their heating by a degree in winter. This would equate to a five per cent reduction in household electricity emissions.

offer which will save all Platinum members an additional $195. (Visit policecu.com.au to find out more.)

Be water efficient Cutting down your showers from eight minutes to four saves up to 350kg of CO2 each year. You can also install water-saving shower heads and taps to save, on average, 40 per cent of water usage, check your taps and repair any leaks, and add mulch or water-saving crystals to your garden.

Waste less Put your food scraps in the green bin or compost. An average Australian household produces an average of 118kg of food waste contributing 250kg of greenhouse gas a year. Composting food results in only two to four per cent of the emissions it would produce in landfill. Growing your own vegetables is also great for the environment. Consider what you’re purchasing at the supermarket, reduce your use of plastic, and recycle/ reuse your containers and bags.

Consider Police Credit Union to help reduce your environmental impact As you’re a Platinum member, Police Credit Union can help you get the most out of its car loans, Solar Eco Loan and Platinum package, including personal oneon-one banking with our designated relationship managers across the state. Continued page 45 April 2022

B E BOOKS

Mafioso Colin McLaren Hachette Australia, $32.99

The Mafia remains a subject of fascination around the world. Colin McLaren, in his role as an undercover drug squad cop, actually became a mafioso. He had an extraordinary three years undercover in the Mafia, gathering the evidence to shut down a cell of 20 criminals. Then he travelled to Italy on an equally extraordinary mission in search of the very roots of the Mafia. This is the story of how the earliest Mafia aided politicians to invade Sicily, and how the mints and banks of Italy were looted and billions stolen. How ocean liners were used to smuggle Mafia into New York City, to establish the infamous Five Families. Aided by corruption, the earliest godfathers conquered their territories on both sides of the Atlantic. Since then, they have employed a labyrinth of commercial real estate, drug trafficking and investments to build their modernday empire, estimated to be worth €400 billion annually. Mafioso also deals with the scourge of Mafia in Australia, as McLaren finds himself in the centre of it all, trying to solve a 1990s rampage of crime.

Win a book or in-season movie pass! For your chance to win one of the books or an in-season pass to one of these films (courtesy of Wallis Cinemas) featured in this issue, send your name, location, phone number and despatch code, along with the book and/or film of your choice to giveaways@pj.asn.au

Police Journal

The Trivia Night

Ali Lowe Hodder & Stoughton, $32.99

From the outside, the parents of the kindergarten class at Darley Heights Primary School seem to have it all. Living in the wealthy Sydney suburbs, it’s a community in which everyone knows each other – and secrets don’t stay secret long. The big date in the calendar is the school’s annual fundraising trivia night, but then the evening gets raucously out of hand, talk turns to partner-swapping. Initially scandalized, it’s not long before a group of parents makes a reckless one-night-only pact. But in the harsh light of day, those involved must face the fallout of their behaviour. As they begin to navigate the shady aftermath of their wild night, the truth threatens to rip their perfect lives apart – and revenge turns fatal.

The Couple at The Table

Sophie Hannah Hodder & Stoughton,$32.99

You’re on your honeymoon at an exclusive couples-only resort. You receive a note warning you to: “Beware of the couple at the table nearest to yours.” At dinner that night, five other couples are present, and none of their tables is any nearer or further away than any of the others. It’s as if someone has set the scene in order to make the warning note meaningless. But why would anyone do that? You have no idea. You also don’t know that you’re about to be murdered, or that once you’re dead, all the evidence will suggest that no one there that night could possibly have committed the crime. So, who might be trying to warn you? And who might be about to commit the perfect impossible murder?

Exit .45

Ben Sanders Allan & Unwin, $29.99

When a former NYPD colleague is shot dead in front of him, private investigator Marshall Grade discovers there’s far more to the killing than meets the eye. Ray Vialoux is in trouble. Big trouble. And he needs Grade’s help. Reluctantly, Grade agrees to meet. Over dinner in a Brooklyn restaurant, he learns that his former NYPD colleague owes money – a lot of money – to the wrong people. But the conversation is cut short by gunfire, and suddenly Vialoux is lying dead on the restaurant floor. As Marshall investigates the circumstances leading up to the murder, tracking down the drug dealers, bag men, bent cops and mob players within Vialoux’s orbit, it becomes clear there’s far more to the killing than a gambling debt. Just who is responsible for Vialoux’s death, and why? What secrets are his family hiding? And can Marshall find the answers before his own history marks him as the prime suspect?

April 2022

B E

C E

BOOKS

CINEMA

Nine Lives

Peter Swanson Faber, $32.99

The envelope is unremarkable. There is no return address. It contains a single, folded sheet of white paper. The envelope drops through the mail slot like any other piece of post. Nine complete strangers receive it, and all of them recognize just their own name on the enclosed list. It will be the most life-altering letter they ever receive. It could also be the last, as, one by one, they start to meet their end.

Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness May 5

Whatever Gets You Through the Night Charlie Higson Little Brown, $32.99

McIntyre is a fixer, specializing in getting people out of places they don’t want to be with a minimum of fuss, publicity and violence. The job in Corfu is to spring Lauren, a 15-year-old schoolgirl, from the luxury compound of tech billionaire Julian Hepworth. Hepworth’s young, handsome and charismatic. He’s also a suspected paedophile who, under the guise of training a girls’ tennis team, has set up an abusive cult. But as McIntyre sets up his operation in the exclusive north-eastern corner of the island, things quickly start to slip out of his control. First, Lauren’s father turns up, threatening to give the game away and, soon, McIntyre’s having to contend with Albanian gangsters, Greek drug dealers, psychotic bodyguards, flat earthers and spoilt, wealthy teenagers looking for dangerous kicks. 38

Police Journal

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero of the same name. Dr Stephen Strange casts a forbidden spell that opens a portal to the multiverse. But a threat emerges that might be too big for his team to handle. Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch (Stephen Strange/Sinister Strange/ Defender Strange/Supreme Strange), Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Karl Mordo), Tom Hiddleston (Loki).

Top Gun: Maverick May 26

Pete “Maverick” Mitchell keeps pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot after more than 30 years’ service as one of the Navy’s top aviators. But he must soon confront the past while training a new squad of graduates for a dangerous mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice. Cast: Tom Cruise (Pete “Maverick” Mitchell), Jennifer Connelly (Penny Benjamin), Val Kilmer (Iceman), Miles Teller (Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw).

Jurassic World: Dominion June 9

Jurassic World: Dominion takes place four years after Isla Nublar has been destroyed. Dinosaurs have got bigger and now live—and hunt—alongside humans all over the world. This fragile balance will reshape the future and determine, once and for all, whether human beings are to remain the apex predators on a planet they now share with history’s most fearsome creatures. Cast: Sam Neill (Alan Grant), Laura Dern (Ellie Sattler), Chris Pratt (Owen Grady), Geoff Goldblum (Ian Malcolm), Bryce Dallas Howard (Claire Dearing).

Operation Mincemeat May 12

Two brilliant intelligence officers, Ewen Montagu and Charles Cholmondeley, conceive a plan dubbed Operation Mincemeat in 1943. They set out to trick the Nazis into thinking that Allied forces are planning to attack southern Europe by way of Greece rather than Sicily. Their plan is to get a corpse, equip it with misleading papers, then drop it off the coast of Spain where Nazi spies will take the bait. Cast: Colin Firth (Ewen Montagu), Lorne MacFadyen (Charles Cholmondeley), Kelly Macdonald (Jean Leslie), Penelope Wilton (Hester Leggett), Mark Gatiss (Ivor Montagu).

April 2022

Butter Chicken & rice

Take-away menu: Monday – Friday 11am – 2pm

Chef’s Macaroni Cheese

Butter Chicken with rice

$20

Spaghetti Bolognese with parmesan

$18

Lamb Lasagne with parmesan

Police Burger with chips

$20

Chicken Salad

$22

Vegetable Wrap

$12

Chicken Wrap

$12

Lamb Wrap

$12

Combo Chicken and Lamb Wrap

$15

Fisherman's Basket with crumbed fish, crumbed calamari & crumbed prawns

$22

Chicken or beef schnitzel with chips and your choice of sauce (gravy, dianne, pepper or mushroom) Add parmigiana

$20 $3

Frozen take-away meals $10 each

Please remember to adhere to social distancing rules between dining groups. Hand sanitizer is available for use by all patrons.

POLICE CLUB

Monday – Friday 11am – 2pm PRECINCT CAFÉ

Monday – Friday 7am – 2pm 27 Carrington Street, Adelaide (08) 8212 2924

Chef’s famous beer battered chips served with gravy or garlic aioli Small $4 Large $7 Garlic bread

$5.50

W WINE

Mr. Mick Riesling 2021 $17

Mr. Mick Wines Clare Valley, South Australia www.mrmick.com.au @mrmickwines

In the late 1960s, Clare Valley winemakers championed a product known as “Bin 5” Riesling. The wine was rich in the mid palate, with low levels of residual sugar, and notably less acidity than its partner, the “Bin 7”. Today, Mr Mick Riesling recreates the style of the Bin 5 – a Riesling for all people and all occasions – to match a broad array of cuisine, with just a hint of fruit sweetness. Even if you’re not a Riesling fan, you’ll enjoy this wine. It is a great wine simply to enjoy on its own or partner with any fresh Australian seafood.

Mr. Mick Rosé 2021 $17

In its 11th year, the 2021 Mr. Mick Rosé has concentrated aromas and flavours of strawberries and cream with hints of lychee and white peach to follow. A montage of fruit flavours lingers on the palate before a crisp, cleansing finish. It’s a wine that leaves you wanting another glass every time. This wine can be enjoyed on its own or it makes a great accompaniment to Asian cuisine and dishes with a little spice.

Mr. Mick Grenache 2021 $17

This unoaked style, born in the south-east of France and popular worldwide, continues the Mr. Mick philosophy of bringing innovative winemaking concepts to Australian consumers. This attractive Grenache is an easy-drinking fruit-forward wine that creates interest and satisfies many tastes. It is made to suit a broad array of cuisine and drinking environments, light in style with juicy and savoury red berry fruit, a hint of varietal Grenache spice and soft, silky natural tannin.

Join and become a ‘Mate of Mr. Mick’ April 2022

The Last Shift

For the full version of The Last Shift, go to PASAweb at www.pasa.asn.au

Phil Grear Catherine Gregory Peta Kennedy Peter Loch Chas McCormick Andrij Onishko Andrew Stott Mark Trenwith Pete Vincent Malcolm Warren

Brevet Sergeant Malcolm Warren

Senior Sergeant 1C Chas McCormick

Comments… “On the few occasions I have needed direct assistance from the association it was forthcoming without reservation, and I don't know what I would have done without the backing and support of the association. “I wish all association members the best for the future, with policing becoming more and more challenging every day. “To those who are not members, I hope they never get into a situation where the support of the association comes to the fore.”

Comments… “From the moment of walking through the gates of Fort Largs on Thursday, February 10, 1977, until now, it has been the best of times in finding a fulfilling career and friendships with the camaraderie that policing provides. “It was not always easy but then nothing worthwhile ever is and there would be fewer stories to tell if it wasn’t. “Sadly, it’s an impossible task to list the number of people I have had the privilege to work with. However, my best wishes remain for all who are currently serving and for those still enjoying their own retirement.

Program Shield 32 years’ service Last Day: 04.02.22

Prosecution Services Branch 45 years’ service Last day: 12.02.22

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Police Journal

“I pass on my thanks and appreciation to the past and present officials of the association towards their work done in gaining our standards of pay and conditions along with the support provided to members. “I could not ask for more. Thank you all.”

Senior Sergeant 1C Phil Grear

Water Operations Unit 43 years’ service Last Day: 07.02.22 Comments… “Thanks to the efforts of the association executive, committee and delegates over the past 43 years which have secured ever-improving conditions and wages. “After walking through the front gate of Fort Largs on January 4, 1979, I leave SAPOL thankful for the opportunities, friendships, camaraderie, great memories and certainly no regrets. “I wish all members the very best for the future.”

Senior Constable Peta Kennedy

Road Policing Section 21 years’ service Last Day: 28.12.21 Comments… “I officially left SAPOL due to invalidity. “I wish to thank Andrew Heffernan for all his assistance during the last couple of years. It was greatly appreciated.”

Sergeant Peter Loch

Telecom Interception 43 years’ service Last Day: 18.02.22 Comments… “I thank the Police Association for its support and service to the members over the years. “I have enjoyed my time and have fond memories of those I worked with.”

Above left: In the police-only area of Gawler police station after a burglary victim, grateful for the capture of the offender, had brought flowers and chocolates into the station in 2017. Above right: At Payneham police station on the station UHF radio base set in the 1980s. Left: With Gawler Operations in the Barossa Valley at sunset in 2017. Below: As a Traffic member with Traffic Operations Group at Holden Hill in 1989.

Senior Constable 1C Pete Vincent Northern District Custody 37 years’ service Last Day: 28.03.22

Comments… “I thank the association for all the invaluable assistance that I have received. “It has been a long career and the people I have worked with have made the job a positive experience. “I thank those I have worked with over the decades. I’m retiring to seek a lifestyle change in France.”

Continued…

done differently. CEO Brett Schatto, former SA police officer and Police Association member (11 years).

April 2022

L THE LAST SHIFT

Superintendent Mark Trenwith

Serious and Organised Crime Branch 43 years’ service Last Day: 25.02.22 Comments… “I have really enjoyed my SAPOL career but, after 43 years’ service, I have no doubt that it is time to retire and see what else life has to offer. “I have met and worked with so many great people over the years at a range of postings, both in plainclothes and uniform areas, and thank them for their friendship and support. “I will always have a keen interest in police-related matters and wish all serving members the best as they continue to serve the community. “I also thank the Police Association for its contribution to the significant improvement in wages and conditions that have occurred during my tenure in the job.”

Sergeant Andrew Stott

Limestone Coast LSA 43 years’ service Last Day: 22.03.22 Comments… “I can genuinely say that, for most of my time with SAPOL, I have enjoyed going to work and have particularly enjoyed policing in regional South Australia since I left region B in 1983. I highly commend a career in the country to anyone considering it. “I must express my sincere thanks and appreciation to the Police Association for the assistance provided to me over the years following a number of injuries received in the workplace, and also for its support of the membership. “I thank all of those who I have worked with over the years and wish everyone well in what is a very difficult job.”

Senior Sergeant 1C Catherine Gregory

Employee Management Register 42 years’ service Last Day: 09.03.22 Comments… “I have had many adventures in SAPOL and have been places and been given opportunities that I wouldn’t have had elsewhere, from driving the Stuart Highway before it was sealed (when posted to H3 division in the 1980s) to being deployed overseas to the Bali bombings and the Thai tsunami for disaster victim identification response. “I remember SAPOL’s motto (Salus populi suprema lex: the safety of the people shall be the highest law) and hope that it means as much to current members as it still does to me.” 44

Police Journal

Senior Sergeant 1C Andrij Onishko

Legislative Review Unit 37 years’ service Last Day: 27.03.22 Comments… “I began my career in Course 15 on October 1, 1986. I was fortunate enough to be runner-up to the dux of the course, Cameron Georg. “My first posting was to Norwood police station where I initially worked in the station before moving to patrols. “I later worked at Darlington Traffic Response, Holden Hill Traffic Response,

Sturt Traffic Response, Sturt and Adelaide Criminal Justice sections and, finally, Legislative Review Unit in 2005. “My thanks to the Police Basketball Club for the opportunity to play in the Tuesday-morning competition and compete in the Australian police championship, where I was a member of the team that won the Australian police championship in Canberra in 1988. “I have had an amazing career in SAPOL and I will miss the camaraderie of some wonderful people I have had the pleasure to work with. “The lowest point of my career was in February 1988, when an offender gouged my eyes and I sustained a detached retina. I could have lost the sight in my right eye. Fortunately, I had successful surgery to repair the damage and returned to patrol work. “The highest point was when I was awarded the Leadership and Efficiency Medal in 2020 by Commissioner Stevens. “I must make special mention of Tom Liddy, Peter Thompson, Sue Lock, Col Cunningham and Sharon Walker-Roberts who were fittingly awarded the Australia Police Medal. “Also Sue Shute, the glue that has held SAPOL together, who rightly received a Leadership and Efficiency Medal. They deserve all the accolades they have received. “I offer my sincere gratitude to past and present members of the executive of the Police Association for the tremendous work they have done over many years to represent and advocate for members, which has improved the salaries and working conditions for all police officers. The value of a strong Police Association cannot be understated. “Thank you to everyone who has shared the journey with me.”

I INDUSTRIAL

BANKING

From page 28

From page 35

The Professor

The solution

SAPOL engaged Professor Drew Dawson to oversee the REHR trial as he is “nationally and internationally recognised for his contributions to the scientific community and to industry in the areas of sleep and fatigue research, organisational psychology and human behaviour, and the human implications of hours of work”. In his review paper, Response extended hours roster review (May 2021), Professor Dawson indicated that it would be appropriate for the REHR to be the standard roster for response teams. The report specified that 97.5 per cent of members preferred the REHR. The significance of the Dawson recommendation is reflected in the SAPOL annual report of 2020-21. It indicates that Professor Dawson was contracted to review the REHR. Community support for investing in the REHR would likely eventuate given the prospect of improved mental health and well-being for police. SAPOL is now engaging an expert in data analytics to assess the demand on police services and comparative analysis of the proposed extendedhours roster options. That engagement requires a procurement process which will cause further delay. Associated with each response shift now is high demand and heavy reliance on district policing teams. The frequent demand on these teams is to log on as response crews; and the continual ad hoc relieving of response late shift has led to an “increase in workload, lack of downtime and lack of morale in the workplace”.

The district policing model DPT function should be absorbed into the response roster. This would ensure SAPOL has sufficient front-line resources to meet community demand, reduce the ongoing workload intensification, and enhance members’ well-being and safety. The Police Association and SAPOL have exchanged much correspondence in respect of the inadequacies of the DPM. SAPOL, however, has indicated that it considers there to be “insufficient evidence” to support a substantial restructure of the model. The community rightly expects SAPOL to supply adequate numbers of physically and mentally healthy police to respond to calls for assistance. Members rightly expect SAPOL to address their health and well-being.

Glenn Lewis and Ryan Mountford have years of experience and can visit you to discuss how you can make the most of our products and competitive rates to bring your plans to life. Get in touch with them at platinum@policecu.com.au. You can also call Glenn on 0421 243 741 or Ryan on 0437 286 804.

Police Credit Union Ltd (PCU) ABN 30 087 651 205 AFSL/Australian Credit Licence 238991. Terms, conditions, fees, charges, lending and membership criteria apply. Full details upon request. All information correct as at 08/03/2022 and subject to change. PCU reserves the right to withdraw offer or amend product features at any time. *Offer may be amended by PCU at any time. No further discounts apply. Estimated Car emissions will be offset for 3 years. The information provided herein does not take into account your personal needs, objective and financial circumstances. Please consider your circumstances before deciding if the product is right for you. Information provided in this article is designed to be a guide only and was believed to be correct at time of publication and derived from various media sources. In some cases, information has been provided to us by third parties and while that information is believed to be accurate and reliable, its accuracy is not guaranteed in any way. Any opinions expressed constitute our views at the time of issue and are subject to change. Neither PCU, nor its employees or directors give any warranty of accuracy or accept responsibility for any loss or liability incurred by you in respect of any error, omission or misrepresentation in this article. Compare our awards at mozo. com.au/expertschoice and ratecity.com.au

April 2022

Jobs you never forget Early in my career I was working solo in Roxby Downs as a reliever. The mines were really pumping and the Roxby Tavern got pretty crazy on the weekends. One night I was called to remove a group of three drunk blokes causing patrons a bit of grief. The first bloke I spoke to took a swing at me. Somehow, I dodged it and gassed him. The other two looked like they were going to kill me so I sprayed them too. Unfortunately, I also sprayed the Roxby Tavern’s air conditioning system. Within minutes, the entire pub was empty with about 100 people all coughing in the car park. I recalled everyone I could and we locked up the angry offenders. Later that year, the pub sued me to recover money from lost trading. I never got asked to relieve at Roxby after that.

I was on night shift when I had to attend court for an assault matter. The allegation was that a woman bit a waiter on the arm after refusing to pay for her barramundi dinner. I gave my evidence, which body-worn video corroborated, and left. Leaving the court, I had three news crews pointing cameras in my face. I got into my car, drove home, and went back to bed. I woke up to several messages saying: “Hey Daz, have you seen the news?” I thought: “Oh, shit, what have I done now?” I turned on the news and the story wasn’t so much about the assault but about my comments caught on body-worn video when I attended the job: “For f--k’s sake, do you know how serious this is? Over a fish?” I think everyone had a bit of a giggle over it.

Police Journal

SERGEANT DARREN LINDOW (Response Teams Hindley St)

Early this month, I had a bloke who broke some bike locks and stole two bikes near Rundle St. Police security operating the city’s CCTV spotted him and we all ran out to go grab him. We found him on East Terrace and he dumped the bikes and ran down into the O-Bahn tunnels under Rymill Park. As we were running down into the tunnels, the alarm system went off and boom gates went down and we could hear: “Intruder alert! Intruder alert! Police have been notified.” It felt as if it was a movie. We set up some cordons and, with the help of DPTI cameras, police communications and police dogs, apprehended the suspect hiding with a bunch of breaking tools in between some steel barriers. As I like to say: “No one escapes.”

“The other two looked like they were going to kill me so I sprayed them too.”

THE EVIDENCE IS STILL CLEAR POLICE HEALTH LEADS IN VALUE FOR MONEY!

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Call it in 1800 603 603 or scan the qr code to compare your cover today! * The information above has been extracted from the latest Australian Government Private Health Insurance Information Statements, which were updated on 1 April 2022. We’ve calculated the premium comparison for SA based on a family policy. The premium comparisons are made with no Australian Government Rebate on private health insurance or Lifetime Health Cover Loading considerations. They also do not take into account any discounts that may be offered by funds (such as for payments by direct debit, for the effects of COVID-19, or for other reasons). If you want to review and compare all specific benefits or premiums for Police Health or other funds, the government’s Information Statements can be found at www.privatehealth.gov.au. ^Any unused Annual Maximums from one calendar year rollover to the next on most Extras. Rollover Maximums available after 12 months membership with Extras Cover, except Major dental which requires 2 year of membership. 2021 Healthcare & Insurance Australia research survey undertaken by Ipsos Australia. Police Health Limited ABN 86 135 221 519 A restricted access not-for-profit private health insurer © 01/04/2022

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Police Journal April 2022

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