This is penny-pinching balderdash.
Victorian police say they are being strong-armed into accepting a lowball new pay deal or risk losing millions in collective backpay.
Under a new proposal put to rank and file members on Wednesday, police would lock in a 4.5 per cent annual pay increase over the next four years — significantly lower than the 6 per cent being sought.
Frontline police would also secure an additional 0.5 per cent, and would no longer be required to “kit up” outside of shift times.
For the past year or so, I have had cause to rely upon the Victorian police.
My family has been assaulted and stalked by a nest of neighbourhood psychopaths.
This has necessitated constant contact with local police. Sometimes for intervention. Sometimes for welfare. Sometimes for the creation of personal safe spaces.
The competence of the uniformed police has been nothing short of extraordinary, displaying empathy, judgement and beneficial assertiveness.
Contrasting with this, my experience of the legal and health systems has been disastrous. Courts have been warped, and the health system has misdiagnosed everything.
Expanding the canvas a little, the Victorian and wider police forces are a radically underappreciated thin blue line that contains Australia’s entire endeavour in the global world.
It is they who engage with multicultural communities to ensure overseas problems do not fester in Australia.
It is they that represent Australia at the coal face, as the importation of foreign problems is integrated with local values.
It is they that neutralise risks, not always by law but by human judgement, as the inhuman, damaged and toxic threaten instability.
I am no natural “law and order” supporter. As an angry young man, I was on the wrong side of the thin blue line at times.
But my overall experience of these outstanding men and women—crushloaded by outrageous demands placed upon them at great personal cost—has been outstanding.
Give them their pay rise. It should be much higher.
