Police Association SA union delegates demand new president Wade Burns be stripped of position

Turmoil gripping the state’s police union has reached new heights as a group of delegates turn on the newly elected president and two other officials.

A group of police union delegates have demanded president Wade Burns and two other officials be stripped of their positions – and say a special meeting should be held to allow members a say on the crisis engulfing the association.

In the latest escalation of tensions, the six delegates lodged a formal complaint with union secretary Bernadette Zimmermann after Mr Burns was last week elected Police Association of SA (PASA) president by fewer than 50 votes.

In the letter – dated this week and forwarded to Police Commissioner Grant Stevens, Police Minister Dan Cregan and MLC Frank Pangallo – they said Mr Burns’ failure to declare his demotion over indecent assault allegations was grounds for his removal.

“(Mr Burns) failed to act with honesty and integrity, failed to safeguard the interests of the membership and caused irreparable damage to PASA’s reputation,” the complaint alleges.

The formal complaint was lodged with PASA secretary Bernadette Zimmermann. Picture: AAP/Mike Burton

The delegates are calling for newly-elected president Wade Burns to be stripped of his position. Picture: Brenton Edwards

They also said the committee had failed to safeguard members’ interests because it did not have a proper candidate vetting process, and did not address serious concerns about Mr Burns’ suitability for office.

The letter alleged that two PASA committee members, Craig Terlikowski and Anthony Coad, had “actively campaigned” for Mr Burns in emails they sent to members and should for that reason be removed from their positions.

Mr Terlikowski declined to comment. Mr Coad has been contacted for comment.

Minutes from a meeting held on July 5, the day after Mr Burns’ election win, showed the committee discussed “association needs to act on the inappropriate actions of others” – which the delegates slammed as an attempt to “deflect responsibility”.

They demanded the committee release information about a complaint received about presidential runner-up Darren Cornell and his possible expulsion, which was also discussed at that meeting.

Mr Pangallo said the complaint related to public comments made in the media by Mr Cornell, who had called for Mr Burns to end his campaign. SA Police found the complaints to be unsubstantiated.

As well as election-related matters, the delegates demanded immediate removal of secrecy orders and disclosure of the issues and costs involved with a District Court case brought by former deputy president Samantha Strange.

The case is against Ms Zimmermann, former president Mark Carroll and PASA – but details have not been made public due to an going secrecy order made at the request of Mr Carroll.

The delegates requested a detailed cost analysis of expenditure associated with the resignation of Ms Strange and three other former PASA staff, who lodged claims in the Fair Work Commission but later withdrew.

They also demanded access to the union’s financial records within the next seven days, which they said was a constitutional right that has previously been refused.

The letter identified several possible grounds for a vote of no confidence in the committee, and requested that a special meeting be called.

Once the meeting has been called, a quorum of one tenth of members must turn out in order for it to proceed and the committee is bound by the motions passed.

Mr Burns’ campaign was thrown into turmoil when, 12 days after voting began, Mr Pangallo used parliamentary privilege to reveal allegations of indecent assault against him.

Mr Pangallo said Mr Burns – son of former police commissioner Gary Burns – was demoted from chief inspector to senior sergeant in 2017 after it was claimed he assaulted a then-civilian female SA Police employee at a social function.

He was never charged over the incident. Several years later, Mr Burns was reinstated to the rank of inspector after he successfully appealed a SA Police decision not to promote him.

Following Mr Pangallo’s statement in parliament, Mr Burns sent an email to union members saying that what was said was “factually incorrect”, but he did not elaborate. He has not responded to multiple requests for comment over the past few weeks.

Addressing the transparency concerns raised by the delegates, Mr Stevens said he carefully considered whether to publicly release the investigation into Mr Burns’ 2017 conduct.

However, he determined disclosure would not be in the public interest because of the need to respect the rights of individuals identified in the report, and the potential that SA Police employees would be less confident reporting misconduct because they feared such reports would become public.

Release of the report may also prejudice future proceedings in other legal jurisdictions, his statement said.

Mr Stevens said the appropriateness of Mr Burns to hold the office of PASA president was a matter for union management and members.

“The call for a ‘special meeting’ by association members is governed by the association’s constitution and again, is a matter for its management team and members,” he said.

Responding to questions about Mr Cornell, the statement said SA Police investigated two complaints made against him during the PASA election period and it was determined there had been no breach of the code of conduct.

Mr Cornell said he stood by his campaign and media comments made during it.

“I believe that I ran an honest and transparent campaign from the beginning,” he said.

“I was not aware of the two complaints made against me until today.

“I have now been provided a letter from SAPOL that states both matters are ‘unsubstantiated’.”

Police Minister Dan Cregan said “the leadership of a union is always rightly a matter for its members”.

Ms Zimmermann, Mr Burns and PASA did not respond to a request for comment.