Qld police Special Emergency Response Team to get more firepower
Queensland police’s SERT will get more firepower as the Crisafulli government moves to strengthen counter-terrorism operations, writes Des Houghton.
Des Houghton
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I’m happy to report the Queensland police Special Emergency Response Team will get more firepower as the Crisafulli government moves to strengthen counter-terrorism operations.
Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski and his team have approved the purchase of new semi-automatic “striker-fired or hammer-fired” pistols for the elite emergency response police based in Brisbane and Cairns.
Internal police documents say the new weapons are not only for counter terrorism but to safeguard the public during “siege and hostage situations, as well as armed offender situations” and “forced entry scenarios”.
And they are needed for police and public protection when “escorting and securing dangerous prisoners in high-risk situations”.
SERT officers also train for risky airborne abseiling and water missions, occasionally training with Defence Force personnel.
SERT teams necessarily operate under a cloak of secrecy for surveillance tasks, witness protection and VIP protection. Some train as snipers.
Every Queenslander should applaud the efforts of the 60 or so members of the SERT team and be happy that weapons upgrades are money well spent.
Glock handguns have been the preferred sidearms for Australian and US policemen and women since the 80s. SERT officers, however, reportedly use Staccato handguns.
The price of the latest Gen5 Glock pistols start at $610 each, while US-made Staccato weapons cost more than $2000.
The deadly ambush of police and the murder of a civilian at Wieambilla, 186km northwest of Toowoomba in 2022, shows trouble can erupt anywhere without much warning.
Wieambilla was an act of terrorism fuelled by religious ideology. It is not well known that Queensland SERT officers also assisted their NSW colleagues at the Lindt Café siege in the heart of Sydney at Martin Place in the CBD in 2014.
It was there that Man Haron Monis, an Iranian-born refugee with a terrible criminal record, was shot dead after a 16-hour stand-off. Two young bystanders, the café manager and a barrister, also died in the siege.
A briefing note says: “The new SERT pistol must be highly reliable, durable, and effective in tactical situations.
“It should enhance officer confidence and perform under extreme conditions.”
The new firearms were needed to “support SERT’s mission-critical operations”.
The order for the new pistols provides a curious look inside the SERT weaponry.
“(The pistol) should operate after being submerged in saltwater for at least 30 seconds” and must be reliable “after exposure to water, mud, sand, and debris”.
“The trigger reset must be short and tactile for rapid follow-up shots,” it says.
“(The) pistol must not fire when dropped onto concrete from a height of two metres with all safety mechanisms engaged.”
Queensland Police want a handgun with a barrel length of at 95mm and no longer than 160mm. The magazine must have a minimum 10-round capacity with five magazines to be supplied with each new pistol.
The weapons “must be designed for ambidextrous use with an aggressive grip texture on frame and slide for firm control in wet conditions”.
And the pistols must be supplied with red dot optic and a slide for mounting red-dot optics.
They must come with a Picatinny rail, an attachment on a pistol or rifle for mounting accessories such as the laser lights.
“Pistols are to have the ability to be field stripped for routine maintenance without tools, or alternatively, with the use of no more than one tool.”
Queensland Police are seeking pistols that “withstand at least 10,000 rounds of live fire without significant degradation”.
A spokeswoman for Police Minister Dan Purdie said SERT remained an all-male domain.
This was because no woman had yet been able to pass the demanding three-day endurance test.
It begins when SERT officers are asked to complete a minimum of 10 chin ups, 35 push ups and 100 sit ups then run 10km in under 46 minutes and finish by swimming 400m in under 10 minutes. These tasks have
to be completed consecutively without a rest.
Those who make it through the first stage must then complete a demanding 14-week physical and mental training course with weapons and marksman training.
Psychiatrist’s claim rejected
Senior Queensland Health psychiatrist accused a fellow child psychiatrist of suffering a mental illness or a delusion that may have put children at risk – but the allegation has been rejected by Queensland Health chiefs, according to court documents.
Dr Jillian Spencer made the allegations against Dr Brian Ross, lead clinician at the Queensland Children’s Gender Service at the Queensland Children’s Hospital in South Brisbane, the court was told.
In a statement as part of a Public Interest Disclosure, Spencer said the “affirmation model” used by the clinic was flawed and should be rejected.
The model encouraged “social transition” offering a child support in adopting an opposite sex name, changing personal pronouns and codes of dress to present as a member of the opposite sex.
Spencer was admonished and subsequently stood down for refusing to use the pronouns preferred by children and adolescents who came to the clinic.
In a statement contained in an affidavit before the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission, where Spencer has taken the dispute, she said: “Dr Brian Ross is an impaired doctor because he is clearly maintaining false beliefs about the relevant research, which is impairing his conduct as a health professional.
“I am not aware of the reason he is maintaining and disseminating false information about the outcomes and regret rates of gender interventions for children and adolescents – it may be part of mental illness, a delusion, or a non-evidence-based conviction based on other factors.
“Dr Ross’s impairment places patients at risk of harm because they cannot provide full consent if they haven’t been provided with the correct information regarding the outcomes and regret rates of the gender interventions.”
Spencer said she was especially concerned with “double mastectomy regret rates”.
Jamie Cairncross, the principal workplace adviser for Children’s Health Queensland, dismissed Spencer’s Public Interest Disclosure.
“I am not satisfied you honestly believe Dr Ross has an impairment in the form of a mental illness,” he told her. Cairncross said although Spencer had strong views about the treatment of gender dysphoria, “your allegation has no basis, and you do not provide any reasonable explanation for this allegation”.
Children’s Health Queensland chief executive Frank Tracey and chief financial officer Alan Fletcher agreed with Cairncross.
The dispute is set to be decided by the commission.
In a separate matter, Spencer alleges her suspension was a breach of her human rights, including her right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief, the right to free expression and the right to take part in public life.
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