Talented field in running to be our next police commissioner
Interviews for Queensland’s next police commissioner will begin today. Applicants have not been made public, but those in police and political circles have raised five top contender.
QLD News
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INTERVIEWS for Queensland’s new police commissioner will begin today, with Katarina Carroll and Bob Gee emerging as favourites for the position.
A panel comprised of high-ranking officials will conduct the interviews in the lead-up to Commissioner Ian Stewart retiring on July 7.
Mr Stewart will finish after 46 years as a police officer including six-and-a-half years as Commissioner, with a list of highly regarded contenders waiting in the wings.
Applicants have not been made public but those in police and political circles have raised five potential candidates.
KATARINA CARROLL
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Katarina Carroll who was previously assistant commissioner in the police service, is deemed a frontrunner for the job.
Ms Carroll was operations commander for Australia’s G20 and helped protect the likes of US president Barack Obama and British prime minister David Cameron in Brisbane.
If chosen, she would be Queensland’s first female police commissioner.
Ms Carroll yesterday dismissed suggestions she was a frontrunner for the job but said she had learnt a lot running QFES. During her time she has transformed the service after it was engulfed in a sexual harassment scandal.
“I think when you come out of one organisation into another, you learn new things, a lot of new things, and we’ve had an extraordinary four years of transformation implementing new ideas and new ways of doing business and when you take that to another organisation you take those new ideas and come into it with independent eyes,” she said.
BOB GEE
QPS Deputy Commissioner Bob Gee, who is the state disaster co-ordinator, is also favoured for the role.
The academic Mr Gee, seen as an intellectual with his Bachelor of Business and Master of Public Administration, has risen through the ranks from being chief superintendent in 2013 to becoming a deputy by the end of 2017.
He and Ms Carroll have regularly brushed shoulders with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, standing by her side during the planning and response for Queensland’s natural disasters.
ROSS BARNETT
Former QPS deputy commissioner and current Racing Integrity Commissioner Ross Barnett is highly regarded by detectives and has been referred to as the “People’s Choice”.
He was the G20 strategic commander, which included overviewing the operational deployment of police and specialists and dignitary protection for heads of state.
With a perception that morale in the service needs a boost, he is seen as a commander who always backs his troops but who does not always toe a political line.
STEVE GOLLSCHEWSKI
Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski oversees major investigations in the state’s crime command, as well as specialist operations, intelligence and counter-terrorism.
He oversaw the successful security operation for the Commonwealth Games last year and has
been a deputy commissioner since 2013.
Seen as an astute operator in the current world environment of terrorism incidents, he also led the review of the QPS which resulted in a restructure in 2013 and previously held positions in the state’s Ethical Standards Command.
PETER MARTIN
Queensland Corrective Services Commissioner Peter Martin, who holds a Doctor of Philosophy and has the most academic qualifications, was a former deputy commissioner in the police service before taking up his role.
He had a 38-year distinguished career with police and was appointed deputy commissioner in 2016 before leaving for QCS in 2017.
While seen as a major contender Dr Martin is currently implementing major reforms to QCS, including two jails changing from private to public management. He is also implementing recommendations from the Crime and Corruption Commission Taskforce Flaxton inquiry which considered corruption and corruption risks in jails.
Despite his good standing in police ranks, The Courier-Mail understands former deputy commissioner Brett Pointing has not applied for the job.
Annual reports show the police commissioner’s salary package was $614,000 in 2017-18.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s director-general Dave Stewart has temporarily returned from his six-month sabbatical to head the selection panel for the commissioner role.
His return comes just two months after he announced he was taking the break.
Other panel members include CCC boss Alan MacSporran, retired Supreme Court justice Alan Wilson and magistrate Jacqui Payne.
A spokesman for Ms Palaszczuk said senior bureaucrat Rachel Hunter — who has been acting while Mr Stewart is away — would keep acting in that position while Mr Stewart heads the panel.
“As he said in an email to public servants prior to taking leave, Dave Stewart remains in close contact and agreed to continue some tasks,” the spokesman said
“The Acting Director-General continues in the role until Dave Stewart’s return in August.”
Additional reporting: Cloe Read
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