New Police Minister Paul Toole reveals family drug hell

The issue of drugs hits close to home for new Police Minister Paul Toole who has revealed his brothers were involved in a major drug syndicate.

The issue of drugs is one of the biggest confronting new Police Minister Paul Toole. It is also one that hits close to home.

Mr Toole’s brothers Joshua and Kurt were in 2012 sentenced to a minimum of nine years and seven years respectively for their role in a major drug syndicate that supplied cannabis and methamphetamine around the Newcastle area.

In his first wide-ranging interview since taking up the high-profile portfolio, Mr Toole told The Daily Telegraph his family’s own experiences would in no way see him soften the government’s approach to drugs – and outlined the key areas of law and order he wants to focus on.

New Police Minister Paul Toole has outlined the key areas he wants to focus on. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“People make mistakes and sadly, I’m not going to be the last family that has to deal with the outcomes of people making mistakes,” the father-of-three said.

“There’s no place for that, no one is above the law … (but) look they are my brothers at the end of the day and look, they’ve done their time and most importantly you hope that they learn from this.”

Mr Toole inherits the police portfolio from Liberal Minister David Elliott who was popular among members of the NSW Police for his no-nonsense attitude towards criminals and unwavering support for its officers.

The early weeks of Mr Toole’s time in the role has seen him spend many days on the road as The Nationals leader supporting his candidates for the upcoming by-elections.

But travelling around the state has provided him opportunities to drop into local police stations and meet many officers, finding out what they believe are the big issues and what they need to help them do their job.

These are the areas he wants to focus on.

SYDNEY’S GANG WAR

With eight shooting deaths linked to the underworld in the past 18 months, Mr Toole knows tensions are high on the streets of southwest Sydney.

One of the most difficult problems for modern police is tracking the use of dedicated encrypted devices on which criminals communicate, often messaging knowing police can’t traced them. It’s something Mr Toole wants to look at.

“Organised crime is a serious threat to our communities, it’s a serious threat to people’s safety and I want to make sure that any of these criminal networks – if they’re running illicit businesses, I want to make sure that our police force is changing so they can deal with these criminals,” he said.

“If anyone thinks that by being part of organised crime you’re going to be smarter than police, you’re going to find out you’re very wrong.

“If the police ask me to bring on legislation that’s going to support them in their role, that will be my job to do, because I’ll back them in every day to ensure they can deal with crime in a timely manner.”

DRUGS STANCE

The government is expected to hand down its recommendations from the ice inquiry in the coming months and while he remained tight-lipped on what they plan to do, Mr Toole admitted there was no plans in place for a Perrottet government to “soften” its stance.

“We want to drive down drug use,” the father-of-three said.

“We can’t keep doing the same thing and expect different results, but put it this way, I’m certainly not in a position in any way where I’ll be softening the government’s position on drugs.

“It’s not about decriminalisation, but I’m certainly open to other measures where we can help users get clean, because there’s no such thing as a safe way to take drugs.”

BAIL DECISIONS

A number of controversial bail decisions led the government to announce a review into bail laws in NSW.

Mr Toole said that it was concerning to him that even when police oppose bail for serious offenders, courts often disregard their submissions.

“As a Police Minister and also a general punter, I think the community quite rightly has some questions about why some people continue to get bail despite their criminal histories,” he said.

“When police oppose bail, it’s generally for a good reason. That’s why the current review into bail laws is absolutely critical.”

COVID

While he spent most of his time the state was battling Covid in the transport portfolio, Mr Toole appreciates just how hard the past two years have been for the state’s cops.

“Obviously I come in at a time where Covid is quite prevalent, so police have helped us as front line workers through this pandemic and guided us through some of the darkest days this state has ever seen,” he said.

“They’ve been on the front line everyday during the last two years but they still turn up, no matter what the Covid threat or situation may be.”

POLICING IN THE BUSH

Born and bred in Bathurst, in addition to his Police Minister role Mr Toole also holds the regional portfolio, and said policing is a key part of his plan to build “a safer and stronger regional NSW”.

“Every country community knows their local cops, they’re part of the community,” he said.

“I’ve actually had a lot of mates who grew up to be police officers – they’re parents at the local school, they are part of sporting groups and organisations.”

NSW Police Commissioner-elect Karen Webb. Picture: Darren Leigh Roberts

COMMISSIONER KAREN WEBB

Mr Toole’s announcement as the new Police Minister came just weeks after the force named a new top cop.

He revealed he speaks to NSW Police Commissioner-elect Karen Webb “almost daily” and believes she will be a “strong leader”, while outlining the vision they both have on many of the controversial modern topics.

“Can I just say that I’m really impressed with the Commissioner, I think that she’s someone who is going to be a strong leader, she’s got a strong vision, she’s someone that comes from the bush like myself, so a lot of our visions are aligned,” Mr Toole said.

“We would speak almost daily to one another … I think we’re in strong hands with the Commissioner.”

TECHNOLOGY

“Cyber and technology is going to be a priority, because there is no doubt that Cyber crime is becoming more complex,” he said.

“It’s a bigger problem, an invisible crime, and having a cyber crime squad is important.