NSW police commissioner: Nick Kaldas back in the running for the state’s top cop job
EXCLUSIVE: NICK Kaldas has thrown his hat in the ring to become NSW’s next police commissioner after his application was received hours before deadline.
NSW
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FORMER Deputy Police Commissioner Nick Kaldas has thrown his hat in the ring to become NSW’s next police commissioner after his application was received just hours before last night’s deadline for those vying for the force’s top job.
It puts him on a collision course with former colleague and current Deputy Commissioner Catherine Burn, who also wants the role which is soon to be vacated by Andrew Scipione.
Others believed to have also applied include Deputy David Hudson, Australian Border Force boss Roman Quaedvlieg and a number of assistant commissioners, including Mick Fuller, Jeff Loy and Frank Mennilli.
Kaldas and Burn were both named adversely in Operation Prospect by the NSW Ombudsman report into the illegal bugging of more than 100 police in 2000.
However, both have challenged the findings as being flawed and have legal advice to back their claims.
They believe the report has such little standing in the eyes of the government it would not impede them from running the country’s biggest police force.
Deputy Burn has publicly stated her intention to run, saying she believes she “has a duty of care’’ to apply for the job, while Kaldas has remained tight-lipped, having decided only at the last minute to put in his application.
Since retiring in March last year on medical grounds, Kaldas has headed a United Nations Investigations unit in Jordan. He was uncontactable last night.
A selection panel will now have to go through the applications before inviting a shortlist to be interviewed.
“They don’t have much time to assess all the applications, cull them down to a manageable number and then interview the more favoured ones,’’ a senior police officer said. “Scipione goes in less than five weeks.”
The tension between Kaldas and Burn has divided many in the force and the government.
Critics of Kaldas believe he cannot come back after retiring medically unfit. His reappointment would require a legislative change — which the Labor Party and crossbenches have said they would support.
The Egyptian-born 58-year-old has been a commander of the homicide, gang and armed holdup squads and is considered a world expert on counter-terrorism.
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