Matt Johnston: Politics of policing sure to bruise Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton
Considering the intensity of political debate on policing, it’s perhaps no surprise that top cop Graham Ashton won’t seek another term, writes Matt Johnston.
Opinion
Don't miss out on the headlines from Opinion. Followed categories will be added to My News.
EARLY this week, Victoria’s top cop, Graham Ashton, casually mentioned in an interview that he wouldn’t seek another five-year term once this one expires.
POLICE CHIEF COMMISSIONER GRAHAM ASHTON TO STAND DOWN AT END OF TERM
That he didn’t want to spend 10 years as chief commissioner wasn’t a shock. But what did take many politicians and police officers by surprise was that Ashton decided to flag his intentions only two years into his current contract.
According to Ashton’s people, there was nothing in it, because the laid-back chief is always open with people about his intentions when asked. It seems we’ve all just been asking the wrong questions.
Most people in police and politics weren’t swallowing that, especially the ones who know how hard politics can be played inside the police force. Police Minister Lisa Neville downplayed it on Thursday and assured us the chief would put in “100 per cent” for the remaining three years of his “binding contract”.
The politics surrounding law and order have become incredibly intense this year. The Coalition Opposition, led by Matthew Guy, has been rabid in its pursuit of what it calls the government’s “soft” approach. In response, the government has tried to take some of the air out of the Coalition’s sails with a stack of new laws.
At the same time footage from disturbing crimes, including carjackings, youth detention riots and terror plots, have consistently hit the media.
Through it all Ashton has kept his composure, despite some Labor MPs wishing he presented as a more bullish leader. During recent public accounts and estimates committee hearings, Coalition MPs brazenly quizzed him over the police response to a terror threat on a Malaysia Airlines flight.
That came after Guy had called for a review into the time it took for people to be (safely) evacuated.
Labor MPs were apoplectic. Neville told PAEC it was “appalling”, while Labor backbencher Steve Dimopoulos said to Ashton he was “sorry you have had to put up with that unedifying display”. Coalition MPs didn’t back off, with Tim Smith saying it was “unbelievable” that the Chief Commissioner didn’t have a chronology of the incident with him at the hearing. Ashton offered the Coalition a briefing before saying he was not expecting timeline questions on operational matters because “I thought we were dealing with PAEC matters”.
The Coalition has largely stayed clear of criticising the Chief Commissioner, who was promoted to deputy commissioner in 2012 under the former Baillieu government, as it talks of a “crime tsunami” overwhelming Victoria.
That is despite some party members not being a fan of Ashton, or his chief-of-staff, Brett Curran — the former top adviser to Daniel Andrews when Labor was in opposition. While one Labor minister said the Curran issue was overcooked, because Ashton just wanted someone with political nous and “you wouldn’t get a vegetarian to tell you how to kill a cow”, Curran hasn’t attended any Coalition briefings.
Some Coalition sources point to the last time they went the man — Simon Overland — and shudder.
But even those close to that saga admit it’s “almost irresistible” to go “harder and harder” on crime.
“Our guys are under more and more pressure to get closer to the bone,” one said. But it will be a test of Guy’s leadership that he ensures some of his MPs don’t pivot and take aim at the top brass.
Some have wondered whether Ashton’s revelation was a bid to remove himself from political squabbling ahead of next year’s election. He told The Australian that in such a demanding role, after five years “you really need to make sure that a fresh person comes in and puts that stamp on things”.
The Police Association, which backs Ashton, notes it is “one of the most challenging times to be the Chief Commissioner”.
It was noticed that on hearing Ashton was leaving, Opposition police spokesman Edward O’Donohue stuck the boot into Andrews, rather than Ashton.
That shouldn’t change.
The Coalition’s Trump-like law-and-order rhetoric is all about getting simple messages about crime and chaos repeated often enough for people to accept it as fact — it’s not about Ashton.
To date, whether you like the idea of it or not, they have been fairly disciplined. Whether or not the strategy works long-term will be up to voters next November.
If it does, Ashton won’t be due to step down until July 1, 2020 — unless he puts his hand up for an early transition to that “fresh person” he mentioned this week.
Matt Johnston is state politics editor
Human cost of pandemic goes much further than virus
Whether you are pro or anti-lockdown the grim, unintended consequences of the fixation on coronavirus are undeniable, as other diseases — including cancer and heart disease — go unchecked, and despair from joblessness, poverty and financial stress rises, writes Rita Panahi.
Premier must outline his plan so Melbourne can recover
As the community overwhelmingly complies with the Premier’s stage four restrictions, he must clearly outline his virus strategy so we can make plans to rebuild confidence and employment in our city, which right now is a ghost town, writes Jeff Kennett.