Ex-police union boss Ian Leavers bans successor Shane Prior from his funeral in final wish after pay dispute
Former Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers banned his successor Shane Prior from his funeral in explicit instructions left before his sudden death this week.
The former long-serving president of the Queensland Police Union, Ian Leavers, who died this week, left explicit instructions that his successor and the current union executive be banned from his funeral.
Mr Leavers, 57, who was appointed last year by the former Miles Labor government as Queensland’s first Cross Border Commissioner, was found dead in his Brisbane home on Monday.
Police publicly stated his sudden death was not being treated as suspicious.
Mr Leavers was president of the powerful police union for 15 years until his government appointment, but had fallen out with his successor, Shane Prior, and other officials in a pay dispute.
A legal letter in June from lawyers for Mr Leavers, which was reported by The Australian last month, detailed his claim for $502,000 from the union he quit in August, last year.
It claimed for “entitlements” not covered in his contract or under the award of the union’s 13,000 members, including for $180,000 in unused sick leave and a “termination” payment of $53,000, despite his resignation.
Mr Prior, a long-serving deputy to Mr Leavers who took over as the unelected president after his resignation, had refused the claim.
Mr Leavers had threatened to take the union to court over the dispute, which initially involved a claim for $800,000 in cash plus the union four wheel drive he once drove.
Friends of Mr Leavers, who spoke to The Australian, would not comment on his death but confirmed he had written instructions in March, this year, and which were attached to his will, about his funeral. It included a ban on any member of the union executive from August last year from attending the funeral, wake or any other related function.
The instructions exempted three former union officials and one current employee of the union from the ban.
On Friday, Mr Prior confirmed he was aware of the ban. “This is the most difficult of times for Ian’s family,” he said in a statement.
“The QPU respects their wishes and our thoughts remain with Ian’s family, friends and the entire police family.”
Earlier this week, Mr Prior had held back tears when he fronted the media to pay tribute to Mr Leavers and described him as a mentor.
“He had unmatched courage, conviction and heart … Ian wasn’t just a leader, he was a force of nature. Ian’s legacy is written in every safety reform, every protection won, and every officer who feels just a little more supported because of his work,’’ Mr Prior said on Monday.
One of Mr Leavers’ friends, who declined to be named, said the former union boss had told him in recent weeks that he was not going to go ahead with the payout claim. In October, Mr Leavers had declined to answer questions about the claim.
In the letter to the union in June, Mr Leavers’ lawyers pressed for the $502,000 payout while conceding there was no legal obligation on the union to pay out parts of his claim.
The letter detailed specific payouts of accrued sick leave – which is not required under industrial law – and termination payments to five former staff or officials who had retired or resigned in recent years.
According to the letter, one official received $560,000 on July 1 last year after being “paid out all leave balances”.
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