Station lease referred to watchdog, as top cop insists police be ‘squeaky clean’

“I really believe that the QPS have to be squeaky clean and everything has to be done properly,” the police commissioner told 4BC.

“If we get a reasonable suspicion of misconduct or corrupt activity, we’re obligated to report it to the CCC, and I’ve done that, so we’ve got to that threshold, and I’ve reported it, and I’m waiting for the CCC to tell us what they want to do.”

When pressed about the significance of referral to the CCC, Gollschewski said it was “not just about corruption”.

“It’s about misconduct, as I said, not following procedure, bypassing governance, that kind of thing that I’m concerned about.

“We have a very low threshold for reporting, so we’ll be as transparent as we can be about this and make sure the oversight body does get to see it.”

Gollschewski said he would wait to see the evidence and conduct a thorough investigation before pointing fingers at anyone.

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“Police officers get complaints made every day for things that are classified as misconduct, and sometimes it’s just an error that they haven’t met their obligations,” he said.

But he conceded this was bigger than an error, because of the size of the contract.

When asked about legal threats from the building’s owner, he said he was seeking independent legal advice, and obligations were being met by police. He acknowledged that breaking the lease would incur costs.

The police commissioner said there was growing demand for the police on the southside, where stations were ageing. “We do need better facilities there.”

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