The members of a body charged with advising the Queensland Police Service (QPS) on First Nations matters have said a "culture of racism" is behind their dismissal.
Formally established in November 2022, the First Nations Advisory Group (FNAG) were to work with QPS to improve "decision-making, systems, processes and policing practices" that affect the state's Indigenous population.
However their tenure was marked by conflict with QPS administration, frustrated attempts to meet with the Police Commissioner, and inaction on their recommendations.
In an open letter, the group, comprised of academics, leaders and respected community members, said they had been advised of their termination in February.
The letter also states that, six weeks prior to the termination, FNAG was presented with contracts that would have obliged them to seek approval from QPS to speak publicly about their work or the police service.
FNAG said this contravened the group's Terms of Reference (TOR), approved by then-Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll in March 2023, which include a requirement to "[facilitate] transparency via information sharing between QPS and First Nations communities."
"The actions of the QPS to have total disregard for the approved TOR, and the inability
to sit with the discomfort of accountability, are a direct manifestation of the culture of racism that the Commission of Inquiry exposed in 2022," the letter reads.
"These actions demonstrate how the [dominant] powers will move to silence and disempower those who hold them accountable, and are but one example of the systemic racism which needs to be addressed."
QPS review launched following open letter condemning police union president
It also follows the publication last November year of another open letter from FNAG, which condemned an opinion piece in the Courier Mail by QPU president Ian Leavers as "racialised".
Leavers' article called for the state to ditch its treaty process, which he declared would cause the justice system to favour Indigenous peoples.
In an open letter, co-signed by human rights and legal advocates, the group declared Leavers' comments "gravely irresponsible" and "blatantly racist."
In a statement released on Tuesday, the QPS confirmed the group's dismissal was the result of a review begun just weeks after the publication of FNAG's open letter.
"Following an internal assessment ... which was commenced in December 2023, it was identified that the group, in its previous iteration, was not meeting the purpose and original intent of the group," the statement reads.
Tenure marked by tensions, 'disrespect'
The group, assembled from esteemed community members representing Queensland's diverse First Nations communities, were first engaged in September 2021.
However multiple requests for meetings with QPS' executive leadership team to coordinate a public announcement of the group's formation were ignored.
In testimony given during the 2022 Commission of Inquiry into QPS' responses to domestic and family violence, Commissioner Carroll said the delay was in part caused by some QPS members' concerns that the group did not adequately represent the state.
The Commission's final report, released in November that year, dismissed those concerns as "inaccurate".
"There was an open selection process including a nominations process and candidate interviews," it stated.
"As the Police Commissioner accepted in her evidence, the Group is a representative and diverse group, from areas covering most of Queensland, and includes academics, leaders and respected community members."
Despite the finding, and the group's official engagement in November 2022, the assertion was seemingly reiterated by Tuesday's QPS statement.
"The QPS aims to recruit members with the view of reflecting the diverse groups that make up our First Nations community."
Fears new body will be gagged
The statement said QPS remains committed to the "original concept" for the FNAG, and that a recruitment process was underway to "modernise and reshape" the body.
However the former FNAG members expressed scepticism of any new body's potential for impartiality.
"We are concerned that the QPS will now actively seek to recruit a token advisory group who will be bound to an approved narrative handed to them.
"Until drastic action is taken to address the culture that exists within the QPS, we hold great concern that any action taken by QPS will be tokenistic, performative and for the purposes of optics to mislead our communities."
Despite pleas to state premier Stephen Miles to intervene in the group's dismissal, the government said it backed the decision.
"I know that the QPS is committed to working with First Nations peoples to improve police responses," said Police Minister Mark Ryan.
"Ensuring the intent and purpose of the Advisory Group is properly constituted is critical to this work. I support the QPS efforts in this regard."
