Yasmin Catley: New South Wales Police Minister says no apologies for taking police from out of state

New South Wales is celebrating its new programme - poaching cops from other states - and abroad. 

21 experienced, poached, officers are graduating in the Australian state today - seven of them from New Zealand. 

The New South Wales Police Minister, Yasmin Catley, is attributing it to a historic pay rise last year - making them the best paid officers in Australia. 

Catley told Heather du Plessis-Allan she makes no apologies for taking police from elsewhere.  

She says the graduates are looking forward to the endless opportunities in New South Wales. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Heather Duplessy Allen, This next story might wind you up
a little bit. The New South Wales Police Force is
celebrating today because twenty one experienced cops they've poached to
graduating and seven of those officers were stolen from New Zealand.
The New South Wales Police Minister is Yasmin Katle Yasmin.
Good to talk to you again.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Oh, good afternoon, Heather, and good afternoon to your listeners.

Speaker 1 (00:18):
Now, yesman, I know you want to wind us up,
but I'm going to say to you that this was
a flop because you only got seven.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Ah yes, but there'll be more to come. We've had
more than one hundred applications for our professional Mobility program
and those over the ditch are very very keen to
come over here and be part of the best police
force in the country and indeed probably in the world,
the New South Wales Police Force.

Speaker 1 (00:40):
But how many of those one hundred are you actually
going to end up taking.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
Well, look, we had a third of today's a station
came from New Zealand and I met all of them
this morning. They're very excited to be here, be part
of what is the third largest police force in the world.
So you know, their opportunities are just endless, and they're
very happy to attest and be part of that. They
enjoyed their training and they're looking forward to going out
to where they've been placed. Right around New South Wales.

Speaker 1 (01:07):
I see you're poaching, as you say, obviously from us,
but also from other states. Looks to me like a
few of the other states are getting annoyed at you guys,
are they?

Speaker 2 (01:14):
Oh? Yeah, look, we're shameless. We make no apology for
poaching or any police from anywhere. I mean, you know,
if you want to be part of the best police
force and you come to New South Wales, the opportunities
there are limitless. You know, we've got that state of
origin over here, as you well know, heather between Queensland
and New South Wales, and looks like we're creating with
a few other borders now and indeed also across the ditch.

Speaker 1 (01:36):
I'll tell you what, though, what I find fascinating is
that regardless of all of these efforts by yourselves, you're
still facing shortages which we are facing, which apparently everybody's facing.
What's going on that we are losing cops from our
respective police forces.

Speaker 2 (01:51):
Yeah, look, I don't think it's just police though. To
be fair, we've got nearly record employment here in Australia,
so we're competing against every other industry, just as you
would be, and as is happening globally. So we're just
having to make you know, incentivize people coming into the
New South Wales Police Force and making it very attractive

(02:11):
for them. We did give them a historic pay rise
in New South Wales last year, which now they're the
best paid police in this country, which was very significant
because their wages were going backward under the previous government
and you know, so by giving them the pay rise
was critically important for it as a retention piece, and
we're seeing that we're seeing some green shoots from that

(02:33):
already they're not leaving as much as they were. But
this mobility program, in all seriousness, it really is important.
The skills that some of the people there today are
bringing with them. You know, you have to be in
the force for you know, ten fifteen years and they're
coming over able to enter the New South Wales Police
Force at that level. Now that didn't happen eighteen months ago.

(02:55):
Well actually even blessed that twelve months ago you actually
had to start as a probationary constable again. So these
are the sorts of innovative ideas that we've introduced to
encourage those from anywhere to come to New South Wales.
But we've also done some structural change internally as well,
so they are promoted earlier now and those sorts of

(03:16):
things like you have to have a really attractive offer
and then you have to make sure that you retain
them and you have to look after them. We've also
set up a health and wellbeing unit to look after
their welfare.

Speaker 1 (03:27):
Brilliant stuff. Yes, we men, thanks so much for talking
to us. I'm sure we'll be talking to you again.
I'm sure you'll be frothing for that opportunity. Yasman Catley,
new South Wales Police Minister. For more from Heather Duplessy
Allen Drive, listen live to news talks the'd be from
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