The Police Association is due to meet with Government officials next week to progress a long-standing objective to correct an anomaly that sees our PSO members currently receive inferior superannuation benefits than is afforded to other members.

The Association has lobbied successive State Governments to amend legislation that would deem PSOs as operational, and therefore, eligible for the same superannuation entitlements as other emergency services workers.

As a result of renewed lobbing and campaigning by the Association on this issue since 2003, we received a commitment from the State Government to establish a committee comprising of representatives from the Departments of Treasury & Finance and Premier & Cabinet to further consider the Association’s parity argument on behalf of PSO members.

This committee will meet for the first time next week where the Association will present to it a detailed submission.

This presentation will be followed by a series of workplace visits which committee members will undertake at a later date so they can see, first hand, the kind of work that our PSO members undertake on a day-to-day basis.

The Association will continue to work towards a successful resolution towards such a worthy and long-standing objective as superannuation parity for our PSO members.

PAUL MULLETT