Victoria police have suspended any joint operations with the Australian border force, in the wake of the Operation Fortitude controversy in Melbourne last month.
Graham Ashton, chief commissioner of the Victoria police, said he was alarmed by the botched operation, which was cancelled just hours after the border force sent a press release announcing it would be conducting random visa checks on the streets of Melbourne.
Ashton said the police would not work with the border force until it is certain there will be no repeat of the episode which sparked angry protests in support of civil liberties outside Flinders Street station.
“I’ve said look we won’t be doing any more operations together until we sort of understand what they might look like and what the differences are now between border force and what [the] immigration [department] might do,” Ashton told the ABC.
“Until we do that we won’t be doing anything further together. It’s not an issue of trust but I’ve got to make sure that we’re not doing something that’s going to cause undue community alarm through the community not understanding what’s happening.”
Roman Quaedvlieg, commissioner of the ABF, blamed the Operation Fortitude gaffe on a “clumsily worded” press release by a low-level official, even though it quoted border force’s Victoria and Tasmanian chief.
Quaedvlieg, who met with Ashton on Thursday, tweeted there has been no suspension of co-operation with Victoria police, merely that the agreement was being reviewed.
An ABF statement said: “Commissioner Quaedvlieg proposed that as a result of the recent name change of the ABF, and the findings of the internal review of the department’s poor media management and coordination processes in the lead up to Operation Fortitude, it was timely to review the existing memorandum of understanding with Victoria Police.
“Reviewing MoUs between partners is routine, and takes into account changes in our strategic environment.”
The Victorian government previously said Operation Fortitude was “unfortunate” but refused to wade into the relationship between the police and border force. A spokeswoman for Wade Noonan, the police minister, told Guardian Australia operational decisions are “a matter for the police commissioner”.
Meanwhile, ABF staff will escalate strike action that has affected Cairns, Perth and Darwin airports this week. From Monday, further strike action will see staff refuse to work at Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane airports, although work involving national security and anti-terrorism will be exempt.
A pay offer of 3.4% over three years has angered some workers at the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, with the Community and Public Sector Union warning the strikes will cause disruption for people travelling internationally at airports.
Nadine Flood, national secretary of the CPSU, said: “Immigration and Border Force workers are facing the loss of up to $8,000 a year from their take home pay under the federal government’s draconian bargaining policy – that’s why they are taking these ongoing, rolling strikes.
“These hard working men and women undertake important, difficult and sometimes dangerous jobs on behalf of our community. They deserve better from the federal government than this attack on their rights, conditions and take home pay.”
