Queensland's Acting Police Commissioner, Steve Gollschewski, has been permanently appointed to the role. He's been a police officer for more than 40 years and has outlined his vision for the force, which has been plagued by problems in recent years. Reporter Ciara Jones has more from Brisbane.
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00:00 Steve Gorszewski has just been appointed Queensland's new police commissioner.
00:06 The Premier Stephen Miles made the announcement a short time ago.
00:10 He's been acting in the role since Katerina Carroll resigned earlier in March amid criticism
00:17 over rising youth crime and also reports of unrest in the ranks.
00:22 A recruitment process began shortly after and state cabinet met this morning to approve
00:28 Mr Gorszewski's appointment.
00:30 He was selected by a panel made up of several people, including the chair of the Crime and
00:35 Corruption Commission, as well as the Tasmanian Police Commissioner.
00:39 Mr Gorszewski is a Queensland police officer veteran.
00:43 He joined the force in 1980, so he's served 44 years and worked his way through the ranks.
00:49 He's a long-term deputy commissioner and a former state disaster coordinator.
00:54 So he led the state's response to several cyclones and bushfires, as well as the COVID
01:00 pandemic.
01:01 That's where perhaps he's best known for.
01:03 He took part in daily press conferences during the pandemic, overseeing the border closures
01:08 and also the vaccine rollout.
01:10 Most recently, he's been responsible for overseeing the implementation of major domestic violence
01:17 policing reforms.
01:19 This work is something he's admitted was his biggest challenge yet.
01:23 As I flagged earlier, Mr Gorszewski says addressing rising domestic violence in Queensland remains
01:29 a priority.
01:30 Here's a little bit about what he had to say about that.
01:32 I dwell on the domestic and family violence reforms.
01:34 That is something that is absolutely critical and I remain, will remain as a priority for
01:40 myself as the commissioner and for our organisation.
01:43 While much has been done, and I look forward to being able to share the work that's happening
01:47 in the reform space, much more needs to be done.
01:51 For the victims of domestic and family violence, to make sure that the perpetrators are held
01:57 to account and can change what they do, but also for our police who are dealing with over
02:02 140,000 calls for service every year.
02:06 Mr Gorszewski's appointment comes at a testing time for the organisation, which is still
02:11 emerging from a 2022 inquiry that found cultural problems such as sexism and racism were rife
02:18 in the force.
02:19 He'll also have to address police recruitment issues and low morale within the force, but
02:25 he says he's up for the challenge.
02:28 Thank you.
02:28 Thank you.
02:30 [BLANK_AUDIO]