“The mayor of Ipswich at that time, who was allegedly corrupt, was lobbying the Premier direct over the Ipswich comms centre. “I fought very hard against that but it was clear to me that the Premier wanted the noise to go away, against all the advice of the QPS.” A spokesman for Ms Palaszczuk defended the decision, saying it was an example of her government "listening and consulting". "The government received representations from a number of stakeholders, including local MPs and the Queensland Police Union," he said. "The upgraded state-of-the-art Ipswich Communication Centre became operational on 1 August 2017, thanks to the Palaszczuk government providing a record budget for the QPS."

Ultimately, the spokesman said, "decisions such as the one in relation to the Ipswich Communications Centre will always be made by operational police, including the Police Commissioner". Commissioner Ian Stewart had recommended the Palaszczuk government close the Yamanto facility. Credit:Darren England/AAP The Ipswich Communications Centre at Yamanto manages triple-zero calls and police dispatch for the Ipswich area and employs about 25 police and unsworn civilians. In 2015, it was one of the few remaining regional communications centres, with analogue radio equipment that was easily eavesdropped. Since 2009, most of the other small centres have been consolidated into larger city-based facilities with more modern equipment, including, in 2015, centres at Mt Isa and Innisfail. According to a briefing note dated November 23, 2015, authored by Community Contact Command Assistant Commissioner Paul Stewart and signed off and marked as “supported” by Commissioner Ian Stewart, the option to install a new digital radio network at Ipswich, but otherwise leaving the facility untouched, was the worst of four possible options for the centre.

“This is is not considered a viable option and maintains current operational risks,” the briefing note warns. But it was that option the Labor government announced it would proceed with four days later. By contrast, closing the centre and integrating its operations into the Brisbane communications centre had the advantages of “low or neutral cost” that would capitalise on recent investment in Brisbane and for the G20 summit and “creates a sustainable precedent or model for further at-risk communication centres”. The QPS noted that closure also carried “risks and disadvantages” including opposition by unions and “Ipswich (City) Council and media critical of decision to reduce local employment opportunities through some positions relocating out of the district”. Two other options, to create a specialist role for the centre or to keep it but integrate it fully into the state network, would necessitate spending up to $1 million, funding that was “not readily available and would likely require the re-direction of funds from other QPS commitments or planned activity”.

The same advice and warnings had been included in a similar note written by Assistant Commissioner Stewart dated August 6, also supported by the Commissioner, who six weeks earlier had already signed off on a plan to integrate the functions of the Ipswich centre into the Brisbane communications operation. In her speech to Parliament in August, Mrs Miller claimed Ms Palaszczuk had ordered her to use ministerial powers to overrule the Commissioner and keep the centre open. Former police minister Jo-Ann Miller addresses Parliament. Credit:AAP Mrs Miller alleged that her refusal to do so had led to her being sacked as police minister on December 3, 2015. “I told the Premier that the then-mayor was allegedly corrupt and I believed had access to information confidential to the Ipswich police comms centre,” Mrs Miller told MPs on August 22.

“My concerns were ignored and all I got was ‘just fix it,’ which was code for directing the Police Commissioner under the Police Service Administration Act. “I refused to do it. The Premier stood by an allegedly corrupt former mayor and got rid of an honest police minister.” The Premier responded in Parliament the following day, saying Mrs Miller had raised allegations about Mr Pisasale with her while Ms Palaszczuk was Opposition Leader and that she had said at the time she would be taking them to the Crime and Corruption Commission. Ms Palaszczuk did not address the deliberations over the Yamanto centre. Separately, documents tabled earlier under Parliamentary privilege by independent MP Rob Pyne alleged Mr Pisasale had received inside information about police raids and arrests from a worker at the Ipswich Communications Centre, which the then-mayor used to ingratiate himself with the media and others.

The worker, Cate Carter, later tabled a response in the Parliament denying the allegations. Mr Pisasale resigned as mayor in June amid a CCC investigation into $50,000 in cash the then-mayor was found carrying at Melbourne Airport the previous month. Paul Pisasale is due to reappear in court next week. Credit:Darren England/AAP He has since been charged with a range of offences including official corruption, misconduct in public office, perjury, possession of a restricted drug, fraud, extortion and attempting to pervert the course of justice. Mr Pisasale is due to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on November 7.

The briefing notes acknowledge the opposition of the Queensland Police Union and Together Union to the closure plan, which was first announced to staff in April 2013. QPU president Ian Leavers was later reported as having welcomed the sacking of Mrs Miller as police minister. Mrs Miller, the member for the Ipswich electorate of Bundamba since 2000, said both unions “knew that no public servant was going to lose their jobs” as a result of the communications centre’s closure. She said plans had been in place for their redeployment in Brisbane, at other police facilities in Ipswich or at the Ipswich Corrections Centre. “The people of Ipswich were always suspicious of the motives of the Ipswich mayor and the police union,” she said. Ms Palaszczuk's spokesman said the Yamanto facility would contribute to enhanced communications capability during next year's Commonwealth Games.