NSW: Schuberg appointment would not undermine Ryan - Costa

AAP General News (Australia)
12-07-2001
NSW: Schuberg appointment would not undermine Ryan - Costa

SYDNEY, Dec 7 AAP - The appointment of his most outspoken critic to a new advisory
board did not signal the beginning of the end for NSW Police Commissioner Peter Ryan,
according to Police Minister Michael Costa.

Geoff Schuberg, a former assistant police commissioner dubbed "Mr Clean" for his crime-fighting
work, was dumped from the police service during a highly controversial police purge conducted
in the late 1990s.

The purge followed Commissioner Ryan's appointment.

Mr Schuberg has now been appointed to the new police advisory board, and used a media
conference announcing his appointment yesterday to launch a scathing attack on the police
service.

But Mr Costa today denied the appointment would undermine Commissioner Ryan in any way.

"Peter Ryan is the police commissioner and will remain the police commissioner," Mr
Costa told ABC radio this morning.

"I've said from the moment I took up this ministry that I would listen to critics,
in fact that's always been my approach to this.

"Geoff Schuberg's got a number of criticisms, I don't know whether they're valid or
not, but I'm happy for him to have those criticisms aired, examined and if they prove
to be accurate, dealt with."

Mr Costa denied the police commissioner looked less than enthusiastic at a press conference
yesterday when asked about the issue because he was not happy about the appointment.

"I think he was probably as annoyed as I was at some of the silly questions we were
being asked, rather than him having any problem with Geoff Schuberg," he said.

"Certainly he said to me he believes he can work with Geoff."

Mr Costa said he did not know how many times Mr Schuberg had called for the commissioner's
resignation, or indeed if he had done it at all.

"I don't know, you'll have to ask him and even if he did it wouldn't worry me," he said.

Mr Costa said his relationship with the commissioner would not be "poisoned" by the
appointment of Mr Schuberg as his right hand.

"I have a very good relationship with the commissioner," he said.

"Mr Schuberg was not just a critic of the commissioner, he was a critic of the government.

What I've done is put critics of the government ... on a council to discuss their criticism.

"I don't think I should be criticised for that."

AAP kp/nf/ns/de

KEYWORD: POLICE COSTA

2001 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.