Retired police officers lambast minister for trauma support delay

Retired police officers have made a plea to Tasmania's police minister urging him to meet with them to implement a much-anticipated mental health support pilot program.The 12-month trial, which would have given six retired police officers access to 12 psychology sessions each, is yet to be implemented, despite Mr Felix having told parliament last year it would commence this year.The Retired Police Association of Tasmania (RPAT) said it has been unable to secure a meeting with Mr Ellis on the issue, despite the minister's self-imposed June deadline given to a parliamentary committee last month.The delay has seen Mr Ellis lambasted by the RPAT.In November, Felix Ellis told a parliamentary committee that a pilot program had been formed. (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)"Don't wrap yourself in the blue and then turn around and do nothing for us," RPAT president David Plumpton said."Don't stand in front of all the police gear with all the police members and say 'I'm with you' when, in actual fact, you don't carry through on your words."The RPAT said support was needed for retired officers, many of whom were struggling to deal with the lasting effects of trauma from the job."[Mr Ellis] says that he cares for us and so forth. He certainly doesn't show it in any way at all," RPAT volunteer wellbeing officer John Mikulski said.David Plumpton (left) and John Mikulski from RPAT said the association has been unable to secure a meeting with Mr Ellis on the issue. (ABC News: Andrew Cunningham)The Department of Health has since issued a statement to say it was developing a "first responders mental health support service pilot"."This pilot will be co-designed, including with retired officers, and invitations will be distributed in the coming weeks to commence the co-design sessions," the statement read.Independent MP Kristie Johnston has urged Mr Ellis to meet with RPAT to immediately implement the program, calling the minister's actions "despicable"."It's quite clear that Minister Ellis does not care about police officers, and particularly once they have retired," she said."Minister Ellis likes to pose for photos with serving police officers but forgets all about them the moment they retire."Mr Ellis has declined an on-camera interview, and has not responded to written questions about the matter.'Unique trauma' to police needs specialist approachRPAT provides some wellbeing services to its members, but they are volunteer-led."We have people who are almost falling off the edge, who need to see someone fairly quickly. We cannot get them before someone or a psychologist," Mr Mikulski said.He said that specialist psychologists were needed due to the unique trauma that former officers experienced."We're talking about lots of people who have done 30-plus years of service, who have gone to incidents that most of us wouldn't want to go to,"Mr Mikulski said."They struggle quite badly, and being police officers, they don't want to throw their hands up and say that they're struggling."Mr Plumpton said while Tasmania Police looked after serving officers well, it had a responsibility to assist former officers."Our whole mantra is very simple. That is, if they break you, they fix you," he said.Minister points to state budget in trial delayThe issue of support for retired officers was first raised in parliament in March 2025, when the lower house passed a motion from former Jacqui Lambie Network MP Andrew Jenner.The motion called on the state government to "immediately establish and fund ongoing mental health support services".Mr Ellis attempted to amend the motion to instead ask the government to consult on supports, but that change was not supported and the government did not oppose the final motion.In November, Mr Ellis told a parliamentary committee that a pilot program had been formed."The pilot support program is to be trialled for 12 months and a client services manager appointed to facilitate the pilot research and evaluation," he said.That trial has not begun.On June 4, Ms Johnston asked for an update on the trial. In response, Mr Ellis pointed to "tough" decisions "in the context of the state's budget"."We remain committed to seeing a wellbeing support pilot for retired police officers to proceed. We're currently working through the options available to deliver such a program in a sustainable way."Kristie Johnston called Mr Ellis' actions "despicable". (ABC News: Ebony ten Broeke)Asked why he had not yet met with retired officers, he replied, "I'm happy to meet within a month".That meeting has not occurred.