Attorney-General Vickie Chapman's proposed new "tougher penalties" to protect police and other emergency services workers are not fit for purpose, Police Association president Mark Carroll insists.
The attorney-general, responding to the association's recent campaign aimed at assaults on police officers, announced the new amendments today.
But Mr Carroll said the proposed changes were a far cry from what the association has been vigorously campaigning for.
"This new bill is weak, and nowhere near fit for purpose, " he said
"Maximum penalties rising by only a year will hardly change the way offenders are punished by the courts, nor will it act as a sufficient deterrent.
"It's also inferior to the legislation in NSW, QLD, Victoria and WA. Those states have acted appropriately to protect emergency services workers.
"If politicians and judges were getting coward punched, doused in petrol, driven at, stabbed, or spat on, the legislation would have been strengthened years ago.
"The government is aware of what we want – a specific, dedicated offence written into the law which deals with assaults on police and other emergency services workers.
"We will continue to work with the government and all parliamentarians to strengthen this weak bill."
