The Tasmanian Greens are calling for a parliamentary inquiry into how senior police and government officials handled allegations against paedophile police officer Paul Reynolds.
Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff said new information from the Badge of Betrayal podcast had raised fresh questions about the case.
Right to Information documents recently aired on the podcast revealed former commissioner Darren Hine attended the police academy with Reynolds in 1980 and the pair began their careers together at Burnie station.
“Their friendship seems to have continued throughout their careers,” Woodruff said.
The Weiss Review found Reynolds groomed up to 52 boys over his three-decade police career, using his involvement in community sport to access victims.
Reynolds took his own life in September 2018 after officers executed a search warrant at his home.
He was later given a full police funeral with an honour guard.
Current commissioner Donna Adams has since apologised for the funeral, saying it “was wrong”.
Woodruff said Hine was involved in responding to concerns about Reynolds in both 2008 and 2018 but had never faced scrutiny over those decisions.
“The Greens do not make any allegations of wrongdoing by former commissioner Hine,” she said.
“We do not allege he had any knowledge of offending by Reynolds at the time it occurred.”
“However, given this long-standing relationship and Mr Hine’s involvement in Tasmania Police’s poor responses to circumstances involving allegations made about Reynolds in 2008 and 2018, there are clearly outstanding questions.”
Hine retired one month before the coronial inquest into Reynolds’ death publicly revealed the extent of his abuse history.
The Greens also criticised the Weiss Review’s narrow terms of reference, which excluded examination of the funeral decision and police responses to earlier complaints.
Woodruff said the state government had refused to engage with the issue.
“As such, we feel we have no other option but to seek an alternative avenue,” she said.
“In the coming weeks we will be engaging with MPs to discuss our rationale for this proposal, to seek their support and – if there is agreement – to define the scope of work.”
The committee would be able to hold both public and confidential hearings, take sworn testimony and compel the production of documents.
