The Queensland Police Minister has denied the First Nations Advisory Body to the Queensland police were sacked earlier this year for raising concerns about racism in the force.

Last month it was revealed the Queensland Police Service (QPS) First Nations Advisory group (FNAG) were sacked via email on February 29, after new Queensland police commissioner Steve Gollschewski had been appointed.

Mr Gollschewski was accused in 2022 of displaying aggression during a meeting and telling an Elder "you people" don't run the organisation.

The FNAG had raised concerns about contracts they had been given six weeks before their sacking, with confidentiality clauses that "would prevent us from speaking publicly about the work of the [group]" — unless approved by the QPS.

The FNAG had also been outspoken over police union president Ian Leavers, who was accused of expressing "outwardly racist ideology" in an article he wrote for The Courier Mail last year, seemingly without any professional consequence.

In Parliament this week, Greens MP Michael Berkman asked police minister Mark Ryan if the FNAG were sacked because they raised concerns with the minister and commissioner over the terms of their contracts.

"Was the First Nations Advisory Group sacked because they publicly raised concerns about racism in the QPS, including about QPU President Ian Leavers and the new commissioner, Steve Gollschewski?" Mr Berkman asked.

In January, Qld Police's First Nations Advisory Group members were presented contracts prohibiting them from speaking publicly about their work without QPS approval.

Requests to meet with the Commissioner and Minister to discuss this were refused.

In February, they were sacked. pic.twitter.com/T0WuGQOqmA

— Michael Berkman (@mcberkman) June 11, 2024

In response, the Minister denied the claim.

"No," Mr Ryan said. "The Queensland Police Service has a very strong commitment to working with all First Nations partners right across the state."

"The latest advice I have is that there is a process underway to ensure a First Nations Advisory Group that not only is fit for purpose but also is able to work in strong partnership with the Queensland Police Service as it delivers policing services right across the state.

It mirrors statements given by Executive Director Alan Dewis, who in a statement last month said: "Re-setting the FNAG was an extremely difficult decision to make, however cultural safety, addressing racism and improving services for and with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People is too important.

"To achieve this, the QPS is committed to reframed relationships, which respect and recognise the need for diverse voices of Queensland's First Nations communities to build stronger and sustaining partnerships that can make a difference to peoples."

Last month the QPS argued the FNAG was not meeting its original purpose and intent, but refused to outline how this was the case.

It further mirrors issues outlined in the A Call for Change review of the QPS, when then police commissioner Katrina Carroll accepted a former First Nations advisory group was plagued by several inaccurate statements by members of the QPS, including that they were not "properly representative and that there had not been a proper selection process".

Despite this, in similar language, the QPS has responded by arguing the initial recruitment process the FNAG "lacked representation from the diverse experiences and voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples more broadly".

There has been no explanation on why this is apparently the case, or even how after a top-down review in 2022 - which found "attitudes of misogyny, sexism and racism are allowed to be expressed, and at times acted upon, largely unchecked" in the QPS - was the new FNAG selected whilst apparently lacking representation.

"I support the Queensland Police Service not only in its efforts around ensuring there is a First Nations Advisory Group but also in its commitment to ensuring all Queenslanders are supported and policed appropriately, in accordance with the law," Mr Ryan said in parliament this week.

In a document seen by National Indigenous Times, an internal review of the FNAG was not part of the terms of reference Commissioner Carroll signed last year, which stated only the FNAG themselves could review operations.

It is unclear if this "internal" review by the QPS included comments from the FNAG.

National Indigenous Times has repeatedly asked the QPS what part of the FNAG's original purpose was not being met and what aspect of their selection was not considered broad but has not had a response.