Ian Leavers, General President and CEO of the Queensland Police Union of Employees, has been awarded the first inaugural Con Sciacca Memorial Award.
This Award recognises and honours the memory of Con Sciacca AO by honouring a member of an Australian union who has shown a willingness and dedication to advancing the rights of Australian workers.
Con Sciacca was a Federal Minister of the Crown and a solicitor of the Supreme and High Courts of Australia. He was also a Labor politician and an advocate for Australian unions and their members. He died in 2017 at the age of 70, following a long fight with cancer.
Mr Leavers enjoyed a long and dedicated career as a police officer. Since 2009 he has been the voice of the QPUE, representing over 11,000 police officers across the State. He has consistently stood up for both the safety of police officers and the public.
The award comes with a $3000 prize. Mr Leavers, however, has declined to personally accept the money and instead chosen to donate $1000 each to three police families. The first is the Poustie family who tragically lost husband and father Brendan in 2017.
To find out more about the Con Sciacca Memorial Award visit https://www.sciaccas.com.au/con-sciacca-award.