Examining at length some earlier histories of police unions in Australia, Professor Finnane suggests that far from representing a departure in police union political aspirations and influence, the Mundingburra MOU was something for which history had prepared the Queensland Police Union of Employees (QPUE). The specific agenda of the MOU, its making, and the circumstances of its being kept secret were the product of more local histories. But its rationale as a document and a strategy shares a lineage with the ambitions and privileges of Australian police unions. And its shaping makes sense when we grasp the changes in police and criminal justice administration in recent years.