Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today, I seek to remind the House that National Police Remembrance Day is coming up on 29 September. Police remembrance is observed annually on St Michael's Day—St Michael being the patron saint of law enforcement. It is one of the most significant days in the national police calendar. It is a day that we join with our police throughout the country in remembering and honouring those whose lives were tragically cut short in the line of duty. This year, sadly, we remember Senior Constable David James Rixon, who was tragically shot and killed in Tamworth on 2 March this year while conducting a routine traffic stop. Senior Constable Rixon was the only officer killed on duty this year, but his death is one too many. Today, I am wearing a blue and white tie that was struck in honour of Senior Constable Rixon by the Oxley Highway Patrol and the Tamworth Local Area Command. Senior Constable Rixon joined the New South Wales Police at aged 19. During his course of service, he was awarded the Police Medal, the National Medal and the first and second clasps. Only days after his tragic death, Commissioner Scipione presented his wife, Fiona Rixon, with three posthumous awards: the Commissioner's Valour Award for conspicuous merit and exceptional bravery while under fire, the Commissioner's Sesquicentenary Citation and the National Police Service Medal.

The bravery of our police men and women and their dedication to serving and protecting our community should never be taken for granted. We are forever in their debt. We also remember the loved ones left behind, those whose lives have been affected forever with the passing of a partner, a father, mother, brother or sister. We owe it to the fallen to look after their families and, in that respect, I pay particular regard to the efforts and commitment of Police Legacy.

Senior Constable Rixon left behind a loving wife, Fiona, and six children, Ranae, Jemma, Scott, Matthew, Hayley and Patrick, and his mother, on that tragic day, lost her only son. We cannot forget these families. Last weekend, I participated in the Wall to Wall Motorcycle Ride in honour of fallen officers. The ride also raises funds for the important work of Police Legacy. The theme of the ride was 'Remembering our mates'. This year, over 1,200 police officers, their friends and supporters from all over Australia, took part in the ride, which culminated in an assembly in King's Park at the National Police Memorial in Canberra. This year, apart from Senior Constable Rixon, three other names were added to the police memorial in honour of officers killed but who were previously omitted. As my father was a New South Wales police officer, and having grown up in a police family—like the Member for Cook—I have always greatly valued the difficult and all-too-often dangerous work that police can be called upon to undertake. Their selfless commitment to protecting the community was again clearly on display during the inexplicable violence of last weekend.

The Wall to Wall ride left the Domain in Sydney at 8.30 in the morning on a very pleasant Saturday morning; who could have predicted the violence that erupted later that day and in which a number of police officers were seriously injured? This demonstrates the unpredictability of police work but also emphasises that police must always be prepared to do what is necessary to protect our community, and that often includes putting themselves in harm's way. By its very nature, policing comes with a degree of risk that most of us, thankfully, will never have to face. We, as a community and as a nation, must stand behind our police. We must support the brave men and women who risk their lives on a daily basis in order to protect and serve our community. On behalf of a grateful community and nation, I would like to express my deep appreciation for the commitment and the dedication of those men and women who have the courage to wear the police uniform.

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