Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Leave granted.

Madam Speaker, it is appropriate that I should make a statement to the House regarding the incident at Endeavour Hills police station yesterday. At approximately 7.45 pm last night, one Australian Federal Police officer and one Victorian police officer were subject to an unprovoked attack from an 18-year-old man armed with a knife. The two officers were wounded in the attack; one received multiple wounds and was seriously injured. During the conflict, one officer fired upon the attacker and killed him.

The attacker was a known terrorist suspect, who was a person of interest to our law enforcement and intelligence agencies. He had presented to the Endeavour Hills police station voluntarily. Other officers from the Joint Counter Terrorism Team discussed concerns regarding some of his recent actions. While the matter will be subject to a formal investigation, it appears that the officer who fired upon the suspect saved his own life and also the life of his colleague.

The officers involved are at the front line of protecting the community from the very real threat from people who wish to engage in terrorist activities here in Australia. They regularly put personal safety at risk in order to keep us safe. It is at times such as these that we realise the risk and the personal sacrifice that they and their families endure. The seriously injured Australian Federal Police officer is 43 years of age and has a wife and two children. He is a member of the Joint Counter Terrorism Team in Melbourne and has been with the AFP since June 2012. He is in a serious but stable condition. I understand that the Victorian police officer is a Senior Constable and he is undergoing surgery today, but is in a stable condition. Earlier today the Prime Minister, Mr Abbott, spoke to the wives of both injured officers, and the thoughts of the Australian Parliament go out to these officers and their families. We wish them a full and speedy recovery and commend them on the bravery of their actions.

Violence against police in any form will never be tolerated. However, it is vital that the community remains calm and allows our law enforcement and security agencies to conduct this investigation thoroughly. Authorities are also engaging with the local affected communities on the ground. Continued community engagement is critically important at this time. Officials across the country will ensure that the lines of communication and dialogue remain open with our communities so that we can work together to counter the threat from a small number of criminals.

We are an inclusive and tolerant society. The actions of violent criminals do not represent the views or the attitudes of the overwhelming majority of Australians regardless of their faith or ethnicity. I urge the Australian public to remember that violence against anyone based on the religion or their beliefs or race is never acceptable. To turn on each other on the basis of religion or race would just give in to the terrorism groups and what they want. As is normal after events like this, Commonwealth, state and territory counter-terrorism officials will be reviewing the incident to ensure our public security arrangements remain appropriate across the country. I can assure all Australians the law enforcement and security agencies and governments, in partnership with all our communities, will take every action we can to keep them safe.

I reiterate that Australians should remain calm and carry on with the normal lives, confident that our law enforcement and security agencies will do everything humanly they can to keep all members of the Australian community safe so that all Australians can enjoy the freedom and the lifestyle we prize as our birthright.

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