Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

My electorate and the town of Bendigo in recent weeks have been hit by two shocking incidents. In one, a woman lost her life—she was murdered in her own home in the early hours of the morning, which shocked our community. Many of us woke to that news. And all of us were saddened by it but also shocked—shocked that this incident of family violence could occur in our neighbourhood. The other incident was a few weeks afterwards when a young woman went missing and has since been found. In both of those situations the perpetrators involved have been charged and we are waiting for those matters to be heard by the court.

Today I want to acknowledge the hard work by first the Bendigo SES and the volunteers who worked tirelessly through the night to help try and find the young woman who had gone missing, and also by the local police force who, in very difficult circumstances, rose above and beyond. It is not easy in these situations to respond, but time and time again our local police force do so. They do so with compassion and respect, and today, on behalf of everybody in Bendigo, I want to thank them for their hard work. We know that we are safe and well served by our Bendigo police force, and we will continue to support them in their efforts in keeping us safe as a community.

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