Chris Hayes (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the House:

(1)

Recognises and acknowledges the significant contribution that officers across all Australian policing jurisdictions make to our local communities as we approach National Police Remembrance Day on 29 September 2008;

(2)

Remembers and comes together to commemorate the ultimate sacrifices made by all police officers who have been killed in the course of their duties;

(3)

Honours the courage, commitment and memory of the many fine men and women who lost their lives in the execution of their official duty each made in serving our community;

(4)

Pays tribute to the families and friends of those fallen police officers for the support they unreservedly provided during the career of their respective loved ones;

(5)

Encourages all Australians as a sign of respect to those who have fallen, to attend a ceremony or wear or display the traditional blue and white chequerboard ribbon, officially recognised as the symbol of Remembrance Day; and

(6)

Supports and thanks all serving police of Australia for their invaluable dedication and commitment to make a difference, defend our way of life and safeguard the peace.

At this time each year, across the nation, we pause to honour the lives and the memory of the many very fine men and women who, in serving our community, have had their lives tragically cut short in the execution of their duties. National Police Remembrance Day is observed on 29 September and is a day that holds significance on the national policing calendar. Since 1989, when National Police Remembrance Day was first recognised, it has become a tradition for police and the greater society to reflect on the invaluable dedication and commitment of police officers, their unquestioning devotion to duty and, importantly, the ultimate sacrifice made by them in serving the community. It is also the day we celebrate the feast of Saint Michael, the patron saint of police, who, according to church tradition, is the protector of good over evil.

In 2001 it was resolved to establish a National Police Memorial in Canberra. The memorial was completed and dedicated on 29 September 2006. The National Police Memorial is located in Kings Park, on the northern shore of Lake Burley Griffin, adjacent to the National Carillon. At this point, I acknowledge that there have been a series of members on both sides of politics, along with the police associations, particularly the Police Federation of Australia, whose continued efforts and hard work have been largely instrumental in establishing the National Police Memorial.

The memorial pays tribute to police officers across the nation who have been killed on duty or have died as a result of their duties since the advent of policing in Australia and recognises the unique nature of policing and the dangers that police face in their daily pursuits. The National Police Memorial was opened with the names of 719 fallen officers inscribed on brass touchstone plates, with the date and the place of their death recorded, and these were distributed randomly across the wall. The memorial honours all police killed on duty, dating back to the first, back in 1803, in Sydney, who was Constable Joseph Luker.

It is with some sadness that I note that, since the opening of the memorial in 2006, there have been a further seven police fatalities. Over the past 12 months, fortunately, there have been no police deaths in Australia. However, I acknowledge with profound sympathy the recent death of Sergeant Don Wilkinson, a New Zealand police officer who was shot down during a covert operation. Once again, that goes to show the nature of policing.

Looking at the names listed on the memorial, there is one thing that is impossible to ignore, and that is the blank plaques. They are for the officers who, sadly, will join their colleagues in years to come. When a police officer dies in the line of duty it is a tragedy which affects us all. It is a heartbreaking loss for our entire community. However, the families of these officers carry a disproportionate burden of the loss. We must reassure them that we will never forget the men and women who have paid the ultimate price for keeping our cities, towns and suburbs safe. Furthermore, we must reassure them that the spirit and the memory of their loved ones will remain with us always.

I greatly value the difficult and often very dangerous job performed by our police. Policing comes with a degree of risk that, fortunately, most of us will never have to face. It is fitting therefore that on National Police Remembrance Day we pay a special tribute not only to the police officers who have died in the line of duty but also to the dedicated men and women who continue to put their hand up to serve and protect our community. It takes a special kind of person and a special kind of courage and commitment to wear the police uniform. We are truly indebted to those men and women who do so. I want to assure every police officer across the nation that we do not take them for granted.

I encourage all Australians to wear a blue-and-white ribbon or to attend a Police Remembrance Day ceremony as a mark of respect for the officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty over the past 154 years and to show strong support for those people who are yet to take the oath of policing. Finally, can I say on behalf of this House, to all those men and women who have given their lives: may they rest in peace.

Bruce Scott (Maranoa, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Jason Wood (La Trobe, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Justice and Public Security) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion. I fully support the motion moved by the member for Werriwa. I congratulate him on his efforts to bring recognition of the service of police men and women right across the country. This is a matter very close to my heart. As many in the House would be aware, I was a member of the Victoria Police for 18 years. This Monday is National Police Remembrance Day, established in 1989 to honour police members killed in the line of duty. Since 1803, sadly, there have been 719 police officers killed in the line of duty across this nation. Of these, 150 members have been killed in Victoria, 30 of them murdered, going right back to the days of the Kelly Gang.

Encountering danger is a reality our police officers face every day they go to work. As all police know, you never know what is around the corner. Reports of verbal and physical abuse and assaults on police are featured almost on a nightly basis on our TV channels. Sadly, the public in some ways accept this as normal.

Let us go back in time and look at the case of Constable Angela Taylor, who was 22 years of age when she walked out of the Russell Street police complex on 27 March 1986. Constable Taylor had simply walked out to get lunch that day, when the blast rocked the Russell Street headquarters, fatally wounding her and injuring 21 of her fellow officers. Most disturbingly, the culprits who carried out this horrendous attack against not only the police but Victorian society—and who were subsequently caught and convicted—were not doing it for revenge or retaliation; they simply had a hatred of police.

An incident closer to my heart occurred two years later in the Walsh Street murders. On 12 October 2008 it will be 20 years to the day that Constable Steve Tynan and Probationary Constable Damian Eyre were gunned down as they attended to an abandoned car in Walsh Street, South Yarra. The premeditated attack was retaliation for the shooting of a known criminal associate of the offenders. For a young constable not yet six months out of the Victoria Police Academy, the Walsh Street murders affected me greatly. Probationary Constable Eyre was 20, and we entered the police academy at Glen Waverley on the same day. We graduated on the same day, 27 April 1988, but in different squads. The murders of these young men shattered two families and brought up very painful memories for all those still grieving for the loss of Constable Taylor two years before.

Almost 10 years after the Walsh Street murders in Victoria, police were again shocked by the slaying of Sergeant Gary Silk and Senior Constable Rodney Miller on 16 August 1998. The pair were gunned down while staking out a restaurant in Moorabbin, where they were trying to protect the community as part of Operation Hamada. There are many difficult parts of a police officer’s job—attending road accidents and domestic violence among them—but, for me, the most difficult moments have always been attending a slain colleague’s funeral.

Being a member of the police force is more than simply a job; it is membership to a brotherhood that many do not understand. When a police officer is killed in the line of duty, it affects all active and former members, not just those who knew the deceased. Few other jobs require you to put your life on the line on a daily basis. It is also hard on the families of serving officers. Every time they hear media reports of police officers being killed or injured in the line of duty, the families and friends of serving officers immediately think of their loved ones and anxiously wait for their safe return.

The death of one of your colleagues brings home the reality that policing is a difficult and dangerous job. It is also one of the most rewarding. National Police Remembrance Day serves as a reminder to all Australians of the dedication, the vulnerability and the courage of police. I strongly support the member for Werriwa’s motion, and again I congratulate him.

Damian Hale (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Werriwa for putting this motion to the House. I am delighted to speak in support of the six points he has made. I thank the members opposite, especially the member for La Trobe for his very heartfelt contribution. Last Wednesday I defended the Northern Territory Police in this place and put on record my absolute support for all the men and women in Australian police forces.

Unfortunately, since the advent of policing in Australia, over 700 officers have paid the ultimate price. Our democracy is a magnificent thing, supported and sustained on the basis that we maintain good law and order. And it is the men and women of the police force who maintain this—men and women from all walks of life, who live and work in the unpredictable nature of policing.

There is a culture in policing, best known to police themselves and the families and friends who love and support them. It is a culture of strength, unity and common purpose. There is no greater purpose to policing than to serve the community. We as a community expect this; however, often we do not provide the support they need or deserve. This is something a good friend of mine, and fellow Territorian, Mr Vince Kelly, President of the Police Federation of Australia, is passionate about.

Constable First Class Michael Deutrom was last week named 2008 Northern Territory Rotary Police Officer of the Year. I congratulate Michael and all police officers for the work they do without fear or favour. It is to those who have paid the supreme sacrifice in upholding the law in the dark and dangerous streets, in remote country towns, in regional and overseas posts, that National Police Remembrance Day is dedicated.

In 1989, commissioners of police around Australasia introduced the police remembrance service. National Police Remembrance Day is observed on 29 September because it marks the Feast of St Michael. St Michael is the protector of good over evil and the patron saint of police. On Remembrance Day every state and territory police force pause and honour colleagues whose lives have been taken while serving the community. It is an opportunity for family, friends and the community to reflect on police men and women who have lost their lives in the course of doing their job.

To mark the significance that police forces play in our society, the National Police Memorial was completed and was dedicated on the 29 September 2006. There are currently 726 names on the honour roll. The first recorded police death was as far back as 1803. Since 1883, when the Northern Territory Police commenced, eight Northern Territory police officers have died in the line of duty. The names of these NT officers are: Mounted Constable Albert McColl, who died in 1933 after he was speared to death on Woodah Island in Arnhem Land while guarding women who had witnessed the murder of several fishermen; Constable Maxwell Gilbert; Constable William Condon, who died in 1952 when he was shot twice after confronting a gunman in Katherine; Inspector Louis Hook; Sergeant Colin Eckert; Senior Constable Allen Price; and Detective Sergeant Ian Bradford. And the last officer that we lost in the Northern Territory was Brevet Sergeant Glen Anthony Huitson. I would like to say a few words about him.

Sergeant Huitson was 38 years old when he died in a gun battle with an armed gunman on 3 August 1999. Hailed as a hero in death, Sergeant Huitson was already due to receive a valour award for bravery because, in 1998, he disarmed a gunman who terrorised passengers on a tourist bus in Litchfield Park. He was truly a hero and epitomises what it means to be a police officer. It is hard to comprehend the heartbreak of the tragedy. I remember at the time how, in one single moment, Lisa Huitson had her loving husband taken away, and their two young children, Joseph and Ruby, lost their dad forever. It is tragic stories like Sergeant Huitson’s that make 29 September such a significant day.

The national police remembrance service will take place here in Canberra next Monday at the National Police Memorial, Kings Park. In Darwin, the police remembrance service will be held next Monday morning at St Mary’s Cathedral. The chequerboard ribbon is officially recognised as the symbol of National Police Remembrance Day. I ask that members of the community wear or display the blue and white ribbons during the period of remembrance as a sign of respect and support for police across Australia, for the past and present men and women of our police forces that serve our community without fear or favour. I commend this motion to the House.

Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to show respect for Police Remembrance Day and to support the motion by the member for Werriwa. On a daily basis, police officers risk their lives in the name of the community and safety of individuals. In discharging their duties, some of our police officers have given the ultimate sacrifice—their lives. The Australian police commissioners initiated Police Remembrance Day in 1989 to honour those police killed on duty. It is held on 29 September to coincide with the feast day of Saint Michael, the patron saint of police officers.

In 1998, as part of the response to the murders of Sergeant Gary Silk and Senior Constable Rod Miller, Blue Ribbon Day was born. On 29 September every year, in each state and territory police jurisdiction across Australia and the south-west Pacific region, Blue Ribbon Day coincides with Police Remembrance Day, not only to remember those killed while on duty but also to show strong community support for all police around the world. Law and order is one of the cornerstones of the society we live in, operating in tandem with this very parliament and all others in Australia. Without a body to ensure that laws are followed, they become ineffectual. Since 1803, 726 police officers have died in the line of duty—45 of those in the last 10 years. That is 45 advocates of law and order since 1998 who have died in the line of duty or as a result of simply doing their job—that of being a police officer.

I would now like to honour the memory of a local officer who worked in my electorate of Forrest. On 27 November 2004, Senior Constable Jamie Pearson, in the company of another officer, was performing highway patrol duties between Bunbury and Busselton. The pair went to undertake a routine vehicle stop when they collided with another vehicle. Senior Constable Pearson did not survive. In WA there are over 5,300 uniformed officers just like Senior Constable Pearson. That is approximately one police officer for every 400 people in Western Australia; 218 of these officers are in my local district of the South West. In 2007-08, these 218 men and women dealt with over 260 aggravated assaults, 140 aggravated sexual assaults, two cases of murder, five cases of manslaughter, 34 aggravated robberies—six of which involved firearms—285 motor car thefts and 89 cases of arson. These officers are extraordinary people who strongly uphold our nation’s moral values. They are highly skilled individuals of whom we as a nation are proud. What makes these people truly extraordinary is that underneath the uniforms of these men and women is a person with a wife, a husband, a mother, a father, children and friends. Daily they leave their loved ones to serve their community. Some do not return.

It has been most distressing to note the slow dissipation of respect for our police officers. In WA, assaults on officers have been on the rise over the last few years. The punishment for these crimes has been too lenient and the police receive too little support for the dangerous work they do. I welcome every measure that will assist the effectiveness of WA police and benefit the WA population. But no measure can help the officers who have died or the families of officers who have already given their lives in the name of law and order and the protection of our communities. On September 29 we will honour the officers who did not return—Senior Constable Pearson and all the other brave members of the police force who have lost their lives. We offer our sincere respect to their memories and our sympathy to their families. We will salute their memory and offer every support to the men and women currently serving in the police force—those members who are so dedicated to keeping our communities safe.

Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is a privilege to be able to stand here and support the motion from the member for Werriwa and to endorse the remarks of all the speakers who have addressed this motion tonight. The comments they have made are very true and very valid, and they are comments that are most appropriate under the circumstances.

It is also interesting that it was only today that many members of this House were debating the Safe Work Australia Bill. In the context of that debate a number of members made reference to the fact that all families expect that, when their husband, their wife or their partner—whatever the case is—leaves in the morning to go to work, they will return home safely. It is interesting to note that, when it comes to the policemen and women of this country, that fear would occur in the minds of the family members—whether it be the wife, the children, the parents, the brothers or the sisters—of every police officer who serves this country. Each day, when they depart to go out to work, they ask themselves, ‘Will they return home? If so, will they return safely?’ When the men and women of our defence forces enlist, we quite rightly commend them for putting their lives on the line in order to make our lives safer. Likewise, so do the men and women of the police departments of our nation. So this motion tonight is most appropriate.

I want to talk a little about my experience with the police department in South Australia. I have had a long association with police officers in that state. Firstly, let me say that in South Australia, since the statistics have been recorded, some 58 serving police officers have lost their lives since 1803. To the families of all of those officers, albeit that some of them would have lost their lives some time ago, I certainly extend my condolences to them. In particular, on 26 July 1990 in the city of Salisbury—I recall I was a serving councillor for the city at the time—Officer David Barr lost his life at the Salisbury Railway Station in the course of his duties. I can recall the mood of the town at the time and the feeling that went through the town—that a police officer had in fact lost his life in the course of doing his job of keeping the rest of the community safe. It was not only the reaction from the community that showed their gratitude for police officers generally, but it was also an event which has not been forgotten in that city. Clearly, other lives have been lost, but the fact that a police officer lost his life in the course of carrying out his duties is something that has not been forgotten and is quite often talked about.

In the time that is left to me, I very quickly want to mention Officer Derek McManus, who was shot several times in the course of a siege in the Barossa Valley. I got to know Derek during his rehabilitation, something that I mentioned earlier in the Safe Work Australia Bill. When you consider that these people have put their lives on the line for us, you then very much appreciate just how important it is for the rest of the community to acknowledge them. On another occasion I wish to speak more about the role of the police officers within our community and throughout Australia. Once again, I commend the member for Werriwa on this motion.

Debate interrupted.