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

Many times in this House I have stood to acknowledge the pivotal role the police play in our communities and to offer my sincere support for the difficult and often dangerous jobs that they perform. In fact, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Detective Steve Quinn from the Camden Local Area Command, who last week was awarded the Combined Rotary Clubs of Macarthur Police Officer of the Year Award 2009. It is indeed a great honour and a tribute to his commitment to what is often a difficult, dangerous and unrewarding job.

As you know, policing comes with a degree of risk that, thankfully, many of us will never have to face. I have stood in this parliament, along with colleagues from all sides, to honour the lives and memories of many fine men and women who, in serving their communities and in the execution of their official duties, regrettably have had their lives tragically cut short. When a police officer dies in the line of duty, it is a tragedy and one that affects all of us. It is certainly a heartbreaking loss for their families and friends and also for our entire community.

From my close dealings with the police over many years, I have come to understand that it takes a special kind of person and a special kind of courage and commitment to wear the uniform of a police officer, and we are truly indebted to the men and women who choose to do so. Police cannot be expected to protect the community if they themselves are not properly protected.

Thousands of police officers and supporters, including ambulance officers, nurses, prison officers, and indeed many concerned members of the Western Australian public, met at a rally on Wednesday last outside parliament house in Perth to show their outrage regarding the number of assaults occurring on police officers that are going unpunished. This rally, the biggest that parliament house has seen in more than a decade, comes just days after a not guilty verdict on the assault of Constable Matthew Butcher that outraged the Western Australian community. This case is simply the last straw. Western Australians are incensed that an assault, which has paralysed a police officer while exercising his duty and protecting the community, can go unpunished and are now legitimately asking: ‘Who protects those who protect our community?’ I trust that is a sentiment that is shared by every member in this House. In an interview in Perth, on 13 March, the Prime Minister said:

… our police including here in WA put themselves in the front line every day in very difficult and dangerous circumstances, most of which are never reported. I think it’s high time the community just got absolutely behind the police in everything they do.

He went on to say:

… it’s time we had a new attitude of respect for the police because they are dealing with problems of violence, of domestic violence, of alcohol-induced violence, of binge drinking.

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They are doing a first class job in the community, and I think it is absolutely important that we … use this event to, as a focal point to rally behind our police.

Since the not guilty verdict one week ago there has been a massive outpouring of community support for Constable Butcher and the WA police in general. The community has justifiably described the outcome of the assault on Constable Butcher as outrageous and unbelievable and are demanding action against criminals who assault police. Police and the community feel abandoned by the justice system which, in this instance, has produced what many of the community would see as a travesty of justice.

However, police in WA and across the nation have continued to carry out their sworn duties, as professional officers, of protecting the life and property of citizens, although currently they are hugely dismayed at this WA court decision. This week I spoke to Vince Kelly, the President of the Police Federation of Australia, about the case, and he said that it was of critical importance that those people who assault police should be convicted and punished appropriately.

I am concerned that this Western Australian court decision will send the message that it is okay to assault police—in other words, that our cops are now fair game. The protection of the community is the basis of our law and order system, and this verdict in WA shows that there is a deplorable deficiency in the protection of those who protect our community. It is essential that we now gain a realistic scheme of protection and indeed respect for those people who we put on the front line to protect the community. It is now an urgent priority.