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

National Police Remembrance Day is observed on 29 September. This day holds an especially significant position in the national police calendar. It is at this time we pause to honour the lives and memory of many fine men and women who, in serving their community, have had their lives tragically cut short in the execution of their duty. National Police Remembrance Day is a significant occasion for police and the general community to gather to reflect on the invaluable service and commitment rendered by our police. It also is an opportunity to remember those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice while they go about their normal day-to-day duty of serving our community.

The National Police Remembrance Day is observed on St Michael's Day. St Michael is the patron saint of police and, according to Christian tradition, the protector of good over evil. This year we recall the tragic deaths of three fine police officers: Detective Constable William 'Bill' Crews, who was tragically shot during a drug raid in the south-west of Sydney while attached to the Middle Eastern crime squad; Sergeant Daniel Stiller, who died near Mount Larcom in Queensland while riding a police motor cycle on official escort duties; and Detective Senior Constable Damian Leeding, who was shot during an armed robbery on the Gold Coast.

The National Police Memorial, which is located in Kings Park on the northern side of Lake Burley Griffin, preserves the memory of the 749 police officers around Australia who have been killed on duty or have died as a result of their duties since 1803 when Constable Joseph Luker was killed in Sydney. The memorial, in a very solemn and respectful way, captures the qualities such as courage, duty and integrity shown by every one of our fallen police officers. When visiting the National Police Memorial, there is one thing that is impossible to ignore: that is the number of blank plaques. They are there for those officers who, sadly, will join their colleagues in the years to come. It is a stark reminder of the unique nature of policing and the dangers faced by police in protecting our community.

Last Saturday I joined with more than 1,200 police officers and their supporters in the Wall to Wall Ride for Remembrance. The police commissioners from New South Wales, the Northern Territory, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Federal Police also participated in the ride, with the remaining commissioners joining the gathering when we all assembled at the National Police Memorial in Kings Park. Apart from commemorating fallen colleagues, the ride is a major charity effort. Importantly, the funds raised from the ride will go to Police Legacy to support the partners and children of officers who have been killed on duty.

I know policing comes with a degree of risk that, thankfully, most of us will never in our lives have to face. Through my close association with policing over many years, and having grown up in a police family, I understand that it takes a special type of person and a special type of courage to wear the police uniform. We are truly indebted to the men and women who choose to do so. My father was a member of the New South Wales Police Force, with a career that spanned 34 years. He retired as an inspector and an officer in charge of police communications. When I spoke at his funeral two weeks ago, I recalled the conversation I had with him when I was young when I asked: what motivated him to join the police, given the risks, the dangers and the sacrifices associated with police work? I am sure what he told me then reflects the views of every police officer, including Bill Crews, Daniel Stiller and Damian Leeding. My dad told me he joined the police force to make a difference. Today is also the day we remember the loved ones of all those police officers who have been killed, people whose lives have been affected forever with the passing of a partner, a father, a mother, a sibling, a workmate, a friend or a colleague. We should never forget the families of those who have given their lives for the protection of our community. I particularly commend the work of Police Legacy.

Today is also a historic day for policing, with the Prime Minister awarding the first of the National Police Service Medals to 16 police officers selected from each of our state and territory jurisdictions and the Australian Federal Police. Commissioners from each of the jurisdictions participated in today's event. Once again, it is a reminder of the good work, dedication and commitment shown by all our police officers. The function was also attended by the President of the Police Federation of Australia, Vince Kelly, and representatives from each of the police associations and unions from around the country.

In the short time I have got available I will also mention that we have here today in the public gallery Detective Inspector Brian Rix. Brian was part of today's medal presentation. He was also one of the instigators of the Wall to Wall Ride for Remembrance. Brian recently retired from the Victorian police force and was President of the Police Association Victoria. In the time that he has served the people of Victoria, he served in the homicide squad, drug squad, armed robbery squad, special response group, tactical investigations squad and many others. He had a career that spanned 35 years. Looking after Victorian police came with his role as president of the association. Looking after police across the country and serving the memory of the fallen came from his commitment to doing something positive, such as the Wall to Wall Ride. I wish him all the best in retirement, as I do Shirley, as they embark upon a new and different set of challenges. One thing I do know is that police genuinely care. Streets in Melbourne are far safer through the diligence and commitment of Brian Rix and people like him.

I also see, sitting behind Brian, retired Commander Max Pope, who I have known for a long time in the Northern Territory. I am not sure of the length of his career in the Northern Territory. He has certainly been there far longer than I have been involved in national policing. I acknowledge the role he played and the dedication he showed in the Northern Territory Police.

I would like to conclude with the police ode. This is to all of those serving police members across Australia to show that we do appreciate the genuine difference they make in our community. On behalf of a grateful community, not only do I say thank you, but I recite the ode:

As the sun surely sets,

dawn will see it arise,

for service above self

demands its own prize.

You have fought the good fight,

life's race has been run,

and peace your reward,

for eternity begun.

And we that are left

shall never forget,

rest in peace friend and colleague,

for the sun has now set.

We will remember.

Hasten the dawn.

Natasha Griggs (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support the motion put forward by the member for Fowler. I also acknowledge the significant contribution that officers across all Australian policing jurisdictions make to our community as we approach National Police Remembrance Day on 29 September 2011. I acknowledge the National Police Memorial here in Canberra, which has, as the Member for Fowler said, the names of 749 police officers recorded on it. These police forfeited their lives in the service of the community. Although there are members of the Northern Territory Police Force recorded on the monument, it is significant to note that Northern Territory Police Force has been indeed fortunate not to have had to acknowledge the supreme sacrifice of any additional members in the past 12 months. The Northern Territory, by its nature, is demanding upon its police. I firmly believe that there could be no finer, more committed group of men and women than those involved in law enforcement in the Northern Territory. They have my respect and support.

As I have said many times in this place, I am a long-term resident of the Northern Territory, having grown up in Alice Springs and having lived all of my adult life in Darwin. This, coupled with being the wife of a Northern Territory police officer, has put me in a position to know firsthand the impact that policing has had, not only on society but on members of the police force and their families.

Like many members would, I remember the days when police officers held an automatic position of status within the community. I certainly recall the days when the local cop was part of the community and continually engaging with it. It was when there was respect for the officer within that community. It was the tone of law enforcement that moulded the way the community was.

I recall the days when the local police officer was respected and had the support of the community to deal with issues at a local level. They knew the kids, they knew where they were, what they were up to and, if necessary, they would give them a clip behind the ear before sending them home—knowing that mum and dad would be told about their activities which, in most cases, resulted in any penalty or punishment being meted out at home and not in the courts, where often little or nothing occurs.

Yes, times have changed. Society has moved forward and continued to develop. But I think at times this movement has not necessarily been for its betterment. We live in a community in which people show little or no respect for each other, let alone for their police. In some communities our police are in many cases simply a service provider; faceless uniforms dealing with the outcomes of a slow social decay—decay that is evident across all the demographics of society.

Where are the days of being able to leave your house unlocked, your car open in the street? Today is a far cry from what I saw no more than 20 years ago. Not only do we have to lock our doors; there is the requirement to install an increasing array of security measures. A locked door was once all that was needed; now we talk of security screens, motion sensors, home alarms and, in some cases, panic rooms.

What happened to the front yard being a place where the local kids could meet and kick a footy? What happened to knowing your neighbours, engaging with your neighbours, sharing a story over the back fence? Sadly today increasingly neighbours do not engage. Front yards are examples of modern fencing often supported by the chorus of barking dogs.

Our police officers today are servants to a community that can at times view them as the opposition, an object to taunt or a game. I suppose I should ask why we expect those elements of the community who do not even respect themselves to respect our police. In addition, police officers on the street are often hamstrung by ineffective legislation that puts the balance in the hands of the offenders and severely limits the capacity of police to respond effectively to the demands of our community.

In days gone by our police were proactive. As I have said, they knew their communities because they were out engaging with the community: visiting businesses, talking to the owners, walking the streets and meeting the people, attending community meetings, dropping by the local school and engaging with the kids. They were the coach of the local footy team or ran the local police club. The local police officer was known as a police officer regardless of what their role was within the community or how they were dressed. It was never just the uniform; it was the person inside who made an effective police officer.

In the Northern Territory Aboriginal communities, particularly those in the Arnhem Land region but also in others, the police officer was often called the 'jarmon'. They were a respected member of the Aboriginal community and placed in a family group by that community. The 'jarmon' was respected regardless of their mode of dress and whether they were on or off duty was not a concept ever to be considered.

A long-serving police officer and my friend Max Pope, who is here with me today, has served 35 years in the Northern Territory police force. He has spent many years serving across the Northern Territory including many in remote communities. He was telling me that after hearing the term 'jarmon' being whispered amongst the people he one day asked one of the elders, 'What does that term mean?' He was told that when non-Aboriginal police officers came to the Territory there was a need to have them placed in the family so that their place could be known to the community. More significantly, the term referred to a person who feared nothing, a person who would walk into a camp of armed tribesman and exert their will to enforce the law. It was said that the old people were amazed that anyone could be so cheeky and fearless.

The Northern Territory is a collection of communities and, in most, people know who their police officers are. In this environment a police officer is a police officer regardless of whether he or she is in or out of uniform, on or off duty. Those who may be critical, criticising a member for taking actions in a social environment, are usually the same people who would be critical where a member fails to respond to a breach of the law regardless of the police officer's duty status at the time. The focus of society, driven by the changing face of politics, is governed more by the 24-hour news cycle and the voice of minority groups than by the governance required to build better communities. Our courts continually demonstrate the spiral of police importance and status within the community. Increasingly, court records demonstrate examples of language and behaviour brought to answer which the court determines as acceptable in terms of such language or behaviour police should expect and deem as acceptable in the course of their normal duties.

We regularly see reports of offenders brought before the court to answer allegations of assault or injury to police, only to see the offender dealt with by a slap on the wrist. Not only does this result further undermine the value and importance of our police services, it adds weight in the minds of those who perpetrate such acts, the ramifications of these behaviours mean nothing. In some cases this behaviour is now seen as a rite of passage or a badge of honour.

The responsibilities placed upon our police members are ever increasing. We expect our police to act as social garbage collectors without definite mechanisms to deal with or address these issues from an ongoing perspective. The real truth of the matter is, policing the community is expensive. Governments of all persuasions grapple with how to provide value policing against a backdrop of increased costs and reduced budgets. As we all know, the wheels of change in terms of good governance move slowly. Meanwhile, the face of change in the community is occurring at a rate rapidly outpacing our capacity to identify, prioritise, develop and implement the change that is needed.

From the perspective of the Northern Territory, statistically we have one of the highest rates of police officer representation to head of population. Look at the Northern Territory demographically; it is a remote locality with a small total population. There are only two centres of significant populace; the remainder are spread far and wide across the expanse of the Northern Territory. Our police officers are in many respects the most capable, diverse and resilient of police personnel. They work in a culturally diverse community, in many instances miles and hours from any level of backup support. They deal with a greater cross-section of offences than most general duties officers of similar comparative experience outside the Northern Territory. Our police are some of the best; a small police force in number, but one where the importance of bond and police brother/sisterhood remain strong. It is a police force where the loss of a member is heartfelt and resonates across all levels of the force. It is felt within the community and in many respects is felt as deeply in those communities as within the force.

I applaud and support any action to recognise police officers across the country. Police Remembrance Day is a day of significance and importance to police officers within my home in the Northern Territory, and indeed Australia. Remembrance Day is a day to honour and remember fallen colleagues. Certainly, within the Northern Territory we have been fortunate. Increasingly and sadly, though, each year the list of police names recalled and remembered on this day increases.

Yvette D'Ath (Petrie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I rise to speak in support of the National Police Remembrance Day motion moved by the member for Fowler, and it is my pleasure to second the motion. On Thursday, 8 September, dozens of Queensland police officers commenced a 1,400 kilometre motorbike journey to Canberra for the Wall to Wall Ride for Remembrance. Their journey was to remember those lost in the line of duty and to raise awareness for Australian police legacies. Today, I rise to do the same.

This House remembers and commemorates the ultimate sacrifices made by our police officers and we particularly seek to remember those whom we have lost over the last 12 months—the lives of Detective Constable William Arthur George Crews of the NSW Police Force who was killed in Sydney on 9 September 2010; Sergeant Daniel Stiller of the Queensland Police Service who was killed on 1 December 2010; and most recently Detective Sergeant Constable Damian Leeding of the Queensland Police Service who was killed on 1 June 2011.

On 20 June this year, I stood before this House to offer my condolences to the family of Senior Constable Damian Leeding, whose tragic loss in the line of duty rocked the Australian public and reminded us all of the sacrifice our officers and their families make. In the lead-up to National Police Remembrance Day, nothing makes me prouder than to stand here again and extend my gratitude to all those who have served and continue to serve to protect our community. I also wish to express my sincere condolences to the wives, husbands, mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, partners and bureaus of Australian police force who have suffered the devastation of a life cut short in the line of duty.

I am the proud wife of a police officer who has served the Queensland Police Service for more than 17 years. I have spent nights waiting and worrying when he does not come home on time. I have seen him come home with bruises and blood on him. I have heard the stories of him being spat on and yelled abuse at when trying to help the injured or victims of crime. If only every person in the Australian society could spend a day in the shoes of a serving police officer, we would see that respect returned to our serving police officers.

We should acknowledge that the role of our police officers is not just to react to incidents. We should also acknowledge the positive work that they do to help educate our seniors and to educate people in our community about how to stay safer. Importantly, I have to say how proud I am of the work being done in recent years on youth crime prevention. I talk to a lot of the local police officers in my electorate of Petrie who are doing amazing work trying to help our youth straighten out their lives and hopefully stay out of prison.

We know that we are going to be remembering 749 lives lost this year. Queensland has lost 139 police officers in the line of duty and National Police Remembrance Day gives us a day to pause, reflect and honour the officers whose lives were cut short.

It is also a time to say thank you to the work of the Police Legacy who assists the families of the police officers killed in the line of duty. Currently Queensland Police Legacy supports 45 families, including meeting the educational expenses of 77 dependent legatee children. This support and that offered by other Police Legacy branches across the country to ensure families have the emotional and financial assistance they need in the wake of tragedy cannot be overstated. For their invaluable work, I say thank you.

As a wife of a policeman, I understand the dangers our officers face every day as our protectors and our heroes. It is for this reason that I stand here to offer my condolences and gratitude to the officers and the families who have sacrificed for our community. I ask that the House and the Australian people take a moment to honour their sacrifice in the lead-up to National Police Remembrance Day.

I would like to acknowledge the member for Fowler for all the work he does in relation to the serving police officers across the country and also to acknowledge those members who are speaking on this motion today. I ask the Australian people that, on 29 September 2011, they stop and remember just for a moment the great work that our past and current serving police officers do and to acknowledge, most importantly, those who have lost their lives and their families.

Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the motion on the coming National Police Remembrance Day on 29 September. I have also had the great honour to serve as a sworn member of the Australian Federal Police and, while that was only for a couple of years back in the 1980s, I do recall seeing enough of the realities of life in Australia to know that the risks that sworn officers, police in uniform and plain clothes detectives, take are very grave indeed. So often society is a little bit negative towards police until such time as a person on the street feels a personal threat—at which point they are very glad to see that blue uniform. It is always the case that when the public needs uniformed police they call and call very loudly.

In Western Australia I am honoured to have a number of excellent officers and stations around my area. We have got Wanneroo Police Station and Warwick Police Station and also a very active crime prevention team within the north-western district of the Western Australian police in the urban areas.

Looking back over events of the last few years, we have had a couple of pretty bad incidents in Western Australia. There was a very grievous attack on Constable Matthew Butcher, though it did not cost him his life. It was a completely unreasonable and dastardly attack, where he was assaulted from behind with a flying head butt. As a result he was very seriously injured and will probably have to live with those injuries for the rest of his life. That is a great tragedy.

What is really required is respect from members of the public. Unfortunately, there are a lot of terrible people out there who see the police as a problem for their normal activities, and I guess we will always have criminals. But, in the case of Constable Butcher, what made it worse was that there was no attempt to confront him, only an attempt to take him out from behind. That was a terrible thing. As a result of that, the state government in Western Australia has taken a very firm line on assaults against public officers, which is resulting in jail terms. I think that is entirely appropriate. I would go so far as to say that not only should assault of police officers come with a jail term upon guilt being found, but that swearing at police officers should also require specific action to remind people that it is unacceptable.

I would also like to talk briefly about Constable Damien Murphy, who died on 15 February 2007. Constable Murphy, having just dealt with a domestic violence incident in the suburb of Craigie, tried to flag down a vehicle on one of the major roads and was struck by that vehicle. This was a real tragedy—he was a young bloke with a young family who left behind a wife—but these things unfortunately happen when police officers put their lives on the line for community safety.

It is important that state jurisdictions in particular take a very firm stand against assault or abuse of police officers to make sure they are protected as much as possible, to look after them when they are putting their lives on the line for the community. I say, 'Thank God they are there; thank God there is someone out there willing to stand up and be counted and do these things.' I wish them well and hopefully there will be no more of these assaults.

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

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion and, in doing so, can I commend the member for Fowler for bringing it to the attention of the House. I know he has spoken in the past about the importance of our police around the country and he is committed to the work that they do. As I have said, I commend him for bringing this motion to the House and for his speech earlier on.

Earlier today the member for Fowler, a number of others and I attended the presentation of police medals by the Prime Minister to the first 16 recipients of that medal. Firstly, I say congratulations to all the recipients of those medals at today's presentation. Officers from around the country were there and it was good to see the different states and territories represented at the presentation. I particularly congratulate the South Australian recipients of the medal, Sergeant Bill Bampton and Senior Constable Jessie Hughes, who I met for the first time this morning and who I know are very worthy recipients of the medal and will do the medal proud. I also congratulate South Australian Police Commissioner Mal Hyde who, on behalf of his commissioner colleagues, addressed the gathering. As a fellow South Australian and as I know Commissioner Hyde, it was good to see him standing up there, representing the national police commissioners from around Australia, and also to hear his words. He spoke very well. He was very well supported as well by the South Australian Police Association President, Mark Carroll, and the state secretary of the association Andy Dunn, who is in the gallery with us here today and I acknowledge his presence. Before I go on to my other remarks, I also acknowledge the 42 South Australian police riders who participated in the 1,230-strong motorcycle contingent to Canberra in the Wall-to-Wall Ride for Remembrance. I am sure for them it would have been both an enjoyable ride and a very long ride from Adelaide to Canberra.

I thought the Prime Minister, in her address this morning, spoke eloquently and she covered all of the important comments that needed to be made in respect to this motion and the work of our serving police officers around the country. Essentially, she made the point that every day some 56,000 police officers around the country leave their home to go out to work not knowing what to expect, not knowing if they are going to return home safely. Simultaneously, their families see their loved ones leaving to go to work not knowing if they will see them come back at the end of the day and not knowing, if they do come back at the end of the day, if they will be in one piece—and so often that is not the case, and we have just heard the member for Petrie speaking about her personal experience with her partner. For them and their families it is a pretty tough ask to say that you are going to leave to go to work not knowing what to expect. For us in the rest of society, we get up and we do the same—we go to work—but we go with the comfort of knowing that we are relatively safe because of the work of police officers around the country. It is quite reassuring to have people out there doing exactly that so that we can get on with the rest of our lives in the way that we would like to do so. It is not just in respect to safety in the broader sense. Every day we are confronted with different crises from around the country, whether it is a crime scene, a motor vehicle accident or domestic violence and so on, and whenever there is a crisis who do we first call? The police, and we ask them to be there to try and reassure us, take control of the situation and get things back in order. It is a huge responsibility on the serving police officers of this country, as other speakers have said.

In the brief time I have left to me, I simply want to make a couple of points. On previous occasions I have spoken about some of the South Australian police officers who have been killed or injured in the line of duty and I have talked about Senior Constable Derrick McManus, who in 1994 was shot 14 times, and Senior Constable David Barr, who was killed at Salisbury in 1990. But today I want to very briefly talk about Constable Nathan Mulholland and Constable Tung Tran, who on 25 May 2010 were shot when they responded to a call for assistance at a residential address. The person who shot them actually called them to go to the home because he 'needed assistance' and when they got there he shot both of them without any reason at all. I know Constable Tran sustained a very serious head injury. That is the kind of job police officers are confronted with. I say to those police officers that 29 September is a day when we remember your services. It is fitting that the monument in Canberra has inscribed on it the name of each and every officer who has lost their life to protect ours.

Ken Wyatt (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to thank the member for Fowler for this motion. It is important that we acknowledge and recognise police officers who have given of their lives in the course of their duty. I also acknowledge our serving policemen and women but in particular National Police Remembrance Day, which is celebrated every year on 29 September. Since 1829 there have been over 10,000 people who have served in the Western Australian police service, protecting our way of life on a daily basis. They go out to work each day and their mission is to enhance the quality of life and the wellbeing of all people in Western Australia by contributing to making our state a safe and secure place.

Services will be taking place all around the country to remember our brave men and women in the police services who have lost their lives in the course of their duty. The National Police Remembrance Day service commemorates those Australian police officers who have been killed in the course of their duty or have died as a result of their duties. Equally, I want to acknowledge those who have also been injured whilst performing their duty. We often see photographic evidence of police officers with injuries that leave you mind-boggled by the fact that somebody who is protecting society has been injured in such a heinous way, because it is not of their making.

Police around the world have a day of recognition observed of the main feast day of Saint Michael the Archangel, patron saint of police. In Western Australia there have been 79 police officers killed in the line of duty since Captain Ellis was speared in the Battle of Pinjarra in 1834. In more recent times, Constable Damien Murphy was killed in a traffic accident in 2007 in Perth while attending to the issue of a domestic violence situation in the suburb of Craigie. Many Western Australians will also still remember the dark day of 26 January 2001, when four officers were killed in a plane crash outside of the remote town of Newman.

The majority of West Australian police officers killed in recent times have died as a result of traffic accidents or plane crashes. This reflects the unique challenges faced by WA police services. Western Australia is the world's largest non-federated police jurisdiction. It covers some 2.5 million square kilometres and is bigger than many countries around the world. Deaths in travel reflect the difficult terrain and the vast distances that our police services are required to cover in their daily working lives.

I have a strong working relationship with the police in my electorate of Hasluck. This comes from their involvement in the Gosnells and Midlands—the PCYC and officers at the Gosnells, Forrestfield and Midland police stations, who in their efforts combat hooning and anti-social behaviour within my electorate. The police do a tough job and work 24 hours a day to keep the people of Hasluck and Western Australia safe. I think that this is a point often forgotten by some people. When there is a noise in our house at night or a violent situation, who we call is always important and it is always our local police. It is their job to put themselves in harm's way to protect us and, sadly, a number have paid the ultimate price over the years. Their families are affected because it is difficult for any of us to accept a loss in our families, and the gap that is left is challenging. It not only impacts on a partner; it impacts on children, it impacts on the mother and father, the father- and the mother-in-laws and the other members of the family. They also know that their son or daughter served in the line of duty.

The community also suffers at the death of a police officer. This is a person who dedicated their professional life to protecting Western Australians and we are weaker for the loss. I welcome this motion and stand here today to recognise our police in Western Australia and police officers all around this nation who go and stand where others fear to tread in the name of protecting our society and way of life. I have had the privilege of being associated with the police force through being a mentor to a squad within the Western Australian academy and it is a privilege that I will always cherish and remember. I understand the principle of the police family and the way in which they connect with each other and support each other in times of both need and crisis.

Sharon Grierson (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I commend the motion moved by the member for Fowler in acknowledging the contributions made by police officers from across our Australian communities. I acknowledge the member for Fowler's former role within the Police Federation of Australia and New Zealand. On National Remembrance Day on 29 September this year we will commemorate the lives of Detective Constable William Arthur George Crews, Sergeant Daniel Stiller and Detective Senior Constable Damian Leeding—brave men who have each made the ultimate sacrifice whilst in the line of duty protecting our Australian communities.

The Prime Minister noted this morning that those who serve in uniform do not seek recognition; they do so because they are honoured to serve. It is our duty to recognise those who have served and who continue to serve in the interests of our community, for each day as they go out to work their parents, their partners, their children and their friends can never be certain that they will return to their homes that night. It is for this reason that we honour and pay tribute to those who take these risks on a day-to-day basis to keep our communities safe. It is also for this reason that we honour and pay tribute to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

In late August a 7½-hour police siege occurred within my own electorate of Newcastle in the early morning in Mayfield West. This siege involved a stand-off, with negotiators and heavily armed police from the State Protection Support Unit present. Thankfully, the event was resolved without incident due to the skill and sheer professionalism of those officers on the front line. Unfortunately, as we know, events like these do not always end without incident, as it is impossible to know what can occur. We should for a moment reflect upon and imagine if our loved ones did not return at the end of the day from their workplace. For the majority of us that worry does not affect us, but for the families of those officers who serve across the nation's police forces it is a sure bet that it certainly does.

It is well known that my city is one that has had a great deal of problems with binge drinking. Alcohol related violence statistics are the second highest of anywhere in the state, and I know that front-line police deal with this every week, every weekend, day in, day out and that it is wearing them down. I have been at the openings of Law Week in my electorate, where barristers and the law societies have stood and talked about the difficult problem that drugs like ice now cause in law enforcement. It is an uncontrollable time of great irrationality and great violence, and it is our police who are at the front line of that. So I pay my respects to and congratulate the inaugural National Police Service Medal recipients today for their past and future dedication to the integral role and service they provide.

I also note that Hunter local Inspector Bruce McGregor, a Lake Macquarie duty officer, recently took part in a second Wall to Wall Ride of Remembrance from Sydney to Canberra in honour of his fallen mates. Each year, the special service held in Newcastle by the Police Association and by the police themselves is one that is well attended and is one that is an opportunity for us to say thank you and to pay our respects. It is important to honour and remember those who have fallen, for it is a consistent reminder of the gravity and sacrifice associated with the role police officers play within our society. It makes us truly thankful, as we should be, for their heroic service to our nation.

In dealing with the local police commander in my electorate, he has raised with me the concerns of police officers who suffer stress and trauma in their job. It is time that state governments took on some of those issues. I know that many people would say that policing today is a job in which perhaps one would consider some early retirement opportunities, as we do with the defence forces and other forces. It seems to me that front-line work in the police can have a very long-term cost, and I certainly am one to suggest that that debate needs to happen. I thank the member for Fowler for moving this important private member's motion today and give it my full support.

Debate adjourned.