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

On 29 September, National Police Remembrance Day, the nation paused to remember police officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty and to honour all serving members of our police forces. We are indebted to these men and women who go to work each day, prepared to face dangers that, thankfully, most of us will never have to encounter. Therefore I was horrified when it was reported to me that one of our number—someone who has been given the honour to represent the community—in this place had said he would be happy to let police 'lie on the side of the road and bleed to death'.

I am advised that Senator David Leyonhjelm made these comments at a Queensland bikie law rally. His comments insulted not only 60,000 police officers across our nation but those of us who value the work of our law enforcement community. These abhorrent, disgusting and disparaging comments were made just months after the senator won a seat in the Australian Senate.

Recently, Senator Leyonhjelm continued to show his contempt for police. In November 2015, he said:

The police are not our masters, they are our servants, and I think they should remember that.

Further, in a parliamentary inquiry, he is quoted as saying, 'All cops are bastards.'

Now, given his position as a legislator, Senator Leyonhjelm should be well aware that our police are sworn to uphold the laws made by parliaments and that, in protecting life and property, it is our police that are often called upon to deal with the very worst aspects of society and human behaviour. The primary job of police is to prevent crime and, in doing so, to protect and support our communities. They are normal people with families and loved ones, and yet these are the very people that Senator Leyonhjelm has singled out, degraded and abused—not the lawmakers or politicians like himself, but those who choose to enforce the law. A mother wrote on social media: 'My daughter is a police officer. I would never say to you: "Your daughter should lie on the side of the road and bleed to death." You have said that to me. Police officers have mums and dads, children, wives and husbands. You have insulted us all.'

As I said earlier, National Police Remembrance Day honours police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty. There are currently 764 names on Canberra's National Police Wall of Remembrance and every year, tragically, more names are added. All of these officers have given their lives for their communities. Clearly, they have done much more for this country than Senator Leyonhjelm could ever hope to achieve. How can someone who is supposed to represent the Australian people be so out of touch as to make such outlandish statements against those who work tirelessly for the good of others and our community? Is this what the Liberal Democratic Party really stands for? I note that Senator Leyonhjelm is at the centre of the guns-for-votes scandal, and I certainly caution the government that they might do well to be a little bit more careful about who they choose to do horsetrading with.

Senator Leyonhjelm is a man who is obviously out of touch with the wider community and has no respect for the work and the people of our law enforcement agencies. I would urge Senator Leyonhjelm to consider spending at least one shift in his local police station—riding the truck on a Saturday night, attending a car crash, going to the scene of a suspicious death, informing parents that their child will never come home—and then to sit back and take a little time for some quiet reflection and consider whether he stands by his comments about police.

I finish on the quote of one police officer, who writes this: 'Well, Senator, you may want us to lie on the side of the road and bleed to death, but rest assured that, if you need saving, I will be there for you. That is what sets us apart.'