Anthony Byrne (Holt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On the evening of 23 September 2014, two police officers walked out of the Endeavour Hills police station, and their lives changed irrevocably as a consequence of that. Those two police officers were attacked by the first ISIL-inspired terrorist attack since the fatwa was issued in 2014. There had been the establishment of the caliphate, and the terrorism threat level in this country had been raised to 'probable'. It's been five very long years, and in those five years I've got to know the two officers involved. One was very seriously injured and the other still suffers significant injuries as a consequence of the attack by the terrorist, who was killed by the Victorian police officer. These two men have endured a lot. Their lives changed irrevocably from the moment they walked out of the police station to have what they thought was going to be a chat with a young man who had lost his way. They didn't expect that at the end of 60 seconds to 75 seconds they would have to kill that young man because he attacked both of them with the intent to kill and he would have moved into the police station. So to those two officers, as I say every year in this place, we haven't forgotten you; we can't name you, but we always remember you.