Yvette D'Ath (Petrie, Australian Labor Party) Share 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.

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