Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to be speaking on this important motion today. I commend the member for Fowler for moving this motion—he is a good man. I note the contributions made by previous speakers acknowledging the significant contribution of police, supported by their families and mates, to our local communities, and the high degree of risk and personal sacrifice that comes with carrying out their duty.

I was talking with some Afghanistan veterans recently about awareness-raising around the issue of PTSD. I said to them I wanted to include emergency services and police officers in some of that awareness-raising work, and one of these combat veterans said, 'Bloody oath, they are on the tools dealing with stuff every day'—that is a policeman he is talking about. Now, policing is difficult and the environments are often complex and dangerous. Often there are near misses. Sometimes there are injuries and sometimes officers are killed. As the opening quote from our Darwin Police Remembrance Day booklet reminded us, 'Greater love hath no one than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends.'

National Police Remembrance Day is held on 29 September as this is the feast day of Saint Michael, the archangel and patron saint of police. Interestingly, Saint Michael is considered a defender of good against evil by all three of the great monotheistic religions of the world: Christianity, Judaism and Islam, and all three faiths hold Saint Michael in great esteem.

Police are not the only ones who are said to have Saint Michael's patronage, as he also watches over grocers, mariners and paratroopers—I had forgotten this, but then remembered that a mate of mine at the 3rd Battalion always jumped with a Saint Michael necklace around his neck for protection and I am pretty sure it always worked. St Michael is also the patron of hat makers, Papua New Guinea, emergency medical technicians, radiologists, ambulance drivers and bakers.

In my electorate of Solomon, we commemorated National Police Remembrance Day at a humbling service at my parish, Saint Mary's Star of the Sea Cathedral, in Smith Street, Darwin. Alongside serving and retired police, military personnel and their beloved families and friends, I was moved by a very powerful homily by the Bishop of the NT, the Most Reverend Eugene Hurley. Bishop Hurley spoke about his pride that generally speaking, we, as people, can tell right from wrong and about how we try our best to act on the highest good. But, sadly and often tragically, this is not always the case.

Bishop Hurley highlighted that police hold great positions of trust within society and communities and as the keepers of peace and maintainers of order. He expressed that this should never replace the responsibility of the individual to do the right thing of their own volition, particularly to act in good faith to maintain peace and respectful relationships within families.

This year's service was also poignant, as Curtis Cheng's name was added to the national memorial as a result of his tragic death, which occurred during his service for the New South Wales Police last year.

As you know, it is important that we politicians are measured in our debate in this place. I would like it recorded in the Hansard that Curtis Cheng's son, Alpha Cheng, who is a teacher here in Canberra, recently used an open letter to call on Senator Hanson to stop linking his father's death and the Sydney Lindt Cafe siege to comments about the Muslim community that promote fear and exclusion within the community. I believe our police forces have a good culture of promoting multiculturalism and tolerance, and this should be commended and continued. I also believe making such connections for base political purposes actually makes the jobs of officers working in those communities much more difficult.

I personally know so many good police officers. They are stand-up people. I want to particularly acknowledge some of the Territory's officers, including Sean Parnell for his decades of solid work and his assistance with this statement, and my friend Geoff Bahnert, as well as Paul McCue from the Police Association for his work to achieve better conditions for officers and his provision of policy advice to government that will assist with the conduct of safer and more successful community policing. I also want to acknowledge the NT chapter of Police Legacy. They do a great job supporting the families.

As we have heard, nine police officers from Australia, New Zealand and the south-west Pacific are known to have passed away in the last 12 months. I want to pass on my respect and gratitude to their families. May they all rest in peace and with honour. (Time expired)

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