Jason Wood (La Trobe, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for International Development and Pacific Island Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I too am very saddened by the murders of two police officers who very tragically were taken from us. Detective Senior Constable Neal Thompson served an amazing 40 years with Victoria Police, and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart—they were both doing their job in protecting and upholding right. I know about upholding right, because I served 18 in the Victoria Police force. What's happened for these members and their family is very tragic. This is really hurting the brotherhood and sisterhood of Victoria Police at the moment.

One thing I do know is that Victoria Police will not give up. As the search goes on, they will continue and continue until they get their man. Sadly, we saw in some protests—and I note what the member for Riverina said—people holding up placards trying to somehow honour the alleged police murderer. I'm hoping the courts take tough action against that, especially at a time when Victorian police members and their families are grieving, because it is a very close community.

I joined the Victorian police force and graduated in April 1987. Just 12 months before that, we had the most awful bombing, the Russell Street bombing, in March 1986. That was outside the Russell Street police station. Tragically, Constable Angela Taylor was walking past and was killed in that explosion. Minutes beforehand, they had two groups of schoolchildren walking past, and, miraculously, they were spared. It was amazing work that the detectives did at the time. In actual fact, it was a stolen motor vehicle squad. A member went down to Dawson Street, I believe. He was investigating stolen cars on a racket, and he walked past the car which was actually the remains of the car used for the Russell Street bombing. He noticed the serial number had been drilled out in the same way as in his investigation, and that eventually led the police onto charging those responsible. I don't name them because they don't deserve to be named. But, again, it was just to go after the authority of Victoria Police.

As I said, I graduated from the Victoria police force in 1987. In my sister squad, there was a really nice young man by the name of Steve Tynan. Sadly, and again very tragically, in 1988 on Walsh Street, Steve Tynan was murdered along with Damian Eyre. Steve Tynan was 22 years of age and Damian was 20 years of age. They were ambushed, and their firearms were used against them. Steve was a really nice guy and so was Damian, and it really sent shock waves through all those who had graduated and the wider Victorian police force. I'll just say this actually impacts police members right across the country and across the world because it is a very tight-knit family.

Then, in 1998, we had a series of pizza shops being targeted. At the time I was seconded to Boronia's criminal investigations branch. I think it was the Pizza Havens being targeted. One night, the armed robbery squad arranged for every Pizza Haven restaurant to be surveilled. Surveillance units were there, and police members and detectives were ready in case the pizza shops were hit. So we were there—me, the detectives and Senior Constable Robert Baker—on the Friday night. We waited there all night, and nothing happened. The operation was called off, and the following night that pizza shop was actually hit. It ended up being the same offender who tragically took the lives of Sergeant Gary Silk and Senior Constable Rodney Miller again by setting off a restaurant.

The Victoria Police detectives did an incredible job hunting down those involved. I've actually spoken to undercover police officers involved in that operation. One of their targets was on a building site, and, by the end of it, every worker on the building site was an undercover police officer. The police did incredible work to get their man at the end of the day. When it comes to serving, police members uphold the right. As we were told years ago at the academy, criminals don't have to decide what force they need to use and they don't need to think about internal investigations.

Especially in this awful murder recently and these other ones I'm talking about, when police members are ambushed there's pretty much nothing they can do. They're not prepared for that. In the raids I've done in my day in Victoria Police, especially with the organised crime squad, we were always very much armed and ready to go, firearms drawn. Most police members, especially in the regions, aren't like that, because they're not used to dealing with the most violent offenders. That's a good thing but also a bad thing. The good thing is that the public see the police go in there without firearms drawn. The danger is that, if they need to draw them, the offender has the upper hand.

I say to my former Victoria Police colleagues and especially all those new recruits going through that this is a very tough time for the Victorian police family and all police. They'll stand firm, they'll work together and they'll get their man. We just hope the police get a lot more support. I note the comments of the member for Riverina when it comes to the judiciary. We need the Victorian state Labor government to very much stand with Victoria Police and take very strong action against those who take on the police and assault police. Sadly, I've been told in recent times by my friends in Victoria Police that, whereas in my day you'd be in a police pursuit and the person or the group of youths would take off and you'd abandon the pursuit and let them get away, these days they actually turn around and ram the police car. When you've seen some of those riots and you have so many people, including youth gangs, attacking Victoria Police, there need to be very strong penalties. We need to uphold the law. 'Tenez le droit' means 'Uphold the right'. Victoria Police uphold the right, but we need the courts to uphold the law for those who target and attack our police.

Again, may all those fallen members rest in peace. When it comes to Police Remembrance Day and Police Legacy, I've been to Police Legacy events. Don't think that the tragedy and the pain just diminish every year. The partners go along there—the former wives or the former husbands. It's very sad. You see the kids.

I will just make one final point: there have been way too many members taking their own lives. They need all the support. It's what they've seen, especially those in the child exploitation units. They see the most ghastly things. I was very lucky; I never worked in that area in Victoria Police. For the members who have, what they tell me they have seen—I was speaking the other day to a member who contacted me after, believe it or not, he was arrested by Victoria Police for arresting a person committing graffiti in Upwey. The police member was arrested, but not the guy doing the graffiti. It was good the case was eventually withdrawn, but, as that member told me, he went out sick simply because of the awful child abuse material he used to see. Again, may all those former members rest in peace.

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