Kate Lundy (ACT, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Local Government) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wish to pay tribute to Audrey Fagan, Australian Capital Territory Chief Police Officer, and to recognise not only her achievements and work but also her personal worth and quality. Audrey died on 20 April in lonely and tragic circumstances. A sensitive person who felt problems personally, she faced the stresses of the high demands she placed on herself. Her job was difficult, certainly, but she appeared to cope successfully as a respected leader in what has been described as a tough and still male-dominated profession. She was accountable in two or three different arenas: the Federal Police, headed by Commissioner Keelty; the Australian Capital Territory government and Minister Simon Corbell; and the federal Minister for Justice and Customs.

Audrey’s loyalty to and support of her officers may have made her feel targeted in recent local media criticism of the police, especially following an incident of sexual abuse and the tragic death of Clea Rose, who was hit by an underage, unlicensed driver in a stolen car being pursued by police in Civic. That inquest re-opened this week. Maybe the very fact of being regarded as a role model and mentor to so many placed a burden on her too. She had to live up to so many expectations. We may have expected her to be a superperson, and such expectations can place a too heavy burden. We simply do not know what stresses prompted such despair.

Friends describe an outgoing, outdoorsy young woman who was physically adventurous and yet was always ready to patiently help a beginner less skilled at, for example, scuba diving. In her time on Christmas Island from 1986 she loved swimming, boating, diving, playing golf with women of all abilities and levels and joining in the fun of the island’s social life. More recent interests included rowing and gardening. Everyone particularly remembers Audrey’s smile. She was always approachable, friendly, helpful, inclusive and unassuming. Audrey’s sensitivity would have been a great asset to the police force. As a friend has described her: you could not not like her. As a young mother, Audrey was also very proud of her daughter, and it is obvious that Clair merits her mother’s pride.

In its motion of condolence on 1 May, the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly expressed:

... its deep regret at the death of ... a dedicated, popular and experienced police officer of the highest calibre who contributed greatly to the development of ACT Policing and the AFP and was a great role model for women within the organisation.

Many such acknowledgements have been made of the role model Audrey was for young women generally and not only in the police force. In fact, she was a great role model for all police officers under her command, not only the female officers. Audrey’s contribution to public life and her many achievements were outlined by Commissioner Mick Keelty in his valedictory and in the many other tributes. Her career spanned so many areas of service, from its beginning in 1981 with the Federal Police protective service branch to general policing and then to the Juvenile Aid Bureau, where her professional and sensitive approach began to attract positive comments.

Further experience in community policing in Canberra and on Christmas Island, experience in fraud investigation, criminal investigation, as a detective and then, in 1992, with the Internal Investigations Branch, as well as work with personnel, training and industrial relations sections, rounded out her broad career experience. At one stage, according to Mr Bill Stefaniak, Leader of the Opposition in the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly, she was the only female detective in criminal investigations, and as such was assigned to sexual assault cases. In these cases, and in all her cases, she built a good rapport with victims and witnesses.

From 1995, Audrey’s was a familiar face here at Parliament House. In that year she became the police liaison officer to the then Minister for Justice, Duncan Kerr, and she continued in this role after the change of government in 1996. Former Senator Amanda Vanstone, for whom she also worked in this role, has paid tribute to her—remembering, as everyone who knew her does, that wonderful smile. In 2004, Audrey Fagan was promoted to the position of Deputy Commissioner of the AFP. Also in 2004, she was awarded the Australian Police Medal for her work in protection and counterterrorism and for the successful integration of the Australian Protective Service into the AFP. In 2005, she was appointed as Chief Police Officer of the ACT. Gaining honours and high positions did not affect the way she related to people. She was always welcoming and friendly and always able to make time for people.

Audrey’s leadership skills, her mentoring and work with the Women in Law Enforcement program, and her community work in and for the ACT will always be remembered. The ACT Minister for Community Services and Minister for Women, Katie Gallagher, spoke of her work with the ACT Ministerial Advisory Council on Women, especially in the area of prevention of violence against women. I was pleased that the ACT Chief Minister has announced that the ACT government will establish, in consultation with her family, a scholarship in Audrey’s name, in a field that was Audrey’s passion. While details are yet to be finalised, it may be that this will be a scholarship to encourage further study and further professional development for Canberra women working to provide professional or social support in areas such as domestic violence or victim support or in allied health areas.

As patron of the Canberra Rowing Club, which Audrey had recently joined, I endorse the tribute from the president of the club, Mr Brendon Prout, who described Audrey’s great promise and tenacity and, of course, her smile, which was ‘a constant around the rowing shed’.