National Police Remembrance Day

The Hon. R.B. MARTIN (15:57): I move:

That this council—

1. Recognises that 29 September 2023 is National Police Remembrance Day.

2. Acknowledges that the purpose of National Police Remembrance Day is to:

(a) honour and remember all police officers who have been killed on duty or because of their duties; and

(b) provide an opportunity to commemorate officers whose death did not occur as a consequence of their duty.

3. Reflects on the brave sacrifices made by those police officers memorialised and provides its condolences to the family members, friends and colleagues of all those police officers who have passed.

Each year, on 29 September, we observe National Police Remembrance Day. Services, vigils and marches are held across Australia to commemorate and honour all police officers who have died in the line of duty. It is also a day that honours the service of all police officers and former police officers who have passed away, regardless of the cause.

The services that take place around the nation each year are a well-deserved act of commemoration for those who dedicated their working lives to keeping our community safe, particularly the 61 officers who have lost their lives in service to the South Australian community. Their sacrifices are never forgotten.

All are remembered, beginning with Mounted Constable John Dunning Carter, aged only 22, and Lance Corporal William Murray Wickham, aged 24, who were the first officers of the South Australian police force to lose their lives in the performance of their duty. They were en route to Overland Corner, about 30 kilometres east of Waikerie, having been sent to help resolve a local disturbance. Both officers sadly drowned while trying to cross the River Murray in a canoe that was not suitable for the task.

The stories of each of the further 59 police officers in South Australia who have lost their lives during or as a result of the performance of their duties is recorded and remembered. The many organisations who advocate and support our police, including their mighty union, the Police Association of South Australia, continue to make sure those stories are never forgotten.

Over the modern history of our state, some of our police officers have lost their lives fighting bushfires, attending traffic incidents, trying to apprehend or subdue suspects, and frequently through numerous motor vehicle accidents, amongst a range of other circumstances. Despite the best efforts of all who are concerned with trying to make policing as safe as possible, it is an occupation that is understood to involve a degree of danger.

Police officers are people who turn up to their shift each day recognising that they may be called upon to face significant risks in the course of their work. Despite this, they bravely get on with the job. But no matter how brave, police officers are human like the rest of us. They have families and loved ones to whom they hope to return home at the end of each shift, and their loved ones likewise hope the person they cherish will return home safely to them each day.

Policing can also be a demanding and stressful vocation. It is important to acknowledge that the nature of the job can take a substantial toll on an individual's mental health and wellbeing. Like other types of first responders, many police endure distressing and sometimes highly traumatic experiences in the course of their work. As is the case with the danger inherent in policing, trauma, too, is something that police officers know they are likely to face in their working life, and it, too, they face bravely.

No amount of bravery can be expected to insulate human beings from the effects of traumatic experiences, particularly when those experiences compound over the course of time. On National Police Remembrance Day we remember police officers who have tragically lost their lives to suicide, knowing that for too many of them the impact of their experiences in service to our community may have been a consequential factor in their suffering.

Our police form part of the critical frontline in nearly every sort of incident and event in South Australia. From keeping the peace to saving lives, our community depends on the essential work police do every day. I greatly value the crucial work South Australian police officers play in making our community a safer place and a better place. A lot is asked of our police officers and they do their utmost to deliver it with integrity, reliability and care.

On Police Remembrance Day every police officer who has served our community rightly deserves to have their service remembered, and for those officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice we particularly remember that they each gave their lives in the performance of their sworn duty to protect our community.

No act of remembrance can match the gravity of that ultimate sacrifice, but I hope that the broader South Australian police family, the Police Association of South Australia and most especially the families of our police officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty will be assured by a vote of this council that we recognise, that we greatly appreciate, and that we regard very highly the work of SA Police. I commend the motion.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. L.A. Henderson.