Matters of Interest

First Responders

The Hon. L.A. HENDERSON (15:22): I rise today to pay my thanks to the many South Australian police officers and frontline workers for their unwavering dedication and commitment to serving and protecting our community. As everyone in this chamber would know, I have a deep connection and respect for first responders who put on a uniform every day to make sure they keep South Australians safe, at times to the detriment of their own safety. It is something that no doubt presents different challenges and sacrifices for each frontline worker and, more broadly, for their families as well.

It is hard to miss the reporting in the media of late of assaults and antisocial behaviour that has been targeted towards police officers and first responders, behaviour that is quite frankly unacceptable. Only a few days ago it was reported that two officers were allegedly attacked in the early hours of Sunday morning on Hindley Street. It is also reported that in the early hours of Wednesday the 23^rd, an officer was allegedly assaulted and bitten in Woodville and, on the same day, another officer was assaulted in Elizabeth.

In early October, two officers were attacked and taken to hospital after a serious incident at a CBD bus station and in September a female officer was glassed in the face in Ceduna. Just this week, we saw reports of a police officer who was brutally bashed while she was pregnant back in 2021. I have no doubt that there would be many more incidents than the ones I have listed here today, whether it be physical or verbal abuse that is targeted toward police officers, police officers who are just trying to do their job, people who are trying to keep our community safe, police officers who deserve to go to work and to come home to their families safely.

These brave members of SAPOL are mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, family members and friends. They, too, are human beings and deserve to be treated with respect. The officers who have been assaulted will now have to live through the trauma of being assaulted at work—a job that is ultimately fundamentally rooted in service and protecting our community. It is the least that can be done to repay their service and their dedication to our community that they are given respect so that they are able to do their work and then return home safely.

So today I acknowledge the service and sacrifice of our many frontline workers to say thank you. Today, I also shine a light on the importance of providing protections for our police and frontline workers so they can return home safely, as we are all able to do from our jobs. To the officers involved in the incidents I have just mentioned, my thoughts go to them and their families, and I acknowledge their service.

We talk often in this place about employees' rights to be safe at work. These officers deserve to know that they should be able to start and end their shift safely with the full support of the community, the parliament, the courts and their employer. Most people do the right thing in our community. Most people have respect for our men and women in blue and are grateful for their work and their service.

I, like so many in our community, am very supportive of our frontline workers and their contribution, so today I reaffirm my dedication to protecting those who protect us. I thank our police and all of our frontline workers, who face uncertain circumstances every single day. We are indeed very much indebted to the service you provide.