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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-09-25 Daily Xml
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National Police Remembrance Day

Mr TELFER (Flinders) (12:26): I move:

That this house—

(a) recognises that National Police Remembrance Day is held on 29 September 2024;

(b) acknowledges that this day honours the memory of police men and women who have lost their lives in their service to the community, and pays tribute to that ultimate sacrifice;

(c) appreciates the ongoing dedication of sworn and non-sworn SAPOL members across the city, suburbs and regions of South Australia; and

(d) acknowledges the great work of the South Australia Police and the Australian Federal Police in protecting our communities and providing us with a safer and more secure community.

This important motion that I bring today is pertinent this week. As I said, National Police Remembrance Day was first held in 1989 and is commemorated annually on 29 September, which is the feast day of Saint Michael the Archangel, the patron saint of police officers. It is a day to pause and to honour officers whose lives have been lost while performing their duty. It is also a time to remember police officers who have lost their lives through illness or other circumstances. On this day, we honour the brave men and women who have sacrificed their lives to keep our community safe.

Our police officers right across our state, and, indeed, across our nation, put their lives on the line every day to protect and serve, and it is important that we take a moment to remember and appreciate their dedication and their selflessness, especially those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure the safety of our community.

There is no more pertinent time when we reflect on the past year because, as we lead up to National Police Remembrance Day I would especially like to acknowledge the upcoming first anniversary of the death of South Australian officer Jason Doig. Sergeant Jason Doig was fatally shot while attending a property late on 16 November last year at Senior, north of Bordertown. He was a man who was simply doing his job—his important job—of keeping our community safe, one which he had been committed to for decades, and he was cut down in such a brutal fashion.

What the police officers faced that night was unimaginable to those of us who have not served in the police force, but, in talking with many police officers around the state, it is a real and present danger that is faced regularly by those who have the responsibility and take it on their shoulders to keep our communities safe.

Jason Doig had served the South Australian community for decades, and at the end of his career he was serving in the South-East at Lucindale, as I said, before his life was fatally taken at Senior, north of Bordertown, while helping his colleagues. Before that, he served on Eyre Peninsula in my electorate, prominently in Cleve on the eastern Eyre Peninsula. That is where I first met Doigy, back in the day at Cleve when he was someone who engrossed himself in our local community during his time serving in Cleve.

Regional police officers, in particular, are such an important part of small regional communities because they are a point of reference and a point of leadership; indeed, they are part of the community. They provide a level of leadership that is so necessary in our regional communities, and that is why I will always be one who fights for continuing police representation in our regions. Doigy did so in Cleve in his unique way. Anyone who described Jason would describe him as a unique cat, and in his time in the South-East I know he created great connections with his community. In their unique and incredibly important role in our regional communities, our police officers are often serving in isolated places, and they have to be self-sufficient, motivated and driven and have the best interests of their community's safety at heart.

The tragic circumstances that we saw play out on the night of 16 November last year is a stark reminder of the sacrifice and the spirit of servitude that our police force live out in their work every single day. Our police force does important and challenging work in our communities right across all of South Australia.

It has been a privilege, in the last couple of years, to be able to attend the National Police Remembrance Day service at the academy at Fort Largs and to stop to remember and recognise that we should never underestimate the personal and family sacrifice of those men and women who are on the frontline of some of the most dangerous and challenging situations in our community. Indeed, the burden that families carry is one they carry for their whole life.

I also want to talk about the case of a cousin of my father who lost his life: Constable First Class Dennis Ronald Pugsley. He died in 1980, before I was born. He died after the police motorcycle he was riding collided with another vehicle on the Lower North East Road in Houghton. I bring this up not just to once again say his name in this place and make sure it is on the record but to recognise the impact that a loss of life, especially one that is lost while serving on the frontline, had on the family of Dennis. As the years and decades continue on, we should never underestimate the impact of the sacrifice that those serving on the frontline make for us and for our community.

It continues to be an impact of some 40-plus years on the lives of members of his family and his siblings. I know his parents—we lost dear Aunty Eva a few years ago, and she always carried the burden of losing her son who was sacrificed on the frontline while keeping our community safe.

Every day that an officer dons their uniform and every hour that they are on duty, they knowingly and willingly put themselves in harm's way to protect the rest of us. It is important that we take a moment to remember and appreciate their dedication and selflessness. Indeed, on 29 September I will be doing just that. As the shields of our community, our men and women in blue risk their lives, and sometimes, ever so sadly, police officers pay the ultimate price for their dedication to law and order. The people of South Australia, and especially us as elected representatives, join together recognising these officers, including Brevet Sergeant Jason Doig and Constable First Class Dennis Ronald Pugsley, who made the ultimate sacrifice in keeping our community safe.

National Police Remembrance Day is an important one to be able to acknowledge not only the officers who never returned home but also their loved ones and the impact that it has on their families. We heard only recently again from the family of Jason Doig, who is still coming to terms with the loss of their beloved brother, son and friend. Today, we honour those through this motion who continue to risk their lives for the greater good, supported by their families. Thank you to all police officers for your bravery, your sacrifice and your dedication. To those committed police officers who recognise the risk tied to the profession but still provide the best service possible to keep their communities safe, we thank you.

I also want to commend the police commissioner and former State Coordinator, Grant Stevens, for his work and also note in this regard the important work of the Police Association. To speak firsthand to officers who serve is so special to be able to recognise the sacrifice they make and to also recognise—as we always continue to discuss, debate and challenge each other on either side of this floor—the need for us to properly resource our police officers, those who are tasked with keeping our community safe, and that ongoing challenge to make sure we do support them to an appropriate level.

To each and every serving member of our police force, we thank you and we take the time as we note National Police Remembrance Day on 29 September to especially recognise those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. I endorse this motion and commend it to the house.

The Hon. G.G. BROCK (Stuart) (12:36): I also would like to say a few words in support of the member for Flinders' motion on National Police Remembrance Day on 29 September. The member has put it very eloquently about the dedication and commitment to our communities that our police officers across all of South Australia and Australia have. One of the things I want to be able to do is to acknowledge the dedication, courage and sacrifices that not only police officers themselves make but also their families and their friends, specifically in regional areas.

In regional areas in particular—and the member for Flinders also mentioned this—once they take the uniform on and apply for the position they become our protectors. They become the protectors of our community, our youth and our future generation. Once they are in regional areas, specifically with small communities, one of the things they have to do is build trust with those communities. They become part of that community, and it must be very difficult on some occasions when they have to carry out their official duties, specifically when they are in very small communities. Whilst they are part of that community, they still have to do their jobs.

I know for a fact that lots of my friends have gone into smaller communities and they have had to abide by the regulations and the law and at times it is very hard for some people who they become very good friends with—maybe play football with or against or whatever it may be, and even with some of the ladies out there who play netball—when they have to apply the regulations and the law to those particular people. It is very hard because they also live in a very small community.

One of the things I would like to reinforce is that people in regional areas—and I will talk about Marree and locations up there—not only are looking after a small community but they have to patrol and make certain that they are out there for some incidents that may be 200 or 300 kilometres away. They take their own lives in their hands when they travel on these roads because it is very dangerous at times, specifically when you have to get up there for an accident and things like that.

I cannot say enough for our dedicated police members, past and present. As the member for Flinders has indicated, 29 September has to be remembered every year in recognition of that. I have the opportunity to attend quite a few of my police stations as the local member and this weekend, 29 September, I am going to Port Augusta to celebrate National Police Remembrance Day there. Unfortunately, like the shadow minister and others, we cannot be everywhere, but if this house can show its support for this motion I am sure that that message and support will get out to the whole of regional South Australia, and South Australia in general. Again, I commend the motion to the house.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member for Elizabeth—I should also note, a former serving police officer.

Mr ODENWALDER (Elizabeth) (12:40): Indeed, thank you, sir. I rise, of course, to support the member for Flinders' motion:

That this house—

(a) recognises that National Police Remembrance Day is held on 29 September 2024;

(b) acknowledges that this day honours the memory of police men and women who have lost their lives in their service to the community, and pays tribute to that ultimate sacrifice;

(c) appreciates the ongoing dedication of sworn and non-sworn SAPOL members across the city, suburbs and regions of South Australia; and

(d) acknowledges the great work of the South Australia Police and the Australian Federal Police in protecting our communities and providing us with a safer and more secure community.

I have spoken at length on motions similar to this every year I think, so I will not trouble the house today with a lengthy contribution, but I do want to support the member for Flinders in bringing this motion to the house and I want to acknowledge the ongoing bipartisan nature of these expressions of support for South Australia Police. It is really important for serving police officers out there to know that, despite whatever differences we may have in this chamber, the parliament itself and the individual members of this parliament support our police every time they go out and do their job.

As the member for Flinders said, every time a police officer wakes up in the morning or in the evening, as it may be, they know that they are going out into the unknown. When I was in the job—I do not know what the call sign is now; presumably it has changed—the most common job you would get was a 101 disturbance. You would get very little information; you would get whatever information there might be on the premises you were attending, if any. You would have no idea what you were going to, and police officers do this every day.

Every day they go to work they will get seven, eight, nine or 10 of these disturbance calls. Thankfully, 99 per cent of the time these are easily resolved in one way or another, but sometimes of course there is violence and very, very occasionally a police officer is called upon to give their life. It is in the service of the community, and they know that. They know that going into the academy, they know that going out onto the street every day, and so I think they are worthy of the acknowledgement of this house.

Regardless of any government support for the police, it is worth this parliament expressing its support—and not just for police officers; there are police security officers, too, who should be acknowledged. They are trained, they are armed; they come to places like this, and Government House and schools every day. Their role has been expanded into other operational policing areas, and they take very similar risks to our sworn police officers and I want to acknowledge those people today as well.

As I said, I will keep my remarks short, other than to express my absolute solidarity with the member for Flinders in this regard. I do note his observations about regional policing and the late Jason Doig. I did not know Jason, but I do know regional police officers and I do absolutely concur with the member for Flinders' observations that regional police officers do play a special role in their communities. They serve as a binding force in their community, they have a leadership role in that community in a very different way to metropolitan police, so I do want to commend them as well. With those few words, I commend the motion to the house.

Mr BATTY (Bragg) (12:44): I, too, rise to speak on this motion ahead of National Police Remembrance Day this weekend. I thank the member for Flinders, the former shadow minister for police, for introducing this motion to the house today, because it is a really important opportunity for us as a parliament to really reflect on the service and the sacrifice of all serving police officers right across Australia, and particularly in South Australia, who serve us now and also those who have paid the ultimate price in the line of their duty.

This motion acknowledges the memory of police men and women right across the country who have made that sacrifice and, in particular, today we rightly acknowledge the 62 South Australian police officers who have tragically lost their lives in the line of duty. When you go and look at the honour roll, when you go and look at the Wall of Remembrance at the Police Academy, I think it is very important to remember these are not just names or plaques and that 62 is not just a number: these are humans who had lives and livelihoods and left behind parents, partners and children in the course of making that ultimate sacrifice to serve their state to keep us safe. That is why they do what they do; they do it to keep us safe.

When most of us see danger we run away from it. The people we are celebrating and acknowledging in this motion today run towards that danger when they see it. Their selflessness, bravery and sacrifice is to be commended today, on the weekend and on all days. This year, in particular, as the mover of this motion has acknowledged, we particularly mourn the loss of Brevet Sergeant Jason Doig, who, on 17 November 2023, was killed in the line of duty after responding to a call at a property near the Victorian border. At that time, Jason became the 62nd South Australian police member to be recognised on that Wall of Remembrance who died carrying out his duties. I commend and agree with all of the comments made in this house about the sacrifice that Jason Doig made.

A couple of weeks ago I had the honour of attending a ceremony for the unveiling of Jason Doig's plaque on that Wall of Remembrance. I had the honour of meeting his family, who, I must say, are carrying themselves with exceptional strength through what we can all only imagine is the most shocking and tragic of times. The family is attending the National Remembrance Service in Canberra over the course of the weekend, which is why this ceremony was held a little bit earlier, to give them the opportunity to be here in Adelaide when that plaque was unveiled.

I also commend and acknowledge those who have travelled in the annual Wall to Wall: Ride for Remembrance. This is an occasion when SAPOL officers join their counterparts from right around the country on a motorcycle ride, from the Wall of Remembrance in each city to Canberra, for a tribute ride. This year is particularly poignant because, for the first time, that journey from Adelaide to Canberra had a new name added to the roll of honour which, of course, was Jason Doig. I want to particularly acknowledge the very, very sad loss of Jason Doig in the line of duty, along with all those others who have lost their lives.

This motion also rightly acknowledges all South Australian serving police officers. We have one of the oldest police forces in the country. There are some 6,000 sworn and unsworn SAPOL officers who risk everything for us every day on a 24/7 basis. I particularly acknowledge, as others have, the toll that sometimes takes on their families and on themselves.

To conclude, I want to acknowledge all those serving officers and thank them for the work they do. It is our work here to make sure that we always protect those who protect us and we always honour those who have served us. This motion today seeks to do just that and I am very pleased to commend it to the house.

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen) (12:50): I rise to support the motion the member for Flinders has brought to the house and join with speakers who have participated in the debate in once again ensuring that this house recognises National Police Remembrance Day that is coming up this weekend and I make particular reference to the service that will commemorate National Police Remembrance Day on Friday at the Academy.

I want to say some words in particular today about the loss of police officers in the Hills. I want to make particular reference to the grandfather of my constituent and friend Peter Tregoweth. Peter's grandfather, Thomas Tregoweth, died in service on 19 December 1926. Thomas was stationed at the Burnside Police Station. As police often were at that time, he was called to investigate a bushfire in Waterfall Gully on 15 December 1926.

He became encircled by the fire and was badly burned when trying to escape. He died four days later of what was described as 'shock'. He left behind his wife, Mary, and a two-year-old son, William Thomas Tregoweth, Peter's father.

Thomas Tregoweth had fought for the AIF in France. He had been captured and had been held as a prisoner of war. When he returned to Australia in 1919, he joined the SA Police and in 1922 he was posted to Burnside. As I said, the outset officers at Burnside were often tasked with fighting bushfires as part of their duties.

As the member for Flinders has reflected, the loss of Thomas Tregoweth occurred almost a century ago. The effect of that loss has travelled down the generations. Peter Tregoweth is now himself a proud grandfather. At this time of the year in particular, but also at different times of the year, and we see each other regularly I am glad to say, he reflects on the loss of his grandfather in those circumstances. It is obvious that the loss in those circumstances travels throughout communities and across generations. So we remember and I pay tribute in particular to Thomas Tregoweth and his family.

I also want to mention the Police Heritage Site at Waverley Ridge Road, Crafers West, because it recognises and commemorates the loss of three officers in similar circumstances not quite 30 years later. On 19 January 1951, Sergeant Instructor Cecil Sparkes—together with two special constables in Special Constable Mervyn Casey and Special Constable Colin Kroemer—was called from the Adelaide Police Barracks to attend, along with 20 officers, a blaze up in the Hills.

They were sent up there with knapsack sprayers and they were confronted by a blaze in a gully. The wind swept the fire around them, cut off their escape and, so terribly, the three police officers died in that fire. They were found subsequently very badly burned, with knapsacks still on their backs. Their loss is commemorated by the memorial that is located at Waverley Ridge Road at Crafers West of that terrible day in 1951.

Whether police are going out each day, called to—as the member for Elizabeth said—that most usual of calls, to a disturbance, or whether indeed police, as in times past, are called to service in response to a bushfire emergency, police have over the life of our state been at the centre of what it is to display ordinary daily profound courage in the interest of the service of our community. We recognise them, we particularly mourn the loss of those who have died, and we thank police for their service across the state. I commend the motion.

Mr TELFER (Flinders) (12:56): As I rise to conclude the debate on this important motion, can I just recognise that indeed it is a motion which quite rightly has bipartisan cross-party support. It does not matter who is in government, who is in opposition, who has the control of the budget purse springs, it is the responsibility of us as decision-makers to make sure that we are supporting those who are protecting us and our community, and also enabling appropriate resourcing for those who put their lives on the line every single day for us.

I would like to thank the member for Stuart for his contribution. In fact, the member for Stuart represents such far-flung regional centres that really the work that is done in those outback police stations in particular is unique, and for him to speak those words of recognition of that community aspect for not just rural or regional but for those far regional areas of our state was really important, so I do thank the member for Stuart.

I thank the member for Elizabeth for his contribution, recognising that his experience as a former shadow minister for police gave him an insight into the force and into the work of police officers right around our state, and highlighting that it is not the first time he has made a contribution on a motion similar to this. As the years pass, there is no less important opportunity than we have every single year to recognise, especially around this Police Remembrance Day, the sacrifice that is made.

I would like to thank the member for Bragg for his contribution and, as the shadow minister for police, getting the insight into the recent unveiling of the plaque for Brevet Sergeant Jason Doig. As I mentioned in my few brief words, the family has come together with this state to mourn the loss of Jason, and the service which we had last year was an incredibly moving one. An amazing turnout from police officers down the length of North Terrace really was not just recognition of the sacrifice that Jason made, but also recognition that this could be any one of them in those same circumstances.

I thank the member for Bragg and the member for Heysen for bringing that historical context that, indeed, as the years pass the memories may slightly fade, but the importance of the sacrifice continues on. In doing that, I would like to thank members once again for their contribution and, as we near this weekend and National Police Remembrance Day, I would like to wholeheartedly endorse the passage of this motion through this place.

Motion carried.

Sitting suspended from 13:00 to 14:00.

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