National Police Remembrance Day
In time honoured tradition on the 29th of September, we commemorate National
Police Remembrance Day.
Across the nation
today, services, marches and motorcades will be held to honour the memories and
deeds of all police officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
Since records began
in 1803, more than 800 police officers have been killed on the job in
jurisdictions around Australia.
The Wieambilla
tragedy of last December will cast a most sorrowful cloud over this year’s
commemorations.
We remember
Queensland Police officers Constable Rachel McCrow and Constable Matthew Arnold
who were killed in that premeditated and most depraved attack.
Our thoughts are
with their families, friends and fellow officers, especially Constable Randall
Kirk and Constable Keely Brough who survived the shootings.
The events at that
rural property on that terrible day could not have been marked by greater
contrasts. Between villainy and valour. Between resentment and responsibility.
Between the very worst and the very best of humanity.
This year, Western
Australia’s law enforcement community was rocked by the death of Constable
Anthony Woods.
The brilliant,
bubbly and brave young officer succumbed to his injuries days after being run
down by a man trying to avoid arrest.
Constable Woods is
in our memory too. And we are thinking of his wife Emily, parents Natalie and
Todd, and siblings Nathan and Brooke.
Every day, our men
and women in blue willingly place themselves in danger to contain and quash
that danger for the rest of us.
They are motivated
by a profound commitment to law and order and by the deepest compassion for the
communities they serve.
Our police officers
act with courage and composure even in the most dire circumstances.
Not to be forgotten
are the partners, children, parents and wider families of our officers whose
quiet and commendable fortitude helps them contend with the daily uncertainty
that their loved one on the beat may not come home.
On National Police
Remembrance Day, we promise to support those families who have suffered the
terrible loss of a loved one in the line of duty.
In our remembrance
of our fallen police officers and gratitude for all they have done, may we look
to their qualities and deeds to inspire the best in ourselves.
Among the many words
engraved on the walkway at the National Police Memorial in Canberra are these:
In
an age of uncertainty the only certainty can be that law and order will prevail
as long as we have dedicated police officers.
On National Police
Remembrance Day, we honour all those who have maintained the law because of
their service and sacrifice.
We thank them for
serving the law to the end.