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.