Page 2404 - Week 08 - Thursday, 5 August 2021
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My life has changed as a result of this incident. I won’t lay all the blame at the feet of the offender. 13+ years of operational policing and dealing with people’s worst day, day in and day out, and the worst humanity will inflict upon each other takes its tolls.
What I will say is that I was denied any opportunity to deal with the issues created by a career in law enforcement on my terms due to the actions of one man. Instead, he burst the dam wall with so bringing my life crashing down around me. I deserved better than this …
Jason, those are very brave words. I commend you for the publicity that you have brought to this issue on behalf of other members still serving. Jason then asks for a series of reforms, in the messages he sent to me, and, I believe, others which we are currently considering. He concludes:
You are a member of the ACT Legislative Assembly. You have been and will continue to be involved in the creation of laws that put people in Police and Emergency Service roles in harm’s way.
You have an obligation to us when this harm becomes too much to deal with.
Please, do the right thing.
Jason, I can say that we might not be doing everything that you ask for today and nothing can undo what has happened to you, but I think that we can at least make some important progress with this legislation today.
I have had a chance to converse with the AFPA on these reforms and let them know our position. I know that they are advocating for this reform. In fact, they are the ones that came to me and, I believe, other members of this place, with these reforms. In response to the bill as it has been drafted, their response is that:
Your amendment is comprehensive and will provide our members with the safety we and the community expect.
Thank you for your diligence with this.
I would like to thank them again.
Mr Assistant Speaker, I thank police officers like Jason and his colleagues who are asked to run towards danger to keep the rest of us safe. I thank the AFPA for their support in drafting this amendment and I thank all of our frontline workers for the jobs that they do day in, day out in often very difficult circumstances.
I would like this government to help us, work with us, to address this gap in our bail system. Together we should be doing everything that we can to support and protect workers like Jason and others. Today I seek support for this simple change that I believe will have significant ramifications. If one simple change can save the life of even one frontline service provider, it is well worth doing. It will also send our frontline staff—our police, our ambos, our firies—a message that we will do
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