Tuesday, 8 March 2022

Bills

Victoria Police Amendment Bill 2022

Second reading

Debate resumed.

Ms ADDISON (Wendouree) (14:51): I am delighted to continue speaking on the Victoria Police Amendment Bill 2022. Just prior to question time I was thanking the minister, who is now in the chamber, for the great work that she has done—as well as her office and her department—on bringing this bill to the house and also acknowledging the great role that she has played to date as Minister for Police since her appointment in May 2016. So thank you, Minister. We are always so happy to welcome you in Ballarat, and I look forward to hosting you in Ballarat at your earliest convenience.

It is because of the leadership of the Victorian police and the minister that this bill is before the house today, because on 23 February the minister advised the people of Victoria that urgent legislation was being drafted to fix an administrative error to ensure all police could continue to keep Victoria safe. This is very important, because it had become evident that between 1 July 2014 and August 2021 Victoria Police deputy commissioners had appointed a number of police officers to the role of assistant commissioner in an acting capacity, incorrectly assuming they had the power to do so. Deputy commissioners had the power to appoint acting assistant commissioners under the Police Regulation Act 1958 but not under the new act that had been introduced, the Victorian Police Act 2013, so on the commencement of the new act deputy commissioners no longer had the power to appoint police officers as AACs and could only appoint a police officer to the role of an AAC if the Chief Commissioner of Police delegated his appointment power to deputy commissioners. So Victoria Police fortunately identified this administrative error and the chief commissioner delegated his appointment power. The delegation could not resolve the historical invalid appointments or any powers exercised by the AACs pursuant to their appointment. Therefore this bill is necessary and important.

The Victoria Police Amendment Bill will retrospectively validate the appointments of police officers to the role of AAC by deputy commissioners so that AACs are taken to have always been validly appointed. This provision will have the effect that powers purportedly exercised by invalidly appointed AACs will not be invalid by reason of their invalid appointments. This includes the power to swear in police officers and PSOs. So I welcome that the provisions included in this bill will also remove the prospect that persons who were purportedly sworn in as police officers or PSOs by invalidly appointed AACs might be found not to have had the powers or duties of a police officer or PSO. I am sure this will provide comfort to officers, PSOs and their families after what might have been a worrying time for them.

Despite the urgency of the bill, I am very pleased that consultation for these reforms and the development of the bill were undertaken, obviously with the most primary stakeholder, that being Victoria Police, but also with Police Association Victoria and the solicitor-general. These bodies have been advised of the invalid appointments of AACs and the invalid swearing in of police officers and PSOs. Importantly, legal advice has been sought from senior counsel to inform the development of these provisions. I note that Police Association Victoria, who represent the industrial, legal, professional and welfare interests of approximately 18 000 members of Victoria Police, have been consulted, and I have been advised that they acknowledge the unintended and highly technical nature of the error.

I wish to take the opportunity to look locally to my electorate of Wendouree and thank the members of the police across Ballarat who are protecting our community through this challenging time but always protecting our community. We have a very, very great police command in Ballarat. My electorate of Wendouree and the area of Ballarat fall under the western region division 3, which is Ballarat and Moorabool, and we have a very, very great police superintendent by the name of Frank Sells. Frank Sells is a terrific leader of our community, and I really thank him for his availability. When I ring him with any concerns he is always very pleased to talk issues through with me, and I really do appreciate that when issues are raised with my office. I would also like to acknowledge the great work of the previous superintendent, Jenny Wilson, who is a fantastic woman. We are talking about how great women are on International Women’s Day. Jenny Wilson was an outstanding superintendent for Western Region 3 and had a positive influence on the Ballarat community.

I am very pleased that the Ballarat community are strong supporters of our police officers, and we have seen this during COVID. We have seen people reaching out to the police to talk about any issues they have about the chief health officer’s orders or concerns. Even when a rally was going to be held in Ballarat opposed to vaccination and everything like that we had a very strong turnout by the police. They asked the people of Ballarat not to come to this rally, not to come down, not to take off their masks and not to disrespect the issues that had been raised and the orders of the chief health officer, and the Ballarat community responded really positively. They said, ‘The police don’t want us in the Bridge Mall on this day’, and it was fantastic to see the community listening to the police.

We saw some great operational policing just on the last couple of weekends, with a number of young students in year 11 and year 12 wanting to have big parties across Ballarat. As a parent of a secondary school student, I got an email from the school principal. The police had contacted every single one of our schools to say, ‘We do not need 500 or 600 students having a large outdoor party’. They worked very closely with our schools and with the community, and I am very pleased to say that no such event happened on the weekend. It was proactive policing. It was preventative, on the front foot, getting principals and getting families involved. We had no issues on the weekend, so I really commend the police for that.

Sadly we have got very high levels of family violence in my community of Ballarat. The work that the family violence team does to make sure that families and children are safe and the visits they provided during lockdown to check in on families are so welcomed and so well received. I know that they made a really significant difference for so many families. I have so many friends in the police force, and I would like to acknowledge and thank them for their great work.

Ms McLEISH (Eildon) (14:58): I rise to speak on the Victoria Police Amendment Bill 2022. The purpose of this bill, as we have heard, is to fix an administrative error. I think in opposition we know how important it is that police are able to do their job to the best of their ability and have all the resources and processes in place to do that. This error needs to be rectified. The second-reading speech gives quite a lot of detail about the extent of that and what it means, and that is very useful for people to refer to. This also needs to be done. We in the opposition know that this needs to be done, and we have worked and will continue to work very cooperatively with the government to make sure that this happens.

As I do this, I rise in support of Victoria Police. I have a lot of police stations in my electorate and know very many of the police, and many of them are just local community members who you see around the traps in any case. Certainly the coalition stands in the front line with Victoria Police and protective services officers. As I have said, we will work cooperatively with the government to process this bill. Despite that I do note that we only received the bill from the government at 4.37 last night. It was just here for a short period of time before the bill briefing. That really did not give a lot of time, but we did know and understand the issue because it has been canvassed in the media quite extensively. We still would have liked a little bit of time to actually have a look at the bill itself before that briefing.

I want to acknowledge that many of our police officers put themselves in harm’s way every day to do their role to protect us. It is easy to see them out in the streets and not remember that a lot of what they do can actually be very challenging and can have lasting impacts on what they say and what they have to do. The amendments before us are in fact urgent amendments to the Victoria Police Act 2013. As I said, they address an error, and the error is around the appointment of acting assistant commissioners. Now, in many areas of the public service there are a lot of acting roles that are filled if somebody is on leave or for whatever reason, longer term or shorter term. They get filled by somebody else in that position who is appointed in an acting capacity. This was done just as part of the process on the assumption that the deputy commissioners who made the appointments actually had the appropriate authority to do so, and that was an assumption that they had made. This assumption had been made for some seven years, since 2014. So the very specific changes that we see today are there to protect liability and to ensure that police can go about doing their job.

There are quite a number of police and PSOs that were appointed to particular roles, to higher roles, without the knowledge of what we know now. Once this was realised there was fairly swift action to make sure that these people, these officers, were re-sworn. A majority of the officers were re-sworn by the government, and then there is this legislation that is before us now. I think the Minister for Police when she introduced the bill described it as a very targeted piece of legislation, and indeed it is, because this is retrospective legislation. It is to validate that the officers were and are able to do their roles. So we see that they have acted outside the legislation unknowingly as a result of that error, and certainly this is now to correct that. The retrospective nature of this bill will allow that to happen so that all of the work that they have done for this period of time is validated rather than it being not validated, which would leave us with gaping holes in our legal system and our justice system.

Now, there are a couple of areas that are actually carved out in the legislation, and I want to refer to those because Shane Patton, the Chief Commissioner of Police, referenced the issue of some drug investigations. That set off the chain of work that identified this issue regarding the sworn status of police officers for those that have been sworn by the acting assistant commissioners. Now, there are four cases that are cited in the legislation, and the courts had already noted that an authorisation had been given by a police officer invalidly appointed to act in that higher role and that the evidence obtained from that authorisation was not obtained legally. They thought it was not appropriate for the Parliament to require the court to reconsider the validity of that evidence that had already been ruled on. You can see the problem: without this change that is being introduced today we would have many more of these cases where the evidence that has been relied on is in fact considered to be invalid.

I have many, many police stations in my electorate, and the police do a fabulous job. They are very different. I have a one-man operation in Woods Point. If you think about it, Woods Point is in the High Country, and it is pretty remote and isolated—not in terms of outback Western Australia or something but in terms of Victoria. It is a considerable distance from Mansfield and on a gravel road. It is very difficult for the police to do their policing as one person. We have a lot of illegal deer hunting in that area, and it is challenging. When that person goes on leave—I can name him: Ken Dwight—he has to have people cover for him and learn and understand quickly the nature of policing in rural communities. When you are a one-man station, pretty well you are it. He does a fabulous job, because everybody in the town and the wider area knows him.

Also we have a police station at Mount Buller, and again the activities that are conducted up there are not what you would normally consider part of policing. They do a lot of work with lost persons—lost when hiking or caught in a blizzard—and the police officers require specific survival and tracking skills and particular equipment so that they can do that hiking and those snow rescues for the lost and injured. This is quite different from somebody who is on the beat in the CBD, the skills that they would need. The weather conditions can change, and it can be very dangerous—those conditions can be quite extreme. I certainly want to give a shout-out to those officers that go and man that Mount Buller booth during the winter. This would be the same of course at all alpine resorts. You need to have very specific skills.

A lot of general policing does happen in my electorate: enforcing road safety, highway patrols and alcohol and drug tests. I can say that I was actually pulled up and had an alcohol and drug test in the Nillumbik shire not so long ago. I passed with flying colours, they said. They attend car accidents, and they certainly do a lot of advocacy around domestic violence, family violence and drugs. I see them turn up to forums that the community organises to be out there and to be present, to advocate and to try to help younger people understand their role in society and understand where the dangers are and where the predators are.

We have had a lot of farm crime in Yea. We have had to have farm crime specialists go to the saleyards and talk to people about how they can better protect themselves, because tractors go missing. We have a lot of things like chainsaws, and you have farm vehicles, which are what people need to do their jobs. There were thefts from the Kinglake Football Netball Club, and we had an extraordinary drug bust in Alexandra in 2013. It was some while ago, but it was a clandestine lab as well. We have detectives, we have the highway patrol and we have general policing. This is a pretty big deal. More recently, though, there was an enormous drug bust, and I commend the police on their role there. They found more than 8000 cannabis plants just out of Toolamba, just out of Shepparton, and five people were charged, so this is again a different element of policing to being in the cars doing the regular patrols.

I finally want to mention that there has been a new inspector installed at the Lilydale police station, Gerry McKenna, and she has only been there for a few weeks. The member for Evelyn and I had the pleasure of actually meeting with her the other day, and I congratulate her on her appointment to that role that she has in the broader Yarra Valley. In that area certainly that I have, we have Warburton, Yarra Junction, Yarra Glen and the Healesville station. I just finally want to mention the sudden loss of the sergeant at Yarra Junction police station, Kevin Largue, from a heart attack, which really threw everybody. His are very big boots to fill. He was a terrific character. I was unable to attend his funeral, but I am not sure that I had a Hawaiian shirt, which was required to get into the funeral. But I am certainly thinking of Ellen and the family in that situation because of their sudden loss and also the wider police force in the area, who really will notice Kev not being there.

Mr RICHARDSON (Mordialloc) (15:08): I had to check myself with you in the chair, member for Mornington. Thank you for giving me the call to speak on the Victoria Police Amendment Bill 2022 and follow speakers who have talked about the administrative change that needs to be made to support a number of Victorian police officers who, through administrative error, were sworn in incorrectly and to correct that record and provide that retrospective legislative amendment to validate their membership of Victoria Police. I stand and follow a number of members of Parliament who have placed their appreciation of and support for Victoria Police on the record in Parliament today.

When I first was elected as the member for Mordialloc in 2014, I had the opportunity and privilege to meet a number of our Victoria Police sworn officers to understand a day in the life of their work and the pressures they confront as they front up every single day to support others in our local community. It is a selfless job. It is one of community service and dedication of purpose where they are really the true heroes and legends of our local community. They walk amongst us each and every day and do incredibly brave things on behalf of all of us. During those times and over the years leading up to the pandemic it was quite telling to be brought into briefings where they shared some of their work day to day: the over-representation of family violence across our local communities that was stressing Victoria Police members administratively and emotionally day in, day out—in some areas 40 to 50 per cent of their work was in the prevention of family violence space and the mental health and wellbeing impact on our community and the debilitating impacts on Victorians who are going through acute mental health challenges. That makes up such a significant portion of their policing and their work. So having that hand in glove with important reforms that go to the heart of dealing with the causes of family violence and mental ill health really has a broader benefit to our wider community and helps in their work and their policing and their support of our local community.

We have seen Victoria Police play such an important role in the work and research to understand the causes of family violence, to protect vulnerable people, to reform behaviour and change attitudes over time. Indeed, Victoria Police as an organisation has gone through a substantial amount of cultural change just over the last decade as it has become more inclusive and representative of our local communities. When we think of all the work that got us to that point—we have had the landmark reforms around prevention of family violence, we have had the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System, which is a little further back than some of those 227 recommendations on the prevention of family violence—and when we think then of a one-in-100-year pandemic, that greatly changes and greatly impacts on the way that police go about their business each and every day in supporting our community: the unprecedented workload, the challenges of securing Victoria’s borders, where our states and territories went back to that insular protection of their people and exclusion of other Australian citizens. There was the ring of steel of course and the burden that that placed on members during that uncertain time; they were taken away from their families and their communities to ensure that we could protect our communities as best we could and make sure that we suppressed the virus as much as we could. It has been a tiring and challenging couple of years for them in addition to everything that they confront and do, and we place on record our great appreciation for the work that they do each and every day.

In the City of Kingston they do an extraordinary job. They are some of the more than 3000 members that we committed to funding and supporting. We have seen in recent reports, just late last year, that we have the strongest police service in the nation. When we go away from some of the rhetoric that we saw previously in a debate around law and order, we see funding based on growth, based on need and based on specialist services, particularly in my local community. The focus on the prevention of family violence out in the Moorabbin district, subdistrict 2, has been critical in saving families, protecting families from the harms and the scourge of family violence. That intervention and that work have been so critical. Operation Summersafe keeps hundreds of thousands of people safe along our coastal stretch in the City of Kingston and indeed all the way down the Mornington Peninsula. In terms of the work that is done to protect people while they are out there enjoying the summer in the local community, our Victoria Police members are out there visibly supporting our local community as well in keeping people safe as they flock to the wonderful resources that we have. They have just finished up Operation Summersafe, which was a strong initiative of Victoria Police that has been really championed out of the Moorabbin district that serves all the way from Bayside to Glen Eira and all the way through to Carrum.

When we see the investment that has been made by the Andrews government over that time, we would have found ourselves in a really difficult position going into the challenges that we faced with the COVID pandemic, with the challenges around the prevention of family violence, if we had not put in that extra resource. So we are in a position now where 22 000 members of Victoria Police are now supporting our communities each and every day. Obviously the protective services officers as well are a wonderful resource along the Frankston train line, from the communities that I represent from Chelsea through to Cheltenham, and that work continues to expand and grow, and indeed PSOs do eventually then find their way to becoming sworn Victoria Police officers as well.

On behalf of my local community, I too want to join with a number of members in paying tribute to our Victoria Police officers. The City of Kingston residents in particular owe them a great debt of gratitude for all the work that they have done and the service that they have provided over that time. So this legislation—and some of those members were in the Kingston region as well—makes sure that we retrospectively correct that administrative error, the incorrect delegation powers. It was for the deputy commissioners that they tried to remedy it in the middle of last year, August 2021, but it still did not comply with some of those requirements.

It is worth noting the collaboration across the Parliament in the Legislative Assembly—the Minister for Police and the Shadow Minister for Police were collaborating—to make sure that we remedy this as soon as possible and that there is not any uncertainty, whether that is legal or a perception in the local community, and that there is, as best there can be, a bipartisan approach to that work and that collaboration to make sure this sails through the Parliament and we correct that. From time to time these things happen and bills are rushed into the Parliament and need that remedy to make sure that things can carry on as was intended. Obviously this was not an intended outcome, and that technicality is rightly corrected there as well. So it is fitting at this moment in time that we get collaboration across the Parliament like this. There should be more opportunities where coming together on the merits of issues sees us able to work collaboratively, and certainly some of the reflections from the minister and the shadow minister show that working together on these issues, whether they are urgent or whether they are key policy issues, should be a tone that we set going forward.

We will continue as a Victorian government to make sure that we are supporting Victoria Police and its members into the future. We have seen the challenges that they have faced over this time, the more than 3135 members that we have funded and supported who have given a significant benefit to the City of Kingston community, whether it is through Operation Summersafe or whether it is through the work to support mental health and wellbeing or the prevention of family violence; in some areas up to 70 or 80 per cent of the work that they confront can be in the prevention of family violence and mental health space. To all those members that serve their local communities, the 22 000 sworn officers, PSOs and also the police staff and the administrative staff that do a significant amount of work in stations and communities all across Victoria, we owe you a great debt of gratitude. We place on record our thanks during these unprecedented times, and we wish them all the very best into the future. They can be assured that we will continue to invest in technology and support for them going forward and to make sure that they have every necessary resource to keep our communities safe into the future as well. So on behalf of my local community I commend their work and appreciate the collaboration that has been had between members across the Parliament.

Mr D O’BRIEN (Gippsland South) (15:18): Thank you, Acting Speaker. It is a pleasure to see you in the chair today, and I am also happy to rise to speak on the Victoria Police Amendment Bill 2022, which, as previous speakers have indicated, is an important bill to clear up an issue that has arisen within the Victoria Police Act 2013. It is an administrative error relating to the appointment of acting assistant commissioners that has actually flowed through the system and caused issues with respect to the swearing-in of officers right throughout the force, and as such the opposition is not opposing this legislation and is working with the government to facilitate its swift passage through the chamber today and hopefully through the other place as well to get this put to bed.

It is always a concern when the Parliament puts forward retrospective legislation. I think that is something that should be avoided as a principle, but in this circumstance it is, I think, literally unavoidable and one that I support on this particular occasion, because we must make sure that our police are operating properly and legally to ensure that the work they are doing and what subsequently flows through the courts as well are proper and legally valid, and that is indeed what this legislation is about.

It is important that we on this side and those in the government—and I would hope every member of this chamber—provide their support to our police. Sadly there are some that sit near me that sometimes do not provide their support to the police. They seem to think that it is better to support people who do the wrong things, but certainly I support our police very strongly for the work that they do throughout our state in the early hours of the morning through to late at night and in all locations around our state. It is a difficult job. I have a number of family members who are—and indeed one family could almost be a TV show because they are just about all, or their in-laws are—police officers, and I know the stress that that puts on that family, particularly in the last 12 months or so when there have been some significant security issues for that family. That is to be regretted, but when tensions are high it is often the police that are sent in to deal with them. Sometimes it is both the officers and their families that cop the brunt of that, and that certainly is a concern. I will not name them, but I do pay my respects to those members of my extended family who have done such a great job over many years, but particularly in the last 12 or 18 months, in providing community safety at a time of significant community stress and tension.

I also note the work that the police do in engaging with the community and not simply tackling crime and dealing with the bad guys, as it were. Indeed this morning with Parliament sitting I have missed the International Women’s Day breakfast that was put on at the Sale police station. I think my staff did go along to that event. The member for Burwood would be pleased to note that, speaking of International Women’s Day, I now have my purple tie on, and I thank him for providing it. It is the sort of thing that our police do—putting on a day to recognise International Women’s Day. In fact I think Acting Inspector Mel McLennan at Sale police station was the person inviting us to that. I saw Mel on Saturday night at the first deb ball that we have had in my electorate for a very, very long time due to the pandemic—that is another example of the work that the police do, being there after hours, being part of the community and accepting the debs—along with my federal colleague Darren Chester. We are indeed lucky in Sale to have the RAAF base, who were there as part of the official party as well, but it was great to see Mel there and to enjoy the community experience that it was.

Our police do a fantastic job, and as I said, in supporting this legislation we as a Parliament need to support them. But there are challenges right throughout our state. Despite the additions to police numbers under this government and indeed under the previous Liberal-Nationals government, there remain those challenges. I was not a member of the previous Liberal-Nationals government except at the very end of that government when I had a stint in the upper house, but I do know that at the time my predecessors committed to 1700 extra police and 940 PSOs. Indeed what they delivered in that four-year term was in fact 1900 extra police and over 1000 PSOs—so that was good—and the government has, through its community safety statement a couple of years ago, added additional numbers. My concern is that those numbers are not necessarily evenly spread around the state and in those areas that need them the most.

I am particularly concerned about South Gippsland, where the thin blue line is indeed very thin. Just last week while undertaking a listening post in one of the towns in South Gippsland I came across one of the local officers off duty, and he raised the concern again about numbers. What I often hear from my police officers is that the numbers they have across the region in each of the stations are probably about right in their formal allocations but that what happens in actual fact is that when staff go on leave, when they go on long service leave, when they are injured or otherwise off on WorkCover situations and when they are on secondment, which they are regularly are, those positions are never replaced. So while the official numbers on the roster list might be fine, the actual numbers that are there on any given occasion are not.

I know that particularly from Sunday night through to Thursday night in South Gippsland and across Bass Coast there is a very, very limited number of police cars on the road. I have stopped saying publicly what that number is because I am concerned that it highlights to potential criminals that we are fairly minimally protected. It is a concern of course when you are covering such a big geographic area. If you get a couple of minor or major incidents, whether it is a motor vehicle accident or a fire, that require police attendance, it is going to make it very difficult for police then to be able to report at another end of the district in the event of a callout. That is a concern, as I said, that a senior police officer as recently as Friday raised with me. The crime statistics continue to rise, particularly in South Gippsland shire. Wellington shire I think has in the last couple of years been relatively stable, but in South Gippsland shire the statistics since 2014 have risen inexorably, and I think that is genuinely a reflection of the change in policing availability.

The other thing that has caused that concern is the change to two-up policing, which is something that of course is supported by the vast majority of the force. They actually prefer to be working two up, and they are happy to have that security, but I remember talking to an officer at one of my stations a couple of years ago shortly after that policy was introduced, and he indicated it had taken out about 30 per cent of their shifts because of the need to ensure that officers were always working with someone else. There are some exceptions for one-man stations, but even in that case more often than not my one-man stations in Gippsland South are required, if they are going out on jobs, to wait for someone to come from another station to join them, and that causes a significant resourcing issue. Again, I am not saying I am opposed to that, and certainly it is not the police who are opposed to the two-up rule, but it has had an impact on the level of policing that is actually available at any given time.

It is important that we act swiftly to address the issue that this bill is seeking to fix, and retrospectively so. We do need to ensure that our police have the support of this Parliament—that they have the support of the government, the opposition and all members of this Parliament—and that they have the resources they need as well as the legal certainty that they need to provide the service of security and peace to our community. So I look forward to this bill passing the chamber later this evening and proceeding through to the upper house, where it will give some security and certainty to our police force going forward.

Ms HALL (Footscray) (15:27): Acting Speaker Morris, it is very good to be seeing you in the chair and to be following the contribution from the member for Gippsland South. I am pleased to see that the member for Gippsland South has acquired an appropriate tie for the day, courtesy of the member for Burwood.

I am pleased to support the Victoria Police Amendment Bill 2022. It has been lovely to hear the contributions of members from across the Parliament expressing our collective support for Victoria Police and all of the extraordinary work they do across Victoria.

The Andrews Labor government has always had a strong and clear stance on policing and community safety. Since being elected in 2014 the policing budget has increased 52 per cent, and nearly $4 billion has been invested into new funding for police. The community safety statementthat was released in December 2016 outlined the range of strategies and processes and approaches that were being brought in to keep Victorians safe. 3135 new police officers have been funded, including general duties officers and specialist officers—including family violence officers, which a number of people have spoken about today—and more PSOs and new stations for our growing force and state. We worked with the force command on developing this recruitment pipeline to ensure that the measures we have taken would be effective and relevant. Together we developed the staffing allocation model, a sophisticated allocation and forecasting model that accounts for population growth, geography, police activity and crime trends. This approach has seen a stabilisation of police resourcing, ending a boom-and-bust cycle. Policing should be determined by experts and need, not by election cycles. The police academy is now a bustling centre of excellence, and the strategy is already showing its worth.

As of September 2021 there were 3292 more police officers in stations and specialist units than there were in 2014, and I think that is something that we are all enormously proud of. That is a 25 per cent increase. We have 344 more PSOs across our public transport network, a 24 per cent increase. There are 276 police custody officers working across the state, freeing up other officers to be out in the community. We have 908 more Victorian public service staff, forensics staff, specialists and other support staff who assist police and the public every day, and those VPS staff play a very important role in our police force. I was very pleased to be employed in the Victoria Police media unit prior to my election to Parliament. Obviously being the member for Footscray is the best job in Victoria, but being employed at Victoria Police was also an absolute privilege and an honour. I will speak about that in a little bit.

When most people think of police, they think of the people in uniform who work so hard to serve us, but those people who work behind the scenes, especially the forensics staff, play an incredibly vital and specialised role in helping achieve justice. I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the work that they do. As I mentioned, I worked for the Victoria Police media unit in 2010, and it was so great to work amongst such an incredibly hardworking team of people, both sworn and unsworn staff, at Victoria Police.

I was reflecting on International Women’s Day and I was thinking about all of the wonderful women officers that I worked with and the work that they did across Victoria Police. I went down a bit of a rabbit hole on International Women’s Day reading up about the history of women in policing, and it is quite remarkable to think how far we have come. I read the story of a woman called Kath Mackay, who I think should get more acknowledgement in Victoria for her contribution to Victoria Police. Her story is quite remarkable. We had our first women police officers in 1917, and that took many years of campaigning, mostly by women who were leaders in the suffragette movement in Victoria. They then went on to campaign for women to be able to serve as police officers for Victoria Police—including Vida Goldstein, who many of us would be familiar with in this place.

Ms Ryan: An organiser for the Country Party.

Ms HALL: The member for Euroa loves to reference Vida Goldstein’s political affiliations, but she was an amazing suffragette and activist and helped to lead the charge for women in the force as well. After many years of campaigning to have women police officers, in 1924 we had four women. Of course they were not provided with uniforms as the men were. They were paid £90 a year; they did not receive equal pay for equal work.

But Kath Mackay’s story is fantastic. She joined the public service in 1922, and in 1930 she became one of eight serving policewomen, initially assigned to the plain-clothes branch. By 1935 she was attached to the criminal investigation branch at Russell Street. In 1943 she was promoted to senior constable and was in charge of the policewomen section, which operated out of Russell Street. Her role and function were largely restricted to welfare and domestic issues, but actually she was a formidable detective and she was regarded by her superiors as well conducted, efficient and reliable. Having passed all of the relevant exams, she was eligible for promotion to become a sergeant in 1953; however, Victoria Police hierarchy was unwilling to give a female authority over male colleagues at that time, and two men were promoted ahead of her. She appealed to the police classification board, and the case was dismissed. But the police association then took up her cause and campaigned for change. A reorganisation of the women’s section of Victoria Police was considered overdue, and finally in 1956 she was appointed as the first female sergeant in Victoria Police. I just thought that that was a remarkable story on International Women’s Day to note how far we have come in Victoria Police.

Of course the women police officers in my community do such a remarkable job, and I am so proud of the proactive policing that happens in Melbourne’s inner west as well. Community works actively hand in hand with Victoria Police. You see Victoria Police at our local footy games, working with our CALD communities and just being out and about in Footscray and talking with people and making sure, especially during the pandemic, that people understood the restrictions. They did terrific work, so I would like to acknowledge that work as well.

With the limited time I have left I just want to say that it is really pleasing to see all sides of the Parliament supporting this bill to make sure that our police have the retrospective protections that they absolutely deserve. I commend their work and this bill to the house.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Mr Morris): Before I call the member for Euroa, I am sure the member for Goldstein in the House of Representatives would be very upset with me if I did not say it is Goldstein, not Gold-steen, when it comes to Vida Goldstein.

Ms RYAN (Euroa) (15:37): Thank you so much, Acting Speaker. I think we all now stand corrected; thank you very much. It is very nice to see you in the chair.

It is a pleasure to rise today to speak on the Victoria Police Amendment Bill 2022 and to make a few remarks about this important legislation, which comes before us today as an urgent bill to fix, as others have said, an administrative error. We have a situation where under the Victoria Police Act 2013 we have seen deputy commissioners appointing police officers to act as assistant commissioners in situations where they do not actually have the delegated power to do so, and that has as a consequence flowed down, as other people have explained, resulting in acting commissioners swearing in graduating police officers. As I understand it, as a consequence we had 1076 police officers, 157 protective services officers and 29 police custody officers that were incorrectly sworn in. Of course when this error was realised late last month and a police officer told the public what had occurred, Victoria Police acted very swiftly to address the problem, and as a result we have the legislation here before us today to apply some retrospective powers to correct that mistake and to ensure that prosecutions—some that are currently before the courts, as I understand it—are not jeopardised.

We are certainly not opposed to this legislation coming forward. Even though we did see the bill only late yesterday, we understand the importance of this and we understand the importance of this to police, and therefore we are certainly not opposing the bill. I do note the comments from the secretary of Police Association Victoria, Wayne Gatt, who said:

The Bill is essential to make good our members appointment, but in doing so also validates and bolsters their work performed in that same period protecting the community and holding criminals to account. It is our hope that this Bill passes quickly, so as to provide the community with every assurance, that all of our police and PSOs, have done in good faith over that time, will not be undone.

We are certainly working with the government to facilitate that outcome and to ensure the speedy passage of this legislation.

It is probably worth mentioning that it is not the first time that an oversight such as this has actually occurred. There was a similar issue that arose in 2011, when police realised that they were not following proper procedure in obtaining search warrants. They were not swearing on the Bible or affirming in obtaining search warrants, and that forced the government at the time to bring similarly retrospective legislation to ensure that some 6000 prosecutions were not put in jeopardy. So it is not the first time that it has occurred, but thankfully the Parliament is able to act swiftly to address it and ensure the continued safety of the Victorian community.

I think it is worth mentioning that from our side of the house we have driven some really major reforms in policing and in community safety. In 2010 it was The Nationals and the Liberals who championed a dramatic expansion of the role of PSOs, to place them on all platforms in metropolitan Melbourne and on key regional stations. And I recall that quite well because it was Peter Ryan as the Leader of The Nationals, who was the shadow minister for police and then subsequently the Minister for Police, who implemented that policy. I will refrain, in the interests of the bipartisan nature of this debate, from mentioning how the Labor Party described PSOs at the time, but I would hope that all sides of the chamber—

A member interjected.

Mr Rowswell: How rude.

Ms RYAN: Thank you, member for Sandringham. I think it is too. All sides of the chamber now really, I would hope, recognise the great value that PSOs have brought and the way they have contributed to community safety and particularly safety on public transport, which we know is always an issue and, I might mention on International Women’s Day, is particularly an issue often for women travelling at night and those perceptions of safety. PSOs have certainly gone a long way to contributing to that.

We also delivered significantly to actually boost the police workforce, and at the time we made a commitment to recruit and train an additional 1700 police officers. That target was not just met but exceeded, and over the term that we had in government 1900 new police members were recruited, trained and employed. And if memory serves me correctly, before the 2010 election Victoria under the Brumby government had the lowest number of police per capita of any state or territory in Australia, so it was a very significant issue to the Victorian community particularly at that time. But as other people have mentioned in the course of this debate, our police do do wonderful work and work under the most trying and challenging of circumstances, and I think COVID has been very stretching not just for the community but also for the force.

Speaking to many frontline officers in recent times, I know they have felt and shared the community’s frustration at restrictions and lockdowns, the changing nature of restrictions and the difficulty of interpreting a lot of the government’s regulations. I think, particularly from the perspective of my community, of the impact of border closures and the difficulties that that presented for our police. Not only were they taken away from those frontline, core jobs of everything to do with things like family violence and violent assault, they were taken away from those jobs and were suddenly policing the state’s borders. But we also had situations like at one point the Victorian government overnight basically took Benalla out of the border bubble, and what that meant was that we had people who were cancer patients in Benalla who were travelling to Albury for treatment and suddenly they were being turned back at the border and police were telling them that they required a border permit in order to be able to travel for and get cancer treatment at Albury Hospital, which of course services northern Victoria as well. I had a lot of people contacting me, seeking clarification, and in the end we finally managed to get clarification from the Victorian government that no border permit was required, but those things either were not thought about or were dealt with on the fly. It was not the police’s fault; they were just doing the best job they could do interpreting the government’s restrictions at the time. In the end we got clarification, and as a result police were able to let those people through. But that was not just distressing for the people who were endeavouring to travel for life-saving treatment, it was distressing for police as well, because these members of our police force are members of our community.

I think about many of the police that I interact with on a regular basis, people I know in our community, people like Pat Storer, who is a copper in a single station at Violet Town. You are just as likely to see Pat on the Rotary barbecue or on the gate at the Violet Town market as you are in uniform around the streets. He is such a big part of that community. He is at all the Violet Town Action Group meetings. He is Violet Town; he is part of Violet Town—just like Paul Maher, who has now been stationed to Northern Metro, which is a loss for our community. He is the president of the Kilmore football club. You have got people like Mick Layton, who has just been appointed to the Mitchell police service area—a wonderful fellow who is a big part of cricket in our region. Everywhere you go our police are not just police, they are also an integral part of our community and they are community members. So it has been incredibly challenging for them, as they have borne the brunt of the community’s anger about restrictions when it has been the government that has been setting the rules and they have been left to enforce them. That is challenging because they also then have to turn up to the cricket or the footy, when it was running, and be part of the community—like we all are, but also they have the responsibility of enacting the regulations and the legislation that the government of the day sets.

I just quickly want to mention that since I was elected I have been working very closely with Benalla police, and I am delighted that the government has finally come on board to commit to rebuilding their police station. It has been at the top of Victoria Police’s capital replacement list for many, many years, and I am very hopeful that we will start to see that work soon. I will be working with the Euroa community to advocate for their priorities around the Euroa police station as well.

Mr McGUIRE (Broadmeadows) (15:47): This is a narrow bill, but it has been a wideranging debate. I would like to make my contribution continue in that vein, because I think quite often these are of high value, where we hear from the different MPs right across the chamber their local perspectives and insights. I want to therefore acknowledge that this bill addresses an unintended consequence. The Minister for Police introduced the Victoria Police Amendment Bill 2022 into this house as a matter of urgency today, and I want to acknowledge that the opposition has given its full cooperation to get this important and urgent bill through this house today so that it can go to the upper house and be passed into law as soon as possible.

Put simply, the bill itself will retrospectively validate appointments of Victoria Police acting assistant commissioners by deputy commissioners between July 2014 and August 2021 and any powers exercised by them pursuant to their invalid appointments, including the swearing-in of police officers and protective service officers—PSOs, as they are commonly known. The bill will ensure that Victoria Police officers and PSOs are empowered to maintain community safety and no otherwise successful prosecutions will be impacted by any internal administrative error in Victoria Police appointments.

Just to give the context, Victoria Police have been consulted as the primary stakeholder for these reforms. Police Association of Victoria has been advised of the invalid appointments and the necessary requirements to fix this unintended and highly technical error. Legal advice has been sought from senior counsel to inform the development of the provisions. The solicitor-general has also been consulted in the development of the bill, and the Victorian government and the minister, who I want to acknowledge and applaud, have acted urgently to fix this problem. It has been brought to public attention, the government has responded, the opposition has given its collaboration and cooperation, and I think that is a strong bipartisan response and support. That is the key proposition that we face.

But of course it opens up a broader debate about the role and significance of police, particularly with what has been happening in the community in a time of pandemic, where Victoria Police have had to play significant roles particularly with confrontation and make sure that the laws were applied. I know that they are sensitive to that, just from conversations that I have had, and they want to make sure that now that we are through to a different phase of managing the pandemic they are back in the community in a way that is more about taking care of the community rather than having to address the confrontational issues. I applaud that approach and that insight that they have—and I speak also as the Parliamentary Secretary for Crime Prevention—on how we look at these critical issues that we have known.

Poverty is the mother of crime, as the last great emperor of Rome, Marcus Aurelius, said. Not much changes, so we need to address how we fix causes and not just symptoms. I think that has been one of the big initiatives and shifts within the Andrews Labor government: to actually look at what the social determinants of life are and how we address them. Lifelong learning for skills, jobs and meaning and better health and wellness are critical, and then how do you connect the so-called disconnected to better opportunity? We have got technology now that is better than ever before, and we can harness that and make sure that that gives people greater information that is factually accurate and evidence based. We need that now more than ever in a time of counter-enlightenment. And as we have seen, where the politics of division is played, the chain reaction to divide communities on race, rights and taxes is too often still the undercurrent of politics. So how do you connect people in, make sure that they are getting a better opportunity in life and take care of these issues? We know where crime lives; it is the same place as poverty, so that is where we need to go. We actually need to target these communities, bring them back and give the people who live there a better opportunity.

As I say, the Victorian government is addressing this in a whole range of different initiatives. Some I did want to reference are the headlines on the achievements, the strategy and the vision. The government has a clear stance on policing and community safety. Since we were elected in 2014 the resources have been provided—the tools and the powers that police need to keep the community safe—and the investment in the policing budget is 52 per cent higher than it was in 2014. Now, that is an extraordinary investment to try and give police the resources, the staffing and the tools that they need. The government has invested nearly $4 billion in new funding for police.

The government released a community safety statement in 2016, which outlined a range of strategies and approaches to keep Victorians safe. Just to hit some key notes here, the government has funded 3135 new police officers. One thing I really want to underscore is that one of the initiatives is the development of the staffing allocation model, referred to by my colleague the member for Footscray. This is a sophisticated allocation and forecasting model that accounts for population growth, geography, police activity and crime trends. Now, this is really important as we get more sophisticated in our approach to targeting the issues and trying to reduce crime and increase community safety. The model was developed by Victoria Police in consultation with Police Association Victoria and endorsed by the government. And I know speaking now as the member for Broadmeadows, which is a hotspot for a whole range of different issues that have gone on, that this is intergenerational. How do you actually address the circumstances?

I have been to the Broadmeadows police station, I have spoken to the officers there and on their behalf I would like to suggest that under this model we actually look at how we can provide greater reward for effort in these particular police stations. Is it greater promotion or an acknowledgement of their high work rate, because as we know some police stations in different areas can have a much lower work rate than in these communities? I have had this discussion with the local police officer, and they were very happy for me to make this pitch to Police Association Victoria to make sure that their position was acknowledged. I am more than happy to do that because I think reward for effort is really important. Also, and I have long argued this in teaching and education, with policing as well you can get a better mix of experienced police officers with the younger recruits coming through and match them up, particularly in these communities that are vulnerable and have complex needs. We can see now we have a convergence of crises. We have got the pandemic, we have got unemployment, we have got inequality, but how do we actually make these systemic changes?

We have a really sophisticated approach from force command and the police association to try and do this, and I am more than happy to continue to pursue that as the member for Broadmeadows and to look at how we can turn this around and make this a prototype for the change that we are talking about. We have brought in the new industries and jobs—a billion dollars worth of new investment, 5000 new jobs at no cost to taxpayers. Then we have got the vaccines from CSL being made, saving lives at home and abroad. Then we can look at lifelong learning and what is going on there—the global learning village, the ideas lab, the multiversity. We have got the University of Melbourne. We are trying to get them over the line with a great model that will have benefit for 321 different postcodes. If you bring in the policing in this positive way—we have got the Field of Dreams for sport, so there is your sporting connection. I am working on the creative industries. I still want to see Broadywood done before I am done. We will see how we go. We will keep going. I would like to say that it is good to have these bipartisan debates where you can find out a little bit more about what is happening in every corner of the state. On that basis I want to commend the bill and the contributions to the house.

Mr ROWSWELL (Sandringham) (15:57): I also rise to address the Victoria Police Amendment Bill 2022 following the contribution from the member for Broadmeadows. Through you, Acting Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Broadmeadows for his measured contribution and his acknowledgement that in this place sometimes there is agreement amongst members and on this occasion in relation to these matters that we are discussing there is. I think that is also important to note from this side as well.

The first responsibility of every government, in my view, is or should be the safety of its citizens, the security of its citizens. What could be more important than for a national government or a state government to put at the forefront of its policy consideration and policy delivery the safety of its citizens. Critical to that is our police force, Victoria Police. As other speakers have alluded to, this legislation today was introduced at the start of the day, was first read and second read with the agreement of the opposition as a matter of urgency to fix an administrative error. Even in opposition, we know that our primary focus is to protect the community and to protect those who protect us, which is why we on this side of the chamber will not be opposing this bill.

Members of Victoria Police place themselves in harm’s way, and every day they do that to keep us safe. They deserve that respect. They deserve the support that we as members of this place representing our communities give them, and that is what we intend to do through our position on this bill. The change brought about by this bill will protect from liability and ensure that Victoria Police members can go about their jobs, as they do so very well—but it is the government’s responsibility to ensure police are protected. We will not oppose this legislation, although we only received this bill, I might say, from the government at 4.37 pm just yesterday, just hours before it entered this chamber. We have expeditiously worked as a coalition, as an opposition, together with key stakeholders to work through the matters in this bill and to bring about the position that we have arrived at.

I might say that there are a number of media articles in my research for this contribution that were of interest to me. I might just refer to a couple of them. In the Fairfax press on 26 February, from memory, it was reported that a former police prosecutor said that:

… Victoria Police knew seven years ago of the confusion over delegation powers—

the very matter that this bill seeks to resolve—

which this week left …

Victoria Police scrambling, in the view of Fairfax press,

… to swear in more than 1000 police officers who had been working without formal authority.

Former police prosecutor Justin Shaw said on Friday that drink-driving hearings were thrown into disarray in 2015 when it emerged lower-ranking commissioners were signing off on the credentials of breath-test operators without the authority to do so.

The article goes on to say that:

… the same issue was raised in court in 2015, when for about eight months the certificates issued to legalise the use of evidentiary draught breath-testing machines—inside booze buses and police stations—in prosecuting offenders was technically invalid.

…

He said—

that is, Mr Shaw said—

the police top brass were made aware, and retrospective legislation was eventually introduced to legalise the tests.

If this matter was first raised many years ago, in 2015, it is perhaps a legitimate question to ask why now in 2022, some seven years later, we are further addressing similar matters. Benita Kolovos of the Guardian also wrote about this matter, and she said that:

The state’s chief commissioner, Shane Patton, on Thursday revealed between July 2014 and August 2021 1,076 police officers, 157 protective service officers and 29 police custody officers had been incorrectly sworn following the introduction of the Victoria Police Act.

She then went on to quote the police commissioner:

“The reality is that number of police officers and PSOs have been performing that role without having the actual powers validly to do so over that period of time,” he said.

I think it is important to commend Chief Commissioner Patton for his frankness in this particular matter. He saw that there was an issue to be raised, and he did so quite frankly and got to the point. We are now in a circumstance where this matter will shortly be resolved with the agreement of this house—I suspect later today.

I would like to address two other matters in my contribution. First is the work of my local police officers across not only the Bayside police station in Sandringham but also the Cheltenham police station on the Nepean Highway. In my conversations with local police since I was elected in 2018 I have been in admiration of the work that they do in our community. I try to keep in semiregular contact with them just to keep a handle on some of the issues that they face in their day-to-day work on the front line, seeking to keep our community safe. They have raised with me a number of times that the issues that they come up against time and time again relate to theft from motor vehicles, theft of motor vehicles, drug use and drug-related crime but sadly also issues relating to mental health and domestic violence. I give full credit to them. To be a Victoria Police officer at this time in our history, with the issues that our community faces, you need something special in you. It is not just a job that you get paid to do 9 to 5. There is a vocational element.

As my colleague the member for Euroa raised so eloquently, members of Victoria Police are not just those men and women in blue, they are members of our community. They themselves are driven to keep our community safe not just because they wear that uniform but because they are members of our community who operate as members of our community within our community, not just as VicPol members but also as contributing members of local sporting clubs and service organisations as well.

Just finally I think it is also important to place on record the importance that the coalition has placed on keeping our community safe. Just recently we marked the 10-year anniversary of the introduction of protective services officers at train stations, and that was an achievement of the former coalition when we were last in government. At the 2010 state election the Liberal-National parties committed to placing PSOs on all platforms in metro Melbourne and at major regional stations. We committed to 1700 extra police and 940 PSOs, and in our short four years of governing this state—in that privileged time that we had—we in fact exceeded that commitment and delivered over 1000 PSOs and 1900 Victoria Police members, arguably making Victoria a safer place.

PSOs were introduced into the system in February 2012 and now a decade later continue to serve the community. I know anecdotally, having spoken to them, that members of my community do feel safer around train stations. Often on a winter’s night in the darkness and the cold of winter, train stations can be an unwelcoming place, an unsafe place, but for members of my community to know that there are PSOs who are there to protect them at that time does make a difference. It makes a tangible and a real difference to members of my community, and I think that that is a wonderful policy legacy of the former coalition government and one that I know has been supported by the current government as well.

As I said at the beginning of my contribution, we will not be opposing this bill, and we look forward to its passage through this chamber later today.

Mr TAYLOR (Bayswater) (16:07): It is a great privilege that I am able to rise in support of the Victoria Police Amendment Bill 2022, an incredibly important bill. I mean, as we have heard in this house, it is quite a simple bill to fix quite an important oversight from some years ago now, but of course it is wonderful straight off the bat to hear that it has the full support of this place, from what it sounds like. I wish it a very speedy passage in the other place.

As I always do—I will not say always, actually; it is quite definitive. As I normally do, I want to thank the minister for her work on this bill, an incredibly important bill, and of course give a shout-out to the staff over there—sorry you have to listen to all of this—and importantly to Victoria Police and to the department, which has conducted some very speedy and very handy work.

This bill, as we know, will retrospectively validate the appointments of Victoria Police acting assistant commissioners by a deputy commissioner between July 2014 and August 2021 and any powers exercised by them pursuant to their invalid appointments, including the swearing in of police officers and protective services officers. Now, when most people were reading the summary to this bill they were thinking, ‘Oof, we’ve got to fix that one’. I thought, ‘Wow, maybe I arrested a whole bunch of people without having the power to do so’, because I was sworn in as a police constable, I reckon, around July or August 2014.

Mr McGhie interjected.

Mr TAYLOR: Member for Melton, luckily that was Ken Lay. Ken Lay handed my badge to me. I do not remember everything he said, but it was very pleasant. He was very friendly and a nice bloke. It was a big day at the police academy for your graduation. It is the last time you are going to have to march, and then you only have to kind of half-do it for the rest of your career. It is the last hurrah before they kick you out to reality, so you kind of forget a few things along the way. Obviously I remember that Ken Lay handed me my badge. That was a really special moment, sharing the day and sharing the parade with my squad mates—squad 12, 2013–14, a good bunch of people—most of whom are still in the job, which does not surprise me. We were actually the highest performing squad academically—which is not everything—through the police academy at that time. I like to think it was because of me, but no, it was very much a joint effort.

Mr McGhie: And then you came into politics.

Mr TAYLOR: Yes, and then I came into politics—you poor buggers. But I remember that. This will probably speak volumes, and everyone will be like, ‘Oh, of course that happened’. I was only late to the academy on one day, and the day that I was late to the police academy—I cannot even remember why I was late—was the day that the squad, I did not know this, was going to be asked by our communication skills teacher who was going to deliver the valedictory speech. I would have loved to do it anyway, could you believe it, but in my absence and without me even flagging an interest or my squad mates even talking about it, I rock up an hour and a half later and they go, ‘By the way, you’re making the valedictory speech at our graduation’. I was like, ‘Well, if someone’s got to do it’. It was a great honour and privilege, and I must say doing that in front of half of police command was a little nerve-racking. But it was a great honour, and I got some really good footage of our whole graduation ceremony.

When I was looking at the bill today and hearing about the need for it, I was thinking there must have been a few police prosecutors as well—and prosecutors of all persuasions, whether police or otherwise—that have been thinking, ‘Man, this is going to be a lot of work’. But no, thankfully this place of legislating, of laws, is delivering again for Victoria Police. The Andrews Labor government is righting the wrongs of the past and making sure that our police officers’ delegations of power can be made appropriately to make sure officers are provided the appropriate protections, and retrospectively as well. We do know that between those dates Victoria Police deputy commissioners appointed a number of police officers to the role of assistant commissioner in an acting capacity, assuming, however incorrectly, they had the power to do so. Deputy commissioners had the power to appoint acting assistant commissioners under the former act, the Police Regulation Act 1958, and obviously we know that deputy commissioners appointed police officers to the role of AACs where they did not have the power to do so. Victoria Police identified this administrative error in August 2021. What a morning that would have been in the Chief Commissioner of Police’s household when they discovered that. Again, it would have been interesting: when the announcement was made, a lot of people who perhaps did the wrong thing over those years thought they were going to get given a free pass, but that is not to be the case, thankfully, with the work that has been done to this point.

As well, this bill will retrospectively validate the appointments of police officers to the role of AACs by deputy commissioners so that AACs are taken to have always been validly appointed, and these provisions will have the effect that powers purportedly exercised by invalidly appointed AACs will not be invalid by reason of their invalid appointments. This includes the power to swear in police officers and PSOs and will of course remove the prospect that persons who were purportedly sworn in as police officers or PSOs by invalidly appointed AACs might be found to have not had the powers and duties of a police officer or PSO. So although I feel like that has been said a few times today, or certain iterations, it is important to state what this bill proposes to do.

As others have done in this place, can I just simply reflect for a moment on the incredible job our police officers do, having had the privilege of being one for five years. As I say, generally in the police force if you serve less than 10 years your years are measured in seconds by leading senior constables and above, so I served for 5 seconds, traditionally speaking, although by the time I was going through, thanks to this Andrews Labor government’s commitment, 40442, my register number, did not seem so shabby after a couple of years. In fact I think most of my squad mates are sergeants, and some are even acting senior sergeants, which blows my mind. There are people rolling around, 30, 31, 32 years of age, a good head on their shoulders, who are now senior sergeants in our communities and in task forces across Victoria Police who were part of squad 12 of 2013–14, who were all lawfully sworn in then and are still now, which is great. But on a serious note, it was a great privilege and honour, and being in this place—obviously there are challenges to all jobs—I sometimes think life might have been simpler if I had stayed a police officer. But then I remember some of the jobs I attended as a police officer—I mean, wowee, just incredible.

I reflect on the last couple of years for our emergency services workers and for police officers and all the absolute crap that they have copped from a very, very select and small minority of people in our community. I understand it has been a tough time. The pandemic has thrown up difficulties and challenges for many in our community; in fact we have all been touched by the pandemic in some way, shape or form. But there is never any excuse to assault or verbally abuse our police officers, who deserve to go home safe like anybody else. That our police officers had to cop all the nonsense they did during the pandemic in particular, on top of all their other duties of keeping our community safe, is a great shame. Traditionally the media will always focus on the negative aspects; there is a lot of good out there as well. Most people have the utmost respect for our police officers, and so they rightfully should. They do an incredible job.

Out my way we have got Boronia police station and the Knox police station. Knox is the headquarters for our area. There is a fantastic working relationship with local police command. They have done a fantastic job in looking after my part of the world. It goes right across our state in Victoria. I know that there would be nobody in this place who would say anything different about police in their local community. They deserve every bit of support from this government, and certainly that is what they have got from this government.

For me, one of the proudest pieces of work that this government has delivered is that we have now finally delivered 3135 extra police officers. That is not just counting for attrition, that is on top of attrition—so 2700 new frontline police members. That is more police in my community, more police in the member for Croydon’s community, more police in the member for Oakleigh’s community, more police in the member for Eltham’s community, more police in the member for Mount Waverley’s community—it is more police in every single corner of this state. That is exactly what we promised to do, and we have delivered it. Like all things, when we say we will do something, we get it done. There are few things, if any at all, that are more important than making sure that members of our community feel safe. Of course you can never fully eliminate crime. It is a fantastic goal to have, perhaps, like zero harm. But we know providing police forces with the resources they need—not just more numbers but tasers, body-worn cameras, state-of-the-art equipment—

A member: Tanks!

Mr TAYLOR: No. You know, it is all of those resources that are helping to keep them safe, to keep the emergency services safe more broadly but also to keep our communities safe. So we are delivering for our police community, we are delivering for the emergency services community and we are delivering this legislation to make sure that we correct an oversight and make sure that they have the protections that they absolutely should have and fully expect, and I commend the bill to the house.

Mr McGHIE (Melton) (16:17): It is my pleasure to rise today to contribute to the Victoria Police Amendment Bill 2022. Look, I always feel honoured to follow the superb member for Bayswater, who served the Victorian community as a police officer. We just heard his recount of that. He continues that service in this place. It is always a pleasure hearing his contributions. They are quite amusing at times. He is a great member of this government and works extremely hard for his constituents in the Bayswater electorate. I commend him for his efforts. He has got that much energy; I do not know where he gets it from. I thank him for his service to Victorians both now as a politician but also back in his police days.

I will go on to thank all of our police members and PSOs, especially for the last two years. It has been a very difficult two years for all of us across this state. But the police have borne the brunt of a lot of angst at different times dealing with this difficult task, and they are often faced with abuse and intimidation from those in their communities who have fallen victim to manipulation and conspiracy theories. We all owe our appreciation to the police and the PSOs right across the state of Victoria. I especially want to acknowledge the VicPol members in the Melton electorate, led by Lisa Prentice-Evans, who have kept us safe and worked extremely hard within our communities, and also the Bacchus Marsh police, around the Bacchus Marsh township and district, for their great efforts right across that district. In particular, on International Women’s Day I especially extend my gratitude to women serving within VicPol in their many different roles and varied roles.

This bill introduces a new provision into the Victoria Police Act 2013. It retrospectively validates the appointment of police members invalidly appointed to the role of acting assistant commissioner by deputy commissioners between July 2014 and August 2021. It also validates all exercises of power by police members invalidly appointed to the role of acting assistant commissioner between July 2014 and August 2021, including the power to swear in police officers and protective services officer recruits. This amendment will cure the period of time between July 2014 and August 2021 and mean that actions and conduct by affected police and PSOs—and there are around about 1200 of them who are affected, who acted in good faith—will be considered lawful and authorised. It will also provide certainty and clarity for the affected members and for the justice sector more broadly. The introduction of the new Victoria Police Act changed the powers of deputy commissioners to appoint acting assistant commissioners; however, in practice Victoria Police continued this practice, and that is why we are here today talking about this amendment to the bill.

Legal advice sought by Victoria Police identified this as a potential issue in late 2020, but they believed that it was only limited to a very small number of powers used by acting assistant commissioners. But further auditing and legal advice sought by Victoria Police and finalised in February 2022 identified that this issue is related to the swearing in of officers by acting assistant commissioners. So from that audit it appears that 1076 police officers and 157 protective services officers were sworn in by invalidly appointed acting assistant commissioners. There were also 29 police custody officers that were affected. So through actions taken by Victoria Police, they have corrected this issue prospectively, with the vast majority of affected officers re-sworn—and I know that they were hurriedly doing that over the last couple of weeks—and this bill will fix the issue retrospectively by making valid all the lawful conduct and use of powers by these officers for the period between July 2014 and August 2021.

Retrospective action is required to ensure that evidence gathered and enforcement outcomes from this period are not compromised by technical or administrative error. All the sworn officers affected by this matter are well-trained officers who have exercised their powers in good faith. If we know police officers through family or through acquaintances or have ever worked with police officers, we know they do their job diligently and in good faith. In my experiences over many years I actually worked with many police officers on the front line when I was a paramedic, and then as the secretary of the ambulance union worked with Police Association Victoria very closely. I know a lot of police officers. I know they love their job. It is a very difficult job at times, but they do it well and they do it always in good faith to protect the community.

The bill will provide certainty and clarity for all of the affected officers and for the broader justice sector. Of course the police association have been engaged and involved in this issue over the last few weeks, and they support the actions of the government to provide certainty and clarity for all of their members caught up in this matter. The government and Victoria Police have worked closely with the police association to assure members that their legal, industrial and even importantly their superannuation protections and entitlements are not diminished by this administrative error. So when the matter was brought to the attention of the Victorian government, we acted to resolve it very quickly. The impacted officers have always considered themselves to be sworn in. They are well trained. They have kept the community safe. This is just an administrative issue that is no fault of the officers impacted. We have moved quickly to resolve it. Victoria Police moved to re-swear the vast bulk of the 1200 affected officers, and the government and Victoria Police have worked closely to draft the bill and correct the matter retrospectively as well. The administrative error should not have occurred, but it did, so we have to deal with it, and we are. We cannot speak for the breakdown that occurred in 2013 when the change in legislation created this issue, but we can fix it now, and that is what we are debating here today.

We know that the key to our community safety strategy is police resourcing. A number of members have spoken about the numbers, and I will just reiterate some of those numbers. We have funded 3135 new police officers. This has included general duties police working in local communities but also in specialist officer areas. It includes hundreds of family violence police officers, and we all know how that is important in our local communities at the moment with the family violence rates. It is more PSOs for mobile patrols and new stations for our growing force. Of course we have worked closely with force command on developing a new recruitment pipeline, and that includes the development of a staffing allocation model. Rather than just plucking numbers out of the air—I was nearly going to say something else then—there is a sophisticated model that allocates staffing to particular locations around the metropolitan and regional and rural areas that will deal with the population growth, the geography, the police activity and the crime trends. That model was developed by Victoria Police in consultation with the police association and certainly endorsed by the government.

As of September 2021 there are 3292 more police officers in stations and in specialist units than there were back in November 2014. That is a great 25 per cent increase. And we have 344 more PSOs across our public transport network—again, another 24 per cent increase. There are 376 police custody officers working across the state in stations, freeing up police to be out in the community, where we need our police officers to be seen. Under our watch the force has grown by 4936 police staff. That includes sworn officers, PCOs and Victorian public service staff, and that amounts to a 28 per cent increase in staffing numbers since we have been in office.

So we are delivering not just new resources but also specialist technology, equipment and capability—again, things such as body-worn cameras—and we have moved them out of the analogue technology and also out of the fax machine age. We have also delivered on the Royal Commission into Family Violence’s recommendations, and that has led to improving the experience of and impact on victims and VicPol officers being trained up in that area.

This is an important bill and an important amendment. I want to extend my thanks to the Minister for Police and her staff, who acted quickly on this bill and put the bill before the house. I think we can all acknowledge that the error should not have occurred. But these amendments will seek to resolve the administrative error, and I commend the bill to the house.

Ms RICHARDS (Cranbourne) (16:28): I am very pleased to have the opportunity today to add my contribution on the Victoria Police Amendment Bill 2022 and say how delighted I am to, like others have done, take the opportunity to recognise that this is the chamber acting in a bipartisan way, recognising together that when there is a need to take action for the safety of our community we do put the community first. It always gives me pleasure and in fact the opportunity even in other contexts and other places to talk about the way that the Parliament works and the opportunities that members of Parliament take to serve the community in a way that I think does represent the best of us in so many ways.

This bill is the key to retrospectively validating the appointment of police members. As has been articulated by others before us, it is something that we had to take really quick action on, and I commend the Minister for Police on the way that she responded to this once the revelation landed on her desk that this was something that did need really quick and decisive action. I also pay credit to the minister’s office and the officials that are involved and particularly police command. In the context of my role as the member for Cranbourne—something I have had for just over three years—working with the local police in Cranbourne and the police command as well has been something that has provided me with a great deal of insight, that opportunity to have those conversations about what is important. But I also pay credit to Police Association Victoria and Wayne Gatt on the way that they have taken a very constructive approach to responding to this and making sure that our community is safe but also that we put the members, our sworn police and PSOs, at the centre of our response.

The bill in front of us responds to an error wherein Victoria Police deputy commissioners appointed some police officers to the role of acting assistant commissioner without the formal power to do so in the Police Act 2013. This power had previously been granted in the legislation before the 2013 amendment, and this bill will validate these appointments. These officers were taken off duty so that they could be sworn in again during their next shift—those officers that were affected—so they could continue to serve the community and maintain community safety. Victoria Police of course addressed this error. It was investigated—they investigated the scope and the extent of the issue—and then they did act. It is true that retrospective legislation should be a last resort, and I do want to emphasise that this was a technical error and that before the 2013 amendment to this legislation the appointment of AACs did allow them to exercise these powers. This is an error, if not corrected by a bill such as the one in front of us, that has the potential to prejudice enforcement actions, so that is why it was decided that such swift action was necessary. We did take swift and urgent action to also make sure that affected police officers and PSOs would be immediately identified as part of that.

This government has a really important track record when it comes to action and making sure that the modern Victorian police and PSOs really do reflect the best of us and the best that this country has to offer, and it is something I am incredibly proud of. We have already heard today that recognition that 3135 new police officers have been funded. Sometimes we refer to police officers as the men and women in blue, but I do want to again recognise that police officers are in fact our neighbours and our family and friends. Like many people—probably most here today—I count them with great affection, but also I am incredibly grateful to the police officers that I know, because I have seen the way that they approach the community. Often—in fact I would say universally—the police officers I know do seem to have a really deeply embedded role in the community. Whether it is being involved in sporting clubs or other activities, they often recognise the importance of community and being embedded in the community and that that is what has led them to that vocation, to being police officers. So I do acknowledge that the work that they do really does have them very much embedded in the community, in the very life of the community, and I would say I see that as a universal trait in my experience.

The government is committed to the safety and the security of the Victorian community, and this is made clear with this government’s track record of providing the resources, tools and powers that police need to keep the community safe. This legislation is a continuation of this commitment, and that is ensuring that there is appropriate legislation that does give Victoria Police the power they need. The complexities of the task before Victoria Police mean that there needs to be close development of what is called a staffing allocation model of Victoria Police, which does account not only for the funds available but also for population growth—and that is something that is obviously very important in the context of Cranbourne and the outer south-east as well as, I am aware, some of the northern and western suburbs as well—geography, police activity and crime trends. So we can applaud the work of those responsible for what we know now is a much more cost effective and efficient model than the boom-and-bust cycle of police resourcing that has been at the centre of our response.

I do want to spend some time recognising of course that family violence is the greatest law and order challenge that this state has faced and the work of Victoria Police, much of it recognised by and enacted as a result of the Royal Commission into Family Violence. So much of the work that is done by Victoria Police really does acknowledge the research that came out of the Royal Commission into Family Violence. My mother was a family violence worker. I often speak of that. She does not mind me telling people that she is 90. I know that she always counsels people and asks people to refer any matters to Victoria Police because she has faith that the modern police force have the tools and the training that they need to respond in a really coherent way.

I would like to just spend a couple of minutes particularly recognising Operation Ribbon. Whenever I have the opportunity and I am in the company of police I do thank the police for the work that they undertook as part of Operation Ribbon. It was a really important way that specialist detectives from VicPol’s family violence investigation unit reached out to Victorians who were at great risk during the necessary restrictions that were implemented as part of Victoria’s response to the global pandemic. I know that Operation Ribbon was a really strong commitment to community policing. It resulted in 100 people being remanded, 53 people being bailed, 45 people being summonsed, three people being issued a penalty and 467 people being investigated. It has been described as an essential part of preventing and responding to family violence, especially during a time when there was a concern about escalating violent behaviours and concern about the risk of increased frequency in violence. We know infamously that there can be outcomes of sports matches and economic fluctuations and the like that can influence criminal behaviour of all kinds, but it is often behind closed doors that the greatest harm is done. So I do particularly recognise Operation Ribbon and the work that was done by Victoria Police, who did continue to work and to really put the community first.

I wanted to also acknowledge the member for Bayswater and say how proud I am to serve alongside somebody who has had, at such a young age, such a role in Victoria Police. I think having the member for Bayswater, the member for Melton and the member for Frankston in this chamber does elevate us and our understanding of emergency services and what can be experienced by so many of our police. This legislation does acknowledge that we do have humans and there is a toll that can often be taken on police. Having the people that we have alongside us, I do, as I said, acknowledge in this context the member for Bayswater for his insights.

But on International Women’s Day I want to also particularly thank the women of Victoria Police. Locally we have terrific women who are undertaking a role that is profoundly important. I commend this bill. I thank the minister. Thank you very much.

Mr TAK (Clarinda) (16:38): I am glad to join the member for Cranbourne, and it is always good to follow the member for Cranbourne and also listen to her contribution here once again. I am pleased to speak on this Victoria Police Amendment Bill 2022. Like other members have already done I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the members of Victoria Police across the state and in my electorate at the Springvale police station and also at the Clayton police station.

For the last three years also we have been keeping all Victorians safe, especially in the last two years during the global pandemic, and our police and emergency services workers have been in overdrive working tirelessly to keep every single Victorian safe. Like our frontline healthcare workers, police and PSOs have also been right there on the front line for the state’s response to COVID-19, and a huge thankyou to all the police and PSOs and emergency workers once again. They are protecting us and supporting our community each and every day, so I am glad to be part of a government that recognises the true value of and supports investment in these important institutions.

The Andrews Labor government has a very proud track record of supporting our police and emergency services workers. In fact under the Andrews Labor government Victoria has more police than ever in the state’s history, and we have invested more than $3 billion in Victoria Police. That investment really shows on the ground in my electorate, and during the pandemic it was more relevant and more important than ever. Therefore I am extremely proud to be part of this government, which truly recognises and respects the value of our police and our emergency services workers.

This is another bill here to support Victoria Police and to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of operations of the police force. This is an important and necessary bill that will retrospectively validate the appointment of Victoria Police acting assistant commissioners (AACs) by deputy commissioners between July 2014 and August 2021 and any powers exercised by them pursuant to their invalid appointment, including the swearing in of police officers and protective services officers, PSOs. So in essence the bill will correct an administrative error. It happens from time to time where these errors are picked up and amended in a timely manner.

Therefore I will just go through two main sections of this bill. It is section 26 of the Victoria Police Act 2013 that authorises the chief commissioner to appoint police officers to the role of acting assistant commissioner, and also section 19 of the act authorises the chief commissioner to delegate these powers of appointment so once appointed acting assistant commissioners are authorised to exercise all powers of assisting commissioners. It is clear, however, the issue arose in the changeover from the regulation to the act. The Victorian Police Act was amended in July 2014, and prior to July 2014 the administrations of Victoria Police were governed by the Police Regulation Act 1958. Under the former act deputy commissioners were authorised to exercise all powers of the chief commissioner, including the power to appoint acting assistant commissioners. This provision was not carried over to the new act, and that is why we are here today. Therefore between July 2014 and August 2021 the deputy commissioners appointed a number of police officers to the role of acting assistant commissioner under the presumption that they had the power to do so. We already heard the member for Bayswater about his own experience during the swearing in during that time.

It is very important to fix the error, and I am glad to see that happening here in this bill. I am also glad to see the crime statistics continue to fall across the state in the local government areas that make up the Clarinda electorate and near me in the neighbouring electorates. Comparing 2020 and 2021, the total criminal incidents were down across all our local government areas, and that is of course a very positive point. May I add, during the election campaign of 2018 I was in Springvale with the neighbouring member—at the time we both were candidates—and we were very proud that we could already see in the statistics the numbers were already going down, which is the right direction, at that time.

It would seem it is due to many of the historic investments—the nearly $4 billion investment into the police force. Once again, some 3135 new police officers are working in our community and also specialist officers, including hundreds of family violence police officers. That is including the multicultural unit in terms of our police force. I also have the honour of receiving and working with that important unit with the multicultural community. These are extremely important investments for our community, and they are very much needed and appreciated in the Clarinda district.

Lastly, just in terms of the consultation around these amendments, Victoria Police have been consulted as the primary stakeholder for the reform. Police Association of Victoria has also been advised of the invalid appointments of the AACs and the invalid swearing-in of police officers and PSOs. Police association acknowledges the unintended and highly technical nature of the error. So the bill has support there, so I am very happy to support this amendment to address the defect in relation to the appointments of police officers to act as assistant commissioners and for other purposes. It is an important adjustment that will make sure that the negative impact of the error is mitigated and ensure that our justice system can continue to operate effectively and efficiently.

Finally, once again I would like to pay tribute to and say thank you to all our frontline workers, including police, emergency services workers, healthcare workers and everyone that has been protecting us every day during the global pandemic and who have been right there on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19. We are extremely grateful to every one of you who keeps our community safe and keeps our family safe, and therefore I commend the bill to the house.

Mr FREGON (Mount Waverley) (16:46): It is my absolute delight to rise today to speak on the Victoria Police Amendment Bill 2022. I thank the minister for her incredible contribution not just on this bill but also since 2016 in the role. We are very well served by our Minister for Police.

I think today with a bill like this we really see Parliament working at its best. There is an obvious flaw in the law—unintentional. Both sides of the house and I would assume the independents and the Greens all agree that this needs to be rectified, and we are in agreeance. So I think, if it says nothing else, it says that we all respect, value and honour every one of our police officers, PSOs, staff and support staff. They have done not only an amazing job for the almost 170 years that Victoria Police had existed—which I believe comes up next year, so those of us lucky enough to be in this house next year will have to have some celebrations in regard to that—but especially over the last couple of years, which have been difficult for all. Our men and women in blue have served us very, very well. And it has been tough. I mean, the last two years have been tough on everybody, but they have gone above and beyond. So I know we all thank them from the bottom of our hearts for their service. So today is really, hopefully, making it known even more clearly that we back them in and we support them. They obviously need the confidence to do their jobs, knowing that the Victorian community is behind them, so today we rectify an error and we say, ‘Yes, we’re behind you’.

The introduction of the bill today is vital because it allows our police officers and PSOs to be legally effective in carrying out their role, given the error that we have all been talking about. The act changed the role back in 2013. The act changed the role and scope of deputy commissioners, which is the foundational issue at the heart of this matter, so having that rectified today is necessary. And again, without labouring the point, we are all one on this.

I am just looking up at the clock and I notice that there is almost 6 minutes left in my speech, and it brings me to the fact that in my area we have the police academy. All of our police are trained in our police academy. A couple of years ago the Minister for Police opened up the family violence centre at the academy. We have just passed the 6 minutes left mark. Around 40 to 60 per cent of police time is taken up with responding to family violence, and as we can see from crime stats, family violence continues to be the biggest law and order challenge in our community. To put this in context, this means an officer attends a family violence incident about every 6 minutes. Statistically, an officer has, in the last 6 minutes while I have been standing here, attended a family violence incident, and they come into contact with someone who has been the victim of physical or sexual assault, manipulation, abuse of power or control by someone who they trust, often in their very home. That is why we made sure as a government that as part of the increase in police numbers—and I think I lost count of the amount of times that I said the number 3135 in the election campaign back in 2018—within that 3135 we funded 415 specialist family violence investigators, 31 family investigation units, Australia’s first family violence command and, as I mentioned, a new family violence centre of learning at the police academy in my very electorate to ensure the police are driving change in offending.

Victoria Police have implemented all 27 of the recommendations that they were responsible for, leading and co-leading from the Royal Commission into Family Violence. My district of Mount Waverley is obviously proud to play a role in being home to that first dedicated centre of learning for family violence, an $11.7 million state-of-the-art facility located at the Victoria Police Academy in Glen Waverley, which I have the utter privilege to represent. It is the first scenario training facility dedicated to family violence in Australia. It is the best you can get and demonstrates the 100 per cent commitment that this government has to eradicating—one would hope—family violence and providing support for victims while holding perpetrators to account.

As a key foundation of our reform and one of Victoria Police’s main priorities in implementing the Royal Commission into Family Violence’s recommendations, four separate education and training packages have been developed and undertaken by 14 000 employees. Our government built this facility within a year of recommendations from the royal commission. Family violence teams are dedicated to dealing with family violence, repeat offenders and recidivist offenders in our community. It would be wonderful if they were not needed, but they are. This government’s commitment to appropriately funding every recommendation and implementing every recommendation from the royal commission is something that I am very proud to stand on this side of the benches with.

Back to the measure at hand: when this matter was brought to the attention of the Victorian government, it proactively moved to resolve it. We do need to be careful as a house in regard to retrospective law. In general, I would say the laws of the land we are expected to follow are the ones that we understand exist today. Retrospectivity can play against that, and therefore, as I said, we must be careful. But in this situation it is entirely appropriate, and we have expeditiously moved to correct the wrong—the mistake, the error—that was in play. Our officers have done their best, their utmost, and have done us all proud over the last two years. This is one small way that this house sends its thanks. To Senior Sergeant Greg Dean at the Glen Waverley police station and Senior Sergeant Mark Standish and their teams, thank you on behalf of my constituents, me and my family and our community. You have done us all proud, and we are going to sort this one out. I commend the bill to the house.

Ms SULEYMAN (St Albans) (16:56): I rise today to speak on the Victoria Police Amendment Bill 2022. As we have heard today, this is a very important bill for our Victoria Police force and the hardworking officers that are on our streets each and every day. In particular I would like to thank all of the officers at Keilor Downs police station and also at Sunshine police station who continue to work in the last two years in particular, where situations have been extremely challenging. They have done an extraordinary job in making sure that safety is absolutely paramount for my electorate of St Albans.

Let us make it clear: our government has a very strong stance on policing and community safety, and since we were elected in 2014 we have provided the resources, tools and powers that police need to keep communities safe. We have turned around the level of police investment, with the policing budget 52 per cent higher than it was previously in 2014. We have invested nearly $4 billion in new funding for police, and we also released a community safety statement in December 2016 which outlined a range of strategies and approaches to keep Victorians safe, in particular crime prevention initiatives not only in my electorate of St Albans but across the state.

The bill introduces a new provision to the Victoria Police Act 2013. This will validate the appointment of police members who were unfortunately appointed to the role of acting assistant commissioner by the deputy commissioners between July 2014 and August 2021. We have heard a lot of commentary and contributions from members of this house in relation to the specifics of this particular bill. It will also validate all exercises of power by police members who were invalidly appointed to the role of acting assistant commissioner between July 2014 and August 2021 and includes the power to swear in police officers and protective services officer recruits. This will cover the period of time between July 2014 and August 2021 and mean that the actions and conduct by affected police officers and PSOs who have acted in good faith will be considered lawful and authorised, and that is really important. It will provide certainty and clarity for affected members and for the justice sector more broadly.

As I previously said in my introduction, our government has been absolutely committed in relation to community safety and making sure that all Victorians—our loved ones and all local communities across Victoria—remain safe and that police have the resources that they need to perform these important roles. We funded over 3135 new police officers. This includes general duties police officers working in local communities but also specialist officers, including hundreds of family violence police officers, more PSOs for mobile patrols and new stations for our growing force.

Just to note that in my electorate of St Albans I see on a regular basis the foot patrols in St Albans and also the Sunshine town centre. They continue after hours, at all times patrolling our neighbourhoods and making sure that our local precincts remain safe. That includes PSOs that are allocated to St Albans station and also Sunshine station, and I would say throughout the Sunbury line. We are making sure that we are working closely with force command and developing a pipeline for recruitment. This includes the development of a staffing allocation model. This is a sophisticated allocation and forecasting model that accounts for and considers population growth, geography, police activity and of course crime trends. The model was developed by Victoria Police, but importantly in consultation with Police Association Victoria and supported and endorsed by our government. This approach has seen the end of the boom-and-bust cycle of police resourcing. It has seen police resourcing determined by experts and by need rather than by election cycles. It has also changed the police academy into the very busy centre of excellence that it is today.

This strategy is delivering results, and as of September 2021 there are 3292 more police officers in stations and in specialist units than back in November 2014. That is a 25 per cent increase in the police force. We have also seen 344 more PSOs across the public transport network, and that is a 24 per cent increase. There are over 370 police custody officers working across the state in stations, freeing up police to be in the community. It is really important that we do have police officers doing their jobs and not being buckled down somewhere else when someone else can do that job, such as a police custody officer. We have over 900 more Victorian public service staff, from forensics staff to specialists and other support staff, who assist police every day, and they are also very important roles, as they make sure that police officers are able to deliver and have the appropriate support. Under our watch the force has grown by over 4900 police staff, and that is a 28 per cent increase.

We have heard about this bill and how important it is. I do want to also mention briefly that we have also rolled out body-worn cameras for all frontline police. They have been really important in capturing live moments of incidents. I think it speaks for itself why it is so important to have our frontline officers with the appropriate devices, and that includes body-worn cameras.

We have heard a lot about and, most importantly, we have delivered on the family violence royal commission recommendations. That has led to the commencement of evidence and statements being taken at the scenes of family violence, looking at the culture and improving the experience for victims so they can actually come forward and be able to receive the support that they need from the force. This has been a really critical interaction between members, family violence victims and also police officers. That has been extremely important. There is so much more that we have done in this space to improve the safety of the community, and I could go on far more about this.

But when it does matter, this government acts on what it needs to resolve, and we see it here today. We have got an issue and we are resolving it, and it is wonderful to see the opposition working closely with government to be able to resolve this issue. We have seen our police force working very hard and keeping our community safe. This has been an administrative issue—it is no fault of any particular person or officer—and today we are making sure that the government, in working together closely, is able to draft the bill and correct the matters that are before it in a very swift manner and this will be dealt with once and for all. I also want to talk in relation to making sure that this bill is a bill that corrects unfortunate wrongs. It will be fixed now, and it is wonderful also to see the opposition joining forces to make sure that we correct this bill. I recommend the bill to the house.

Mr DONNELLAN (Narre Warren North) (17:06): It is a pleasure today to get up and speak on the Victoria Police Amendment Bill 2022, and I was just broadly keen to speak about the great work in my local area that police do. I was thinking of a couple of officers who I saw recently, including Inspector Graeme Stanley, who is an inspector in the eastern suburbs now but for many years had been a senior person in the south-east of Melbourne, based in Dandenong. Graeme had previously worked in justice, youth justice and other parts of justice outside of the police field and I will say has got an incredible vision of the importance of therapeutic justice and things like that but also early intervention and so forth in terms of trying very much to divert people away from prisons, away from incarceration, and ensuring that we maximise the potential of everybody. That is always a very difficult balance for both police and a society to actually get right; it is never easy. But the importance of minimising those you may have to put in jail and maximising the opportunities for them to become full taxpayers, contribute to the society around them and actually feel part of the society is just so vital, and that is something that Inspector Graeme Stanley very much understands. The reason I saw him this week—and this is sort of going a little bit off track—was that he was the master of ceremonies for, let us be blunt, his brother-in-law’s memorial service. Jack Diamond was a long-time director of various entities in state government and a fine individual who contributed greatly to Box Hill TAFE. I had better get back to the police, because that is a little bit away from the work, but I just want to acknowledge the fine work that Graeme Stanley has done over many, many years in my local area in the south-east.

Another person I want to acknowledge is Senior Sergeant Alan Dew, who is the head of the Endeavour Hills police station. Prior to that he worked extensively in Springvale and Noble Park and did marvellous work with, I guess, many of the issues which were developing in those areas, like some of the gang issues and so forth. People like Alan who very much has that wider vision understand the importance of things like sport and the like to actually keep young people occupied, to keep them happy, to give them structure in their lives, to give them routine and very much to keep them at school. I know he is very much what you would call an imposing character, Alan Dew. As he would attest, he has got the largest physical head in the police force, so he has to have the biggest cap. He is also passionate about gridiron, and if you saw how imposing Alan is, you would understand why he and his sons have had a long-time passion for gridiron and why you would very much want to get out of their way if they were on a gridiron field. But apart from his great love of that sport, I just want to acknowledge that he has got an enormous heart and the marvellous work he has done throughout the south-east over many years but more recently obviously in the Endeavour Hills police station, which has gone through some pretty difficult challenges over the years, including the incident of the young man who tried to attack a police officer there and the like. I know that the officers in the police force there were very much shaken by that, as they would be, but the work they continued doing in that area was excellent. More than anything else it was very much about recognising that more as a sign of mental illness than as a sign that it was a characteristic of the whole community, because it was nothing like that. It was just a small individual incident which unfortunately had major impacts on the wellbeing of everybody involved.

But this bill is essential, because obviously we have had to retrospectively give the powers for deputy commissioners to appoint acting assistant commissioners to ensure that justice and the courts and so forth can continue doing their work. Obviously this was an oversight that was available to assistant commissioners many years ago, but in the upgrade of the Victoria Police Act in 2013 that power to appoint an acting assistant commissioner was maybe potentially overlooked, to be honest, because I do not think it was a deliberate exercise of actually taking it out. It was just overlooked. So it is important. As the member for Mount Waverley was saying, we do not necessarily always like to undertake retrospective legislation, because there are consequences in relation to that, but unfortunately in this instance if we do not undertake that we will be severely hampered in the work we are doing each day. I note also that it is being supported by the opposition, which is great, and obviously Police Association Victoria have spoken to various stakeholders to indicate very much their support to get this up and done to ensure that we can have all these acting assistant commissioners’ roles validated appropriately under the law. I guess in many ways this bill has been supported by all and sundry because it is just so absolutely necessary.

And whether it be resources—as we know, Victoria Police have had substantial resources and the minister has done a marvellous job of supporting Victoria Police, whether it be through technology, police numbers or also police allocation based on need across Victoria. If you look at my particular area, there has been a substantial increase in the last 20 years very much reflecting the growth of Casey, whether it be through the Endeavour Hills police station, Narre Warren police station or Cranbourne police station. The old Doveton police station disappeared pretty quickly. As I think one of the senior sergeants there told me, the criminals in Doveton at the time, which was many years ago, are too old to commit crimes now, and their tattoos are worn out and they are no longer. So there was not really a great demand at that time, they were saying, particularly because of the ageing of Doveton at the time.

Now Doveton is changing all over again with new migrants moving in. It is a revitalised suburb, but it is just interesting that I think at the time I was wondering why there was not an outcry that the Doveton police station was shut down. And that is very much why, because it was a particularly calm area, it was an ageing area, and there was not a particular need for as many officers there as there was up in Endeavour Hills. I will go on to point out that Endeavour Hills is an ageing electorate as well, and my suspicion is over time there will be greater pressures maybe down at Clyde and other areas for further police numbers or potentially down in areas like Pakenham and the like, where you are seeing that monstrous growth that is occurring in Cardinia and down the bottom end of Casey, as I was previously mentioning.

But I do think it is necessary that this bill goes through quickly, and I know it will go through very quickly in the upper house. I do not think there is any query as to why it has been much needed, and I will just re-emphasise the point I started with, which is to very much thank the officers in my area for the fine work they do. And I will say that I have met many, and I will not remember names but I will say that they have been incredibly good people to work with. But specifically someone like Graeme Stanley, who I have got enormous admiration for and I was with this week as he was going through I guess a very difficult period of his life to see his brother or brother-in-law, I guess—it felt like a brother—and have to be the MC at his memorial service. I would also like to thank Alan Dew for the leadership he provides up at Endeavour Hills. He is a fine policeman. He is an imposing presence, I might add, as I was pointing a little bit earlier, but he has a great love for the community and a great love for the people and an enormous vision of what he wants to do to support better outcomes for young people and to support a safer society that we live in.

Mr DIMOPOULOS (Oakleigh) (17:15): I also want to make a contribution to the Victoria Police Amendment Bill 2022. As other speakers and the minister in the second-reading speech said, it is an important bill in that it ensures that police officers and PSOs are empowered to maintain community safety and that no otherwise successful prosecutions will be impacted by what is effectively an internal administrative error at Victoria Police in terms of the appointment process. That is what it is in terms of the nuts and bolts, but it is actually more important than that in terms of this government’s narrative.

If you think about this government, we are entirely committed to creating a safe, healthy and prosperous community. We know that means that we have to invest in the workers that keep us safe—in this case police, but equally ambulance paramedics and firefighters. We have to invest in the workers that keep us healthy—nurses and doctors and other allied health professions. We have to invest in those who educate us and train us. So this is what we are doing here. We are creating a safe, healthy and prosperous community. That is why we are so focused on increasing the supply of schools, training pathways, teachers, hospitals, nurses, the mental health workforce, police stations, specialist officers and PSOs. In fact when we came to government every single one of those areas of service in Victoria was underfunded. There was a critical undersupply in all those sectors.

We came to government, we acted fast, we identified the issues and the gaps and we responded. We do not run, we do not hide, we do not defer responsibility and we do not deflect. We find the answers and we execute, unlike some people in this chamber on the other side who consistently say either ‘We oppose’ or ‘We’re not opposed’. How about just actually saying ‘We support the bill’ or ‘We support the government business program’? How does it feel sitting on the fence on almost everything that you are moderate about or lukewarm about? That is not our policy. That is not our approach. That is not our narrative. We invest in those areas we know are critical. We invest in those areas we know are important. We are a reformist government, and this is part of those reforms.

Another example of that is that when the Victorian community told us that the mental health system was in crisis and was not working we took the same approach we are taking with this bill. We legislated and we provided a funding source to fix the mental health system—a funding source that the opposition chose not to support. That is on them in terms of the continued funding of mental health over generations. Equally with the level crossings—we identified a problem across Victoria, and we set a path to fixing that problem. We are up to the high 50s in terms of the number of level crossings removed. We took the same approach to family violence reform. We identified a problem, a significant problem, through thousands of Victorians’ lived experiences with family violence and the perception of women in society. We took the same approach: we identified the issues in a significant way through a royal commission and we started addressing them one by one. In fact the police have, I understand, already implemented 27 of the recommendations for which they have an implementation arrangement. This is a hallmark of our government. We identify not just market failure but gaps in service. We identify opportunities for improvement to create a prosperous community, a healthy community and a safe community, and this is no different here today.

When we came to government TAFE was absolutely the second choice for most families. Now it is on par with university and other training pathways. It is the same with a bunch of other areas in terms of traineeships and things that we invest in across government. That is a recipe for good government: identifying problems and fixing them either through the power of this Parliament through legislation or through budget investments. In the case of this amendment bill it is through the power of the Parliament to make amends for an administrative error. Good government is not about the theatre of politics. It is not about obstruction. It is not about the headlines. It is not about reshuffling your shadow cabinet every 5 minutes. It is actually about responding to issues and addressing the disadvantaged, creating opportunities and building a healthy, prosperous and safe community. That is the hallmark of this government. That is a reformist agenda. As the Premier says, if you do not have a reform agenda, you do not have an agenda at all.

When you talk about reform and you talk about police, again, there is another government initiative. In terms of police this government not only has a far better relationship with police than previous governments but also has a funding arrangement that actually works in favour of community safety and in favour of police operations—a funding model that works across areas of Victoria, regions and Melbourne and across functional areas where citizens live and work and play and recreate, from PSOs on train stations and around train precincts through to police at your door, as the member for Mount Waverley talked about, when it comes to issues of family violence or safety in the CBD at night. That is the funding model that applies across all those settings where Victorians feel safe in their community, but much more than that it is a system which has delved deep into the work of police and understood that police have been burdened by, for want of a better term, administrative burdens. We have assisted in lifting some of that through non-uniformed staff and embellishing those arrangements that support Victoria Police but also through technology, as the member for Bayswater said—technology through the use of iPads and other arrangements that make police work better and easier. It will never be easy. Being a police officer will never be easy. I have heard some of the stories that my good friend the member for Bayswater has told me.

Interestingly, my understanding is that five police officers contested the last state election for the Victorian Parliament—four for the Liberal-Nationals and one for the Australian Labor Party. I have no firsthand knowledge of those other candidates, but none of them succeeded. I do have firsthand knowledge of the member for Bayswater—what an outstanding human being, what an outstanding representative and an outstanding police officer. He was elected, which is maybe a bit emblematic of the Andrews Labor government’s commitment to police reform in terms of how the funding model works and how the resources work. It was quite a sweet victory in Bayswater but also one for a serving police officer entering this place.

I want to join, as other colleagues have, in thanking my local police and all the police in Victoria for their work during the pandemic. It was difficult work, and you had idiots like Avi Yemini and others who just teased police and tried to get a bit of fame by leeching and being parasitic, with that parasitic behaviour. Police did an extraordinary job under difficult circumstances through the pandemic, enforcing what were legitimate government and public health directions.

More locally for me, I want to thank Senior Sergeant Wayne Elston and his team at Oakleigh police. I want to thank all the police, uniformed and non-uniformed Victoria Police staff, who work across both the Monash local government area and the Glen Eira local government area—those two areas that cover the electorate that I have the pleasure of representing in this Parliament—and keep our communities safe. I say to them: you and your families and the work you do matter to us, and we will never politicise you or victims of crime, like others have. We will never politicise that. That is too important for politicisation. What we will do is get about doing the work required to fix anything that needs to be fixed to provide for a safe, prosperous and thriving community. That is what we do, and that is part of what this bill does.

Ms HALFPENNY (Thomastown) (17:25): I also rise to speak on the Victoria Police Amendment Bill 2022. I have a few comments first about the actual legislation itself, just talking about the issue that this amendment is here to address, and then of course I will go into some of the broader issues around this government and its reform agenda that includes the legal system as well as the police force.

The Victoria Police Act 2013 commenced in July 2014. This was legislation that was introduced and passed by the former Napthine Liberal-Nationals government. This legislation came into effect in July and it was to basically amend a number of things from the Police Regulation Act 1958 in terms of updating it. Originally, in the old legislation, a deputy commissioner was authorised to exercise all powers of the chief commissioner, including the power to appoint acting assistant commissioners, and it was assumed that the deputy commissioners had this same power under the Victoria Police Act. However, that was not the case, and it took a number of years before this problem was identified.

The problem was identified in the County Court in a particular case where the powers of deputy commissioners were raised and brought into question, and from that a number of things happened which then led to the discovery that the deputy commissioners did not have the power to appoint acting assistant commissioners, and therefore some of the things that acting assistant commissioners have done through the delegation power of the deputy commissioner were deemed to be invalid. Hence we need this legislation to rectify that problem, because of course it meant that there were a number of legal cases where it could be found that assistant acting commissioners were not legally or rightfully appointed and therefore certain actions, including the action of appointing police over time, were seen to be questionable.

So we need to put in this legislation. It needed to be urgently done, and it was also deemed that there was a requirement to include retrospectivity. Now, most legislation that is passed by Parliament is not retrospective. It is considered difficult to do that, because the idea is that the rights of people ought to stand and that retrospectivity should not take away the rights that people thought that they had prior to that change of legislation, but in this case it is an administrative error. It is something that was considered to be part of the original legislation, and therefore the advice is that it ought to be made retrospective because the actions of the assistant acting commissioners were done in a way that was believed to be valid and therefore those actions should be made valid now. That is what we are doing today to fix up, really, an error that was created by the Napthine Liberal-Nationals coalition at the time, in 2014. Now we are fixing up that mess.

These things do happen from time to time where legislation is not bulletproof or not completely watertight. Often things come up that have to be dealt with at a later time because someone finds a loophole, or it may well be just that systems change, which then leads individuals or organisations or whatever to use legislation in a different way, and therefore changes have to be made. In terms of this legislation we are talking about today, the laws are living, breathing things really and communities and societies change, and with them the laws have to change to accommodate whether it is community attitudes or standards that need to change.

I think a good example of that is, thankfully, around family violence. We have had a Royal Commission into Family Violence. That was one of the first things that the Andrews Labor government committed to and introduced in its first term after the 2014 election, and those recommendations were groundbreaking in trying to change the system for how victim-survivors of family violence are treated and also provide resources to better support those families, and women and children in particular, who are overwhelmingly the ones that are subjected to family violence. And through that royal commission there were a number of pieces of legislation changed, even small things such as the ability for different bureaucracies and organisations to exchange information, for example. That is a thing that would be considered normally a fairly simple thing, and most members of the general public would think that it was something that happened as a matter of course, but it was found that various organisations and agencies could not share information. Therefore they could not share information around issues of family violence and they were making decisions without knowing the background to some of these issues and therefore the decisions were not in the best interests of those women and children. So again, we are looking at where laws have to change to keep up with attitudes, community expectations and the views as to who in society we ought to be protecting, and in these cases it is victim-survivors.

This legislation that we are talking about today ought not be something that is seen to be changing anything. It is really validation after omissions were previously made and were thought to be contained. The police were able to notify the government that these issues had come up around the validation of appointments and decisions made by acting assistant commissioners, and that is exactly what we are doing today: making sure that those decisions are validated both in the past and into the future, because the power to delegate duties needs to be there. Of course the police commissioner cannot do everything and act on all administrative decisions; therefore a number of other appointments need to be made to put individuals in those capacities to make those decisions to ensure that we have proper, efficient police legislation and that all the duties and requirements are being fulfilled.

I think this is an example of the Andrews Labor government: we do understand that things happen and we have to make changes when required, and if there have been omissions in the past they need to be rectified and remedied. We do not make a big carry-on about it; we just get on with the job of doing it. I think that is the tone, and that is the way our government has continued to act. If it is level crossing removals, we just get on with it. If things need to be done, we do them. We make commitments and promises, and we make sure that those commitments and promises to the Victorian public, to the Victorian people, are fulfilled and honoured.

I know, for example, that in the electorate of Thomastown we are actually getting our first level crossing removal, which is very exciting. There will be the new Keon Park railway station there, and the Mahoneys Road/Keon Parade level crossing is going to be removed. So we are really excited that that is going to happen. We are going to lose a lot of congestion because that is a terribly congested area. It will also be a very good thing for jobs because as I understand it the crews from up the Mernda line, which have been removing the Cramer Street level crossing, the Bell Street level crossing and the Oakover level crossing, will then come down the line to remove the Keon Park level crossing. I am sure there is going to be some fantastic use of space underneath that crossing for the residents to enjoy, whether it is dog parks or skate parks. These things have to undergo the consultation process, but we are looking forward to a great space.

Mr BRAYNE (Nepean) (17:35): I also rise today to speak on the Victoria Police Amendment Bill 2022. Obviously it is great to follow many of my colleagues who have also spoken on this bill, including my good friend the member for Bayswater, himself a former police officer, someone who served his community, our community and our state with distinction and someone who continues to serve his community with distinction but will always have his Victoria Police service. I will also use the start of my speech on this bill to thank all the serving officers on the Mornington Peninsula, all the officers who are based at Rosebud, who serve our community each and every day. I have gotten to know a few of the officers in my time in this role. These are so often people born and bred in our peninsula community who now serve that same community in this capacity, so we thank them and acknowledge them for their ongoing service to our peninsula community.

This government is of course committed to supporting our police and keeping our community safe. Since being elected in 2014 this government has demonstrated this time after time, with police being provided with the resources, tools and powers that they need to keep the community safe. From a policing budget that is 52 per cent higher than it was in 2014 to nearly $4 billion in new funding for our police, it is clear that community safety is at the heart of this government’s priorities. So while the discovery that some police officers have been invalidly sworn in is unfortunate, it does not change this government’s stance on the importance of policing and community safety.

Recent auditing and legal advice sought by Victoria Police identified that over 1000 police officers, 157 protective services officers and 29 custody officers had been sworn in by invalidly appointed acting assistant commissioners. This came as a result of the new Victoria Police Act 2013 changing the powers of deputy commissioners to appoint acting assistant commissioners. However, Victoria Police continued this practice, and as such subsequent swearing-in of officers by acting assistant commissioners was deemed to be invalid. This was an unfortunate administrative mistake, and action has been taken to correct this issue, with Victoria Police swearing in a vast majority of the affected officers. This government is doing its part to resolve this issue through introducing this bill.

I will turn to the specifics of this legislation. This bill will introduce a new provision to the Victoria Police Act 2013 to retrospectively validate the appointment of police officers who were invalidly appointed between July 2014 and August 2021. The bill will also validate all exercises of power by these police members between July 2014 and August 2021, including the power to swear in police officers and protective services officer recruits. Now, there may be some concern from some members of the community about retrospectively validating these appointments and actions; however, it is important that this retrospective action is taken. It is important that retrospective action take place in order to ensure that any evidence gathered or enforcement outcomes from this period are not compromised by this error. All police officers who were affected by this administrative error acted in good faith, and any relevant procedures were not impacted by the invalid appointments.

Secondly, it is important that we recognise that all the sworn officers who were affected by this error are trained officers who have done their part to keep our community safe. The affected officers are at no fault in any way, shape or form, and retrospectively validating their actions is a reflection of the community service that they have all provided us. This bill will help to provide certainty and clarity for all of the affected officers and for the judicial system at large. It will help to restore any faith lost through this administrative error and reinforces the commitment of this government to our police officers, who put their lives on the line every day to keep our community safe.

This government will always support our police and do everything it can to keep our community safe. That is why Police Association Victoria has been consulted since this error came to light. The police association supports the retrospective action that is being taken in this bill and supports the government providing clarity and certainty for all their members who were affected by this error. Victoria Police officers themselves have also been extensively consulted, and this bill has been drafted in collaboration with them. While this administrative error should never have occurred, this government is acting to resolve it as quickly as possible, and that is what this bill does. The speed with which this issue was addressed is a reflection of the other actions that this government has taken to support our police and keep our communities safe. For example, 3135 new police officers have been funded, with this including general duties police officers and specialist officers. Hundreds of family violence police officers and more PSOs for mobile patrols have also been funded, alongside new stations for the growing police force.

This government values the expertise of Victoria Police, and that is why this government has endorsed the staffing allocation model that was developed by Victoria Police in consultation with Police Association Victoria. This sophisticated model has seen the end of boom-and-bust cycles of police resourcing, and we are now seeing a constant stream of funding for our police which helps them keep our community safe. This increase in the number of police officers has been bolstered by further investment into Victoria Police’s technical capabilities. For example, every frontline officer has access to mobile devices, which better connects them to intelligence and communications. Body-worn cameras are also worn now by all frontline police, with this being delivered based on the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Family Violence. These cameras not only provide crucial pieces of objective evidence about complaints and accusations but also help to improve the relationship between police officers and the general public. These investments are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this government’s support of our police, with new intelligence systems and the establishment of the police assistance line being yet more examples of what sustained support of our police can achieve.

It is so important that community safety is always front and centre when considering any bill. That is why police officers have been given various new powers to tackle serious offenders that threaten our communities. These range from new sentencing provisions for offenders who injure police officers and PSOs to new firearm prohibition orders to tackle criminals who use illegal firearms. The role and powers of PSOs have also been expanded, with the implementation of the night network and more mobility seeing PSOs no longer being locked to train station platforms. All of these changes have been made to help police keep our community safe. The latest crime statistics show that the offence rate per 100 000 in Victoria has decreased by 9.8 per cent, the alleged offender rate has decreased by 10.4 per cent and the overall victimisation rate has decreased by 6.8 per cent. This shows that when you invest in our police, you get results—community safety as well. However, transparency and accountability are also key to policing and community safety, and that is why there are strong oversight systems to prevent misconduct. Victoria Police’s professional standards command plays an important role in this oversight, as does the IBAC, because our justice system is underpinned by community faith and community faith in our police service. That is why the actions taken in this bill to retrospectively validate the actions of sworn officers will help to restore community faith in our justice system, following this unfortunate administrative error.

As I said, this situation was caused by an unfortunate administrative error, but when an error does occur good governments act quickly to fix it and ensure that it does not happen again. That is exactly what this bill does. On top of this government’s continued support for our police and commitment to keeping our community safe, this bill provides clarity and certainty for the affected officers as well as our justice system at large. I commend this bill to the house.

Motion agreed to.

Read second time; by leave, proceeded to third reading.

Third reading

Motion agreed to.

Read third time.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Ms Suleyman): The bill will now be sent to the Legislative Council and their agreement requested.