Wednesday, 25 May 2022

Pauline Smith

Mr BATTIN (Gembrook) (09:42): I join my colleague and friend from Ripon in sending condolences for Pauline Smith, of former police number 31648, and we send condolences to her family, her husband, Stephen, and her three children as well as all of the first responders who attended the accident and obviously knew Pauline well—that is, the CFA, Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria, all the paramedics and the SES who attended the scene. Our thoughts are with them for attending such a scene of someone that they all knew and loved from their community.

I worked with Pauline in the Dandenong police station for a few years back in the day, and our first job ever, going out together, was to the body of someone who had committed suicide. That is one of the things in Victoria Police you never forget. I remember saying I had never been to a scene where there was a body when I went out with Pauline, and she guided me and worked with me to go through that. Unfortunately that week we had seven in seven days, which was a very tough week, but I could not think of a better person to share it with than Pauline, who guided me, assisted me and helped me along the way. We also broke a rule or two. We were not to get overtime one night when we were in court in Melbourne—I can say it now because she definitely cannot get in trouble for it—and we drove down the side of the Monash with our lights going just so we could get back in time for the 5 o’clock drinks in Dandenong. Pauline will be dearly missed. She was a fantastic person, police officer and paramedic and someone that was very special to me in my career in Victoria Police. Condolences to Pauline’s family.