Thursday, 12 September 2024

Victoria Police

Jeff BOURMAN (Eastern Victoria) (09:54): Yesterday saw scenes of violent antisocial behaviour from people pretending to be peace activists outside the Land Forces expo. I say ‘pretending’ because the violence perpetrated by these – I will quote Police Association Victoria’s Wayne Gatt – ‘dirty, filthy, disgusting animals’ is not the work of anyone seeking peace. I should also take issue with the use of the word ‘animals’ because I expect animals would behave better. I also note that the attacks on the police force should disgust anyone who cares about animal welfare. Twenty-seven police officers were hurt during these so-called peaceful protests and had faeces, rocks and acid thrown at them, not to mention good old physical violence from these so-called peace protesters. One of the ironies is that the protest was also supposed to be encompassing climate change, yet they set plastic bins alight for that protest. All this is happening with the backdrop of protracted wage negotiations that do not seem to be making any progress. What Victoria Police officers and other state officers have had to endure during these protests is part of the job that they are paid to do and is a perfect example of why Victoria Police officers should be paid better than they are. This is a great time for the force to end their negotiations favourably and honourably and give the officers a decent rise.