❓ Question on mandatory sentencing for those who harm police officers and broader law and order actions. Minister defends the legislation and criticizes the opposition's past record on police support.
AnsweredQoN 760Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
LAW AND ORDER — MANDATORY SENTENCING
I am pleased that our tough new mandatory sentencing laws passed through Parliament and came into effect yesterday. As has been mentioned earlier, today marks the anniversary of the Liberal-National government. Can the minister inform the house of actions the government has taken so far on law and order, and to protect not only our front-line officers, but also the community in general? Mr R.F. JOHNSON
I am pleased that our tough new mandatory sentencing laws passed through Parliament and came into effect yesterday. As has been mentioned earlier, today marks the anniversary of the Liberal-National government. Can the minister inform the house of actions the government has taken so far on law and order, and to protect not only our front-line officers, but also the community in general? Mr R.F. JOHNSON
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Kingsley for the question, and for her genuine interest in law and order in our state, and in particular in her electorate. Tuesday was a great day for our police officers and their families, and for the community, because they saw the legislation that we had put through Parliament become law. That law was, of course, the minimum mandatory sentencing legislation. That legislation will ensure that any person who wants to kick, punch and seriously injure any of our police officers will receive a minimum mandatory sentence. I have to tell members that on Tuesday, and since then, I have received many text messages and phone messages from serving police officers. I have also received a couple of messages from their family members. Mr D.A. Templeman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Is it not interesting! The member for Mandurah and the Labor Party opposed this legislation all the way through. In essence, they wanted to gut it. They did not have the guts to actually vote against it, because they did not have the guts to go up against all our police officers and their families, and members of the public. But they tried to gut this legislation in this house. They also tried to gut it in the other house. They did not actually have the guts to vote against it, because they did not want to be seen to be doing that. That is the difference. That is why we held up the legislation in this place for a while—it is because we knew what they planned to do in the other place. There is a very big difference between the Labor Party and the Liberal-National Party. We stand up for our police officers. We do what we can for them. I remind the house that it was the Liberal and National Parties in opposition that first introduced legislation to ensure that our injured police officers would be fully compensated for their medical expenses. I commend the member for Murray-Wellington for the private member’s bill that he brought in to deal with that matter. The Labor Party in government would not have a bar of that. It voted that legislation down. The Labor Party had be dragged kicking and screaming to bring in some legislation to deal with that matter. The Labor Party decided to call an opportunistic early election rather than see that legislation — Point of Order Mr M. McGOWAN : Mr Speaker, the opposition has been relatively silent. The question from the member for Kingsley was directly in relation to mandatory sentencing, not these extraneous issues. Mr R.F. Johnson : And law and order. Mr M. McGOWAN : I would hope that, under standing order 78, the minister will come back to that. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham, I take your point of order, and, minister, I do want you to return directly to the question asked by the member for Kingsley. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Certainly, Mr Speaker. Can I just explain that the member for Kingsley did not ask just about mandatory sentencing. The question did expand on that to law and order and to what this government has done for our law enforcement agencies. That was the question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know that members opposite do not like the answer. That is because they are at fault here. They went to an early election and they did not put through urgent legislation to protect our police officers. Shame on them! But, not only that, they did not listen! The Commissioner of Police went to members opposite when they were in government, and police officers went to them, and they would not listen to them. They would not listen to them when they asked for legislation to protect police officers who had been seriously injured in the line of duty. They ignored them! We did not. As I have said, we were the ones who put through legislation to ensure that injured officers would get their medical expenses paid for. Members opposite did not do that. They could not be bothered. Members opposite did not listen to the police. The Commissioner of Police went to the former government and asked for what are basically auxiliary police officers. The former government ignored that request time and again. We brought that in. We will continue to do everything we can for our brave and hardworking police officers in this state, who put their lives on the line every time they go on duty. We will do that. I just hope that at some stage the Labor Party will start to realise that our police officers are very valuable community members—and, not just them, but also their families. I have never seen such a large number of police officers demonstrate outside the steps of Parliament House as I did when the Labor Party was in government. I have never seen that in all the time I have been in this place. Our police officers know where they stand with this government. As I have said, I have received a lot of text and phone messages from serving police officers, from all ranks, and their families. They are saying, “Thank you, Rob, and can you also pass on our congratulations and our thanks to Christian”—meaning the Attorney General, of course—“and the Liberal-National government for doing that”. That is because we are the ones in this state who are standing up for the victims of crime. We are standing up for our police officers, who do a fantastic job. We will continue to do that, even though we are being frustrated by members of the Labor Party time and again. We will stand up for our police officers, and we will stand up for law and order.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON replied: I thank the member for Kingsley for the question, and for her genuine interest in law and order in our state, and in particular in her electorate. Tuesday was a great day for our police officers and their families, and for the community, because they saw the legislation that we had put through Parliament become law. That law was, of course, the minimum mandatory sentencing legislation. That legislation will ensure that any person who wants to kick, punch and seriously injure any of our police officers will receive a minimum mandatory sentence. I have to tell members that on Tuesday, and since then, I have received many text messages and phone messages from serving police officers. I have also received a couple of messages from their family members. Mr D.A. Templeman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Is it not interesting! The member for Mandurah and the Labor Party opposed this legislation all the way through. In essence, they wanted to gut it. They did not have the guts to actually vote against it, because they did not have the guts to go up against all our police officers and their families, and members of the public. But they tried to gut this legislation in this house. They also tried to gut it in the other house. They did not actually have the guts to vote against it, because they did not want to be seen to be doing that. That is the difference. That is why we held up the legislation in this place for a while—it is because we knew what they planned to do in the other place. There is a very big difference between the Labor Party and the Liberal-National Party. We stand up for our police officers. We do what we can for them. I remind the house that it was the Liberal and National Parties in opposition that first introduced legislation to ensure that our injured police officers would be fully compensated for their medical expenses. I commend the member for Murray-Wellington for the private member’s bill that he brought in to deal with that matter. The Labor Party in government would not have a bar of that. It voted that legislation down. The Labor Party had be dragged kicking and screaming to bring in some legislation to deal with that matter. The Labor Party decided to call an opportunistic early election rather than see that legislation — Point of Order Mr M. McGOWAN : Mr Speaker, the opposition has been relatively silent. The question from the member for Kingsley was directly in relation to mandatory sentencing, not these extraneous issues. Mr R.F. Johnson : And law and order. Mr M. McGOWAN : I would hope that, under standing order 78, the minister will come back to that. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham, I take your point of order, and, minister, I do want you to return directly to the question asked by the member for Kingsley. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Certainly, Mr Speaker. Can I just explain that the member for Kingsley did not ask just about mandatory sentencing. The question did expand on that to law and order and to what this government has done for our law enforcement agencies. That was the question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know that members opposite do not like the answer. That is because they are at fault here. They went to an early election and they did not put through urgent legislation to protect our police officers. Shame on them! But, not only that, they did not listen! The Commissioner of Police went to members opposite when they were in government, and police officers went to them, and they would not listen to them. They would not listen to them when they asked for legislation to protect police officers who had been seriously injured in the line of duty. They ignored them! We did not. As I have said, we were the ones who put through legislation to ensure that injured officers would get their medical expenses paid for. Members opposite did not do that. They could not be bothered. Members opposite did not listen to the police. The Commissioner of Police went to the former government and asked for what are basically auxiliary police officers. The former government ignored that request time and again. We brought that in. We will continue to do everything we can for our brave and hardworking police officers in this state, who put their lives on the line every time they go on duty. We will do that. I just hope that at some stage the Labor Party will start to realise that our police officers are very valuable community members—and, not just them, but also their families. I have never seen such a large number of police officers demonstrate outside the steps of Parliament House as I did when the Labor Party was in government. I have never seen that in all the time I have been in this place. Our police officers know where they stand with this government. As I have said, I have received a lot of text and phone messages from serving police officers, from all ranks, and their families. They are saying, “Thank you, Rob, and can you also pass on our congratulations and our thanks to Christian”—meaning the Attorney General, of course—“and the Liberal-National government for doing that”. That is because we are the ones in this state who are standing up for the victims of crime. We are standing up for our police officers, who do a fantastic job. We will continue to do that, even though we are being frustrated by members of the Labor Party time and again. We will stand up for our police officers, and we will stand up for law and order.
I thank the member for Kingsley for the question, and for her genuine interest in law and order in our state, and in particular in her electorate. Tuesday was a great day for our police officers and their families, and for the community, because they saw the legislation that we had put through Parliament become law. That law was, of course, the minimum mandatory sentencing legislation. That legislation will ensure that any person who wants to kick, punch and seriously injure any of our police officers will receive a minimum mandatory sentence. I have to tell members that on Tuesday, and since then, I have received many text messages and phone messages from serving police officers. I have also received a couple of messages from their family members. Mr D.A. Templeman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Is it not interesting! The member for Mandurah and the Labor Party opposed this legislation all the way through. In essence, they wanted to gut it. They did not have the guts to actually vote against it, because they did not have the guts to go up against all our police officers and their families, and members of the public. But they tried to gut this legislation in this house. They also tried to gut it in the other house. They did not actually have the guts to vote against it, because they did not want to be seen to be doing that. That is the difference. That is why we held up the legislation in this place for a while—it is because we knew what they planned to do in the other place. There is a very big difference between the Labor Party and the Liberal-National Party. We stand up for our police officers. We do what we can for them. I remind the house that it was the Liberal and National Parties in opposition that first introduced legislation to ensure that our injured police officers would be fully compensated for their medical expenses. I commend the member for Murray-Wellington for the private member’s bill that he brought in to deal with that matter. The Labor Party in government would not have a bar of that. It voted that legislation down. The Labor Party had be dragged kicking and screaming to bring in some legislation to deal with that matter. The Labor Party decided to call an opportunistic early election rather than see that legislation — Point of Order Mr M. McGOWAN : Mr Speaker, the opposition has been relatively silent. The question from the member for Kingsley was directly in relation to mandatory sentencing, not these extraneous issues. Mr R.F. Johnson : And law and order. Mr M. McGOWAN : I would hope that, under standing order 78, the minister will come back to that. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham, I take your point of order, and, minister, I do want you to return directly to the question asked by the member for Kingsley. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Certainly, Mr Speaker. Can I just explain that the member for Kingsley did not ask just about mandatory sentencing. The question did expand on that to law and order and to what this government has done for our law enforcement agencies. That was the question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know that members opposite do not like the answer. That is because they are at fault here. They went to an early election and they did not put through urgent legislation to protect our police officers. Shame on them! But, not only that, they did not listen! The Commissioner of Police went to members opposite when they were in government, and police officers went to them, and they would not listen to them. They would not listen to them when they asked for legislation to protect police officers who had been seriously injured in the line of duty. They ignored them! We did not. As I have said, we were the ones who put through legislation to ensure that injured officers would get their medical expenses paid for. Members opposite did not do that. They could not be bothered. Members opposite did not listen to the police. The Commissioner of Police went to the former government and asked for what are basically auxiliary police officers. The former government ignored that request time and again. We brought that in. We will continue to do everything we can for our brave and hardworking police officers in this state, who put their lives on the line every time they go on duty. We will do that. I just hope that at some stage the Labor Party will start to realise that our police officers are very valuable community members—and, not just them, but also their families. I have never seen such a large number of police officers demonstrate outside the steps of Parliament House as I did when the Labor Party was in government. I have never seen that in all the time I have been in this place. Our police officers know where they stand with this government. As I have said, I have received a lot of text and phone messages from serving police officers, from all ranks, and their families. They are saying, “Thank you, Rob, and can you also pass on our congratulations and our thanks to Christian”—meaning the Attorney General, of course—“and the Liberal-National government for doing that”. That is because we are the ones in this state who are standing up for the victims of crime. We are standing up for our police officers, who do a fantastic job. We will continue to do that, even though we are being frustrated by members of the Labor Party time and again. We will stand up for our police officers, and we will stand up for law and order.
Mr D.A. Templeman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Is it not interesting! The member for Mandurah and the Labor Party opposed this legislation all the way through. In essence, they wanted to gut it. They did not have the guts to actually vote against it, because they did not have the guts to go up against all our police officers and their families, and members of the public. But they tried to gut this legislation in this house. They also tried to gut it in the other house. They did not actually have the guts to vote against it, because they did not want to be seen to be doing that. That is the difference. That is why we held up the legislation in this place for a while—it is because we knew what they planned to do in the other place. There is a very big difference between the Labor Party and the Liberal-National Party. We stand up for our police officers. We do what we can for them. I remind the house that it was the Liberal and National Parties in opposition that first introduced legislation to ensure that our injured police officers would be fully compensated for their medical expenses. I commend the member for Murray-Wellington for the private member’s bill that he brought in to deal with that matter. The Labor Party in government would not have a bar of that. It voted that legislation down. The Labor Party had be dragged kicking and screaming to bring in some legislation to deal with that matter. The Labor Party decided to call an opportunistic early election rather than see that legislation — Point of Order Mr M. McGOWAN : Mr Speaker, the opposition has been relatively silent. The question from the member for Kingsley was directly in relation to mandatory sentencing, not these extraneous issues. Mr R.F. Johnson : And law and order. Mr M. McGOWAN : I would hope that, under standing order 78, the minister will come back to that. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham, I take your point of order, and, minister, I do want you to return directly to the question asked by the member for Kingsley. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Certainly, Mr Speaker. Can I just explain that the member for Kingsley did not ask just about mandatory sentencing. The question did expand on that to law and order and to what this government has done for our law enforcement agencies. That was the question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know that members opposite do not like the answer. That is because they are at fault here. They went to an early election and they did not put through urgent legislation to protect our police officers. Shame on them! But, not only that, they did not listen! The Commissioner of Police went to members opposite when they were in government, and police officers went to them, and they would not listen to them. They would not listen to them when they asked for legislation to protect police officers who had been seriously injured in the line of duty. They ignored them! We did not. As I have said, we were the ones who put through legislation to ensure that injured officers would get their medical expenses paid for. Members opposite did not do that. They could not be bothered. Members opposite did not listen to the police. The Commissioner of Police went to the former government and asked for what are basically auxiliary police officers. The former government ignored that request time and again. We brought that in. We will continue to do everything we can for our brave and hardworking police officers in this state, who put their lives on the line every time they go on duty. We will do that. I just hope that at some stage the Labor Party will start to realise that our police officers are very valuable community members—and, not just them, but also their families. I have never seen such a large number of police officers demonstrate outside the steps of Parliament House as I did when the Labor Party was in government. I have never seen that in all the time I have been in this place. Our police officers know where they stand with this government. As I have said, I have received a lot of text and phone messages from serving police officers, from all ranks, and their families. They are saying, “Thank you, Rob, and can you also pass on our congratulations and our thanks to Christian”—meaning the Attorney General, of course—“and the Liberal-National government for doing that”. That is because we are the ones in this state who are standing up for the victims of crime. We are standing up for our police officers, who do a fantastic job. We will continue to do that, even though we are being frustrated by members of the Labor Party time and again. We will stand up for our police officers, and we will stand up for law and order.
The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Is it not interesting! The member for Mandurah and the Labor Party opposed this legislation all the way through. In essence, they wanted to gut it. They did not have the guts to actually vote against it, because they did not have the guts to go up against all our police officers and their families, and members of the public. But they tried to gut this legislation in this house. They also tried to gut it in the other house. They did not actually have the guts to vote against it, because they did not want to be seen to be doing that. That is the difference. That is why we held up the legislation in this place for a while—it is because we knew what they planned to do in the other place. There is a very big difference between the Labor Party and the Liberal-National Party. We stand up for our police officers. We do what we can for them. I remind the house that it was the Liberal and National Parties in opposition that first introduced legislation to ensure that our injured police officers would be fully compensated for their medical expenses. I commend the member for Murray-Wellington for the private member’s bill that he brought in to deal with that matter. The Labor Party in government would not have a bar of that. It voted that legislation down. The Labor Party had be dragged kicking and screaming to bring in some legislation to deal with that matter. The Labor Party decided to call an opportunistic early election rather than see that legislation — Point of Order Mr M. McGOWAN : Mr Speaker, the opposition has been relatively silent. The question from the member for Kingsley was directly in relation to mandatory sentencing, not these extraneous issues. Mr R.F. Johnson : And law and order. Mr M. McGOWAN : I would hope that, under standing order 78, the minister will come back to that. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham, I take your point of order, and, minister, I do want you to return directly to the question asked by the member for Kingsley. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Certainly, Mr Speaker. Can I just explain that the member for Kingsley did not ask just about mandatory sentencing. The question did expand on that to law and order and to what this government has done for our law enforcement agencies. That was the question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know that members opposite do not like the answer. That is because they are at fault here. They went to an early election and they did not put through urgent legislation to protect our police officers. Shame on them! But, not only that, they did not listen! The Commissioner of Police went to members opposite when they were in government, and police officers went to them, and they would not listen to them. They would not listen to them when they asked for legislation to protect police officers who had been seriously injured in the line of duty. They ignored them! We did not. As I have said, we were the ones who put through legislation to ensure that injured officers would get their medical expenses paid for. Members opposite did not do that. They could not be bothered. Members opposite did not listen to the police. The Commissioner of Police went to the former government and asked for what are basically auxiliary police officers. The former government ignored that request time and again. We brought that in. We will continue to do everything we can for our brave and hardworking police officers in this state, who put their lives on the line every time they go on duty. We will do that. I just hope that at some stage the Labor Party will start to realise that our police officers are very valuable community members—and, not just them, but also their families. I have never seen such a large number of police officers demonstrate outside the steps of Parliament House as I did when the Labor Party was in government. I have never seen that in all the time I have been in this place. Our police officers know where they stand with this government. As I have said, I have received a lot of text and phone messages from serving police officers, from all ranks, and their families. They are saying, “Thank you, Rob, and can you also pass on our congratulations and our thanks to Christian”—meaning the Attorney General, of course—“and the Liberal-National government for doing that”. That is because we are the ones in this state who are standing up for the victims of crime. We are standing up for our police officers, who do a fantastic job. We will continue to do that, even though we are being frustrated by members of the Labor Party time and again. We will stand up for our police officers, and we will stand up for law and order.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Is it not interesting! The member for Mandurah and the Labor Party opposed this legislation all the way through. In essence, they wanted to gut it. They did not have the guts to actually vote against it, because they did not have the guts to go up against all our police officers and their families, and members of the public. But they tried to gut this legislation in this house. They also tried to gut it in the other house. They did not actually have the guts to vote against it, because they did not want to be seen to be doing that. That is the difference. That is why we held up the legislation in this place for a while—it is because we knew what they planned to do in the other place. There is a very big difference between the Labor Party and the Liberal-National Party. We stand up for our police officers. We do what we can for them. I remind the house that it was the Liberal and National Parties in opposition that first introduced legislation to ensure that our injured police officers would be fully compensated for their medical expenses. I commend the member for Murray-Wellington for the private member’s bill that he brought in to deal with that matter. The Labor Party in government would not have a bar of that. It voted that legislation down. The Labor Party had be dragged kicking and screaming to bring in some legislation to deal with that matter. The Labor Party decided to call an opportunistic early election rather than see that legislation — Point of Order Mr M. McGOWAN : Mr Speaker, the opposition has been relatively silent. The question from the member for Kingsley was directly in relation to mandatory sentencing, not these extraneous issues. Mr R.F. Johnson : And law and order. Mr M. McGOWAN : I would hope that, under standing order 78, the minister will come back to that. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham, I take your point of order, and, minister, I do want you to return directly to the question asked by the member for Kingsley. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Certainly, Mr Speaker. Can I just explain that the member for Kingsley did not ask just about mandatory sentencing. The question did expand on that to law and order and to what this government has done for our law enforcement agencies. That was the question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know that members opposite do not like the answer. That is because they are at fault here. They went to an early election and they did not put through urgent legislation to protect our police officers. Shame on them! But, not only that, they did not listen! The Commissioner of Police went to members opposite when they were in government, and police officers went to them, and they would not listen to them. They would not listen to them when they asked for legislation to protect police officers who had been seriously injured in the line of duty. They ignored them! We did not. As I have said, we were the ones who put through legislation to ensure that injured officers would get their medical expenses paid for. Members opposite did not do that. They could not be bothered. Members opposite did not listen to the police. The Commissioner of Police went to the former government and asked for what are basically auxiliary police officers. The former government ignored that request time and again. We brought that in. We will continue to do everything we can for our brave and hardworking police officers in this state, who put their lives on the line every time they go on duty. We will do that. I just hope that at some stage the Labor Party will start to realise that our police officers are very valuable community members—and, not just them, but also their families. I have never seen such a large number of police officers demonstrate outside the steps of Parliament House as I did when the Labor Party was in government. I have never seen that in all the time I have been in this place. Our police officers know where they stand with this government. As I have said, I have received a lot of text and phone messages from serving police officers, from all ranks, and their families. They are saying, “Thank you, Rob, and can you also pass on our congratulations and our thanks to Christian”—meaning the Attorney General, of course—“and the Liberal-National government for doing that”. That is because we are the ones in this state who are standing up for the victims of crime. We are standing up for our police officers, who do a fantastic job. We will continue to do that, even though we are being frustrated by members of the Labor Party time and again. We will stand up for our police officers, and we will stand up for law and order.
There is a very big difference between the Labor Party and the Liberal-National Party. We stand up for our police officers. We do what we can for them. I remind the house that it was the Liberal and National Parties in opposition that first introduced legislation to ensure that our injured police officers would be fully compensated for their medical expenses. I commend the member for Murray-Wellington for the private member’s bill that he brought in to deal with that matter. The Labor Party in government would not have a bar of that. It voted that legislation down. The Labor Party had be dragged kicking and screaming to bring in some legislation to deal with that matter. The Labor Party decided to call an opportunistic early election rather than see that legislation — Point of Order Mr M. McGOWAN : Mr Speaker, the opposition has been relatively silent. The question from the member for Kingsley was directly in relation to mandatory sentencing, not these extraneous issues. Mr R.F. Johnson : And law and order. Mr M. McGOWAN : I would hope that, under standing order 78, the minister will come back to that. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham, I take your point of order, and, minister, I do want you to return directly to the question asked by the member for Kingsley. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Certainly, Mr Speaker. Can I just explain that the member for Kingsley did not ask just about mandatory sentencing. The question did expand on that to law and order and to what this government has done for our law enforcement agencies. That was the question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know that members opposite do not like the answer. That is because they are at fault here. They went to an early election and they did not put through urgent legislation to protect our police officers. Shame on them! But, not only that, they did not listen! The Commissioner of Police went to members opposite when they were in government, and police officers went to them, and they would not listen to them. They would not listen to them when they asked for legislation to protect police officers who had been seriously injured in the line of duty. They ignored them! We did not. As I have said, we were the ones who put through legislation to ensure that injured officers would get their medical expenses paid for. Members opposite did not do that. They could not be bothered. Members opposite did not listen to the police. The Commissioner of Police went to the former government and asked for what are basically auxiliary police officers. The former government ignored that request time and again. We brought that in. We will continue to do everything we can for our brave and hardworking police officers in this state, who put their lives on the line every time they go on duty. We will do that. I just hope that at some stage the Labor Party will start to realise that our police officers are very valuable community members—and, not just them, but also their families. I have never seen such a large number of police officers demonstrate outside the steps of Parliament House as I did when the Labor Party was in government. I have never seen that in all the time I have been in this place. Our police officers know where they stand with this government. As I have said, I have received a lot of text and phone messages from serving police officers, from all ranks, and their families. They are saying, “Thank you, Rob, and can you also pass on our congratulations and our thanks to Christian”—meaning the Attorney General, of course—“and the Liberal-National government for doing that”. That is because we are the ones in this state who are standing up for the victims of crime. We are standing up for our police officers, who do a fantastic job. We will continue to do that, even though we are being frustrated by members of the Labor Party time and again. We will stand up for our police officers, and we will stand up for law and order.
Mr R.F. Johnson : And law and order. Mr M. McGOWAN : I would hope that, under standing order 78, the minister will come back to that. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham, I take your point of order, and, minister, I do want you to return directly to the question asked by the member for Kingsley. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Certainly, Mr Speaker. Can I just explain that the member for Kingsley did not ask just about mandatory sentencing. The question did expand on that to law and order and to what this government has done for our law enforcement agencies. That was the question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know that members opposite do not like the answer. That is because they are at fault here. They went to an early election and they did not put through urgent legislation to protect our police officers. Shame on them! But, not only that, they did not listen! The Commissioner of Police went to members opposite when they were in government, and police officers went to them, and they would not listen to them. They would not listen to them when they asked for legislation to protect police officers who had been seriously injured in the line of duty. They ignored them! We did not. As I have said, we were the ones who put through legislation to ensure that injured officers would get their medical expenses paid for. Members opposite did not do that. They could not be bothered. Members opposite did not listen to the police. The Commissioner of Police went to the former government and asked for what are basically auxiliary police officers. The former government ignored that request time and again. We brought that in. We will continue to do everything we can for our brave and hardworking police officers in this state, who put their lives on the line every time they go on duty. We will do that. I just hope that at some stage the Labor Party will start to realise that our police officers are very valuable community members—and, not just them, but also their families. I have never seen such a large number of police officers demonstrate outside the steps of Parliament House as I did when the Labor Party was in government. I have never seen that in all the time I have been in this place. Our police officers know where they stand with this government. As I have said, I have received a lot of text and phone messages from serving police officers, from all ranks, and their families. They are saying, “Thank you, Rob, and can you also pass on our congratulations and our thanks to Christian”—meaning the Attorney General, of course—“and the Liberal-National government for doing that”. That is because we are the ones in this state who are standing up for the victims of crime. We are standing up for our police officers, who do a fantastic job. We will continue to do that, even though we are being frustrated by members of the Labor Party time and again. We will stand up for our police officers, and we will stand up for law and order.
Mr M. McGOWAN : I would hope that, under standing order 78, the minister will come back to that. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham, I take your point of order, and, minister, I do want you to return directly to the question asked by the member for Kingsley. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Certainly, Mr Speaker. Can I just explain that the member for Kingsley did not ask just about mandatory sentencing. The question did expand on that to law and order and to what this government has done for our law enforcement agencies. That was the question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know that members opposite do not like the answer. That is because they are at fault here. They went to an early election and they did not put through urgent legislation to protect our police officers. Shame on them! But, not only that, they did not listen! The Commissioner of Police went to members opposite when they were in government, and police officers went to them, and they would not listen to them. They would not listen to them when they asked for legislation to protect police officers who had been seriously injured in the line of duty. They ignored them! We did not. As I have said, we were the ones who put through legislation to ensure that injured officers would get their medical expenses paid for. Members opposite did not do that. They could not be bothered. Members opposite did not listen to the police. The Commissioner of Police went to the former government and asked for what are basically auxiliary police officers. The former government ignored that request time and again. We brought that in. We will continue to do everything we can for our brave and hardworking police officers in this state, who put their lives on the line every time they go on duty. We will do that. I just hope that at some stage the Labor Party will start to realise that our police officers are very valuable community members—and, not just them, but also their families. I have never seen such a large number of police officers demonstrate outside the steps of Parliament House as I did when the Labor Party was in government. I have never seen that in all the time I have been in this place. Our police officers know where they stand with this government. As I have said, I have received a lot of text and phone messages from serving police officers, from all ranks, and their families. They are saying, “Thank you, Rob, and can you also pass on our congratulations and our thanks to Christian”—meaning the Attorney General, of course—“and the Liberal-National government for doing that”. That is because we are the ones in this state who are standing up for the victims of crime. We are standing up for our police officers, who do a fantastic job. We will continue to do that, even though we are being frustrated by members of the Labor Party time and again. We will stand up for our police officers, and we will stand up for law and order.
The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham, I take your point of order, and, minister, I do want you to return directly to the question asked by the member for Kingsley. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Certainly, Mr Speaker. Can I just explain that the member for Kingsley did not ask just about mandatory sentencing. The question did expand on that to law and order and to what this government has done for our law enforcement agencies. That was the question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know that members opposite do not like the answer. That is because they are at fault here. They went to an early election and they did not put through urgent legislation to protect our police officers. Shame on them! But, not only that, they did not listen! The Commissioner of Police went to members opposite when they were in government, and police officers went to them, and they would not listen to them. They would not listen to them when they asked for legislation to protect police officers who had been seriously injured in the line of duty. They ignored them! We did not. As I have said, we were the ones who put through legislation to ensure that injured officers would get their medical expenses paid for. Members opposite did not do that. They could not be bothered. Members opposite did not listen to the police. The Commissioner of Police went to the former government and asked for what are basically auxiliary police officers. The former government ignored that request time and again. We brought that in. We will continue to do everything we can for our brave and hardworking police officers in this state, who put their lives on the line every time they go on duty. We will do that. I just hope that at some stage the Labor Party will start to realise that our police officers are very valuable community members—and, not just them, but also their families. I have never seen such a large number of police officers demonstrate outside the steps of Parliament House as I did when the Labor Party was in government. I have never seen that in all the time I have been in this place. Our police officers know where they stand with this government. As I have said, I have received a lot of text and phone messages from serving police officers, from all ranks, and their families. They are saying, “Thank you, Rob, and can you also pass on our congratulations and our thanks to Christian”—meaning the Attorney General, of course—“and the Liberal-National government for doing that”. That is because we are the ones in this state who are standing up for the victims of crime. We are standing up for our police officers, who do a fantastic job. We will continue to do that, even though we are being frustrated by members of the Labor Party time and again. We will stand up for our police officers, and we will stand up for law and order.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know that members opposite do not like the answer. That is because they are at fault here. They went to an early election and they did not put through urgent legislation to protect our police officers. Shame on them! But, not only that, they did not listen! The Commissioner of Police went to members opposite when they were in government, and police officers went to them, and they would not listen to them. They would not listen to them when they asked for legislation to protect police officers who had been seriously injured in the line of duty. They ignored them! We did not. As I have said, we were the ones who put through legislation to ensure that injured officers would get their medical expenses paid for. Members opposite did not do that. They could not be bothered. Members opposite did not listen to the police. The Commissioner of Police went to the former government and asked for what are basically auxiliary police officers. The former government ignored that request time and again. We brought that in. We will continue to do everything we can for our brave and hardworking police officers in this state, who put their lives on the line every time they go on duty. We will do that. I just hope that at some stage the Labor Party will start to realise that our police officers are very valuable community members—and, not just them, but also their families. I have never seen such a large number of police officers demonstrate outside the steps of Parliament House as I did when the Labor Party was in government. I have never seen that in all the time I have been in this place. Our police officers know where they stand with this government. As I have said, I have received a lot of text and phone messages from serving police officers, from all ranks, and their families. They are saying, “Thank you, Rob, and can you also pass on our congratulations and our thanks to Christian”—meaning the Attorney General, of course—“and the Liberal-National government for doing that”. That is because we are the ones in this state who are standing up for the victims of crime. We are standing up for our police officers, who do a fantastic job. We will continue to do that, even though we are being frustrated by members of the Labor Party time and again. We will stand up for our police officers, and we will stand up for law and order.
The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know that members opposite do not like the answer. That is because they are at fault here. They went to an early election and they did not put through urgent legislation to protect our police officers. Shame on them! But, not only that, they did not listen! The Commissioner of Police went to members opposite when they were in government, and police officers went to them, and they would not listen to them. They would not listen to them when they asked for legislation to protect police officers who had been seriously injured in the line of duty. They ignored them! We did not. As I have said, we were the ones who put through legislation to ensure that injured officers would get their medical expenses paid for. Members opposite did not do that. They could not be bothered. Members opposite did not listen to the police. The Commissioner of Police went to the former government and asked for what are basically auxiliary police officers. The former government ignored that request time and again. We brought that in. We will continue to do everything we can for our brave and hardworking police officers in this state, who put their lives on the line every time they go on duty. We will do that. I just hope that at some stage the Labor Party will start to realise that our police officers are very valuable community members—and, not just them, but also their families. I have never seen such a large number of police officers demonstrate outside the steps of Parliament House as I did when the Labor Party was in government. I have never seen that in all the time I have been in this place. Our police officers know where they stand with this government. As I have said, I have received a lot of text and phone messages from serving police officers, from all ranks, and their families. They are saying, “Thank you, Rob, and can you also pass on our congratulations and our thanks to Christian”—meaning the Attorney General, of course—“and the Liberal-National government for doing that”. That is because we are the ones in this state who are standing up for the victims of crime. We are standing up for our police officers, who do a fantastic job. We will continue to do that, even though we are being frustrated by members of the Labor Party time and again. We will stand up for our police officers, and we will stand up for law and order.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know that members opposite do not like the answer. That is because they are at fault here. They went to an early election and they did not put through urgent legislation to protect our police officers. Shame on them! But, not only that, they did not listen! The Commissioner of Police went to members opposite when they were in government, and police officers went to them, and they would not listen to them. They would not listen to them when they asked for legislation to protect police officers who had been seriously injured in the line of duty. They ignored them! We did not. As I have said, we were the ones who put through legislation to ensure that injured officers would get their medical expenses paid for. Members opposite did not do that. They could not be bothered. Members opposite did not listen to the police. The Commissioner of Police went to the former government and asked for what are basically auxiliary police officers. The former government ignored that request time and again. We brought that in. We will continue to do everything we can for our brave and hardworking police officers in this state, who put their lives on the line every time they go on duty. We will do that. I just hope that at some stage the Labor Party will start to realise that our police officers are very valuable community members—and, not just them, but also their families. I have never seen such a large number of police officers demonstrate outside the steps of Parliament House as I did when the Labor Party was in government. I have never seen that in all the time I have been in this place. Our police officers know where they stand with this government. As I have said, I have received a lot of text and phone messages from serving police officers, from all ranks, and their families. They are saying, “Thank you, Rob, and can you also pass on our congratulations and our thanks to Christian”—meaning the Attorney General, of course—“and the Liberal-National government for doing that”. That is because we are the ones in this state who are standing up for the victims of crime. We are standing up for our police officers, who do a fantastic job. We will continue to do that, even though we are being frustrated by members of the Labor Party time and again. We will stand up for our police officers, and we will stand up for law and order.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON replied: I thank the member for Kingsley for the question, and for her genuine interest in law and order in our state, and in particular in her electorate. Tuesday was a great day for our police officers and their families, and for the community, because they saw the legislation that we had put through Parliament become law. That law was, of course, the minimum mandatory sentencing legislation. That legislation will ensure that any person who wants to kick, punch and seriously injure any of our police officers will receive a minimum mandatory sentence. I have to tell members that on Tuesday, and since then, I have received many text messages and phone messages from serving police officers. I have also received a couple of messages from their family members. Mr D.A. Templeman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Is it not interesting! The member for Mandurah and the Labor Party opposed this legislation all the way through. In essence, they wanted to gut it. They did not have the guts to actually vote against it, because they did not have the guts to go up against all our police officers and their families, and members of the public. But they tried to gut this legislation in this house. They also tried to gut it in the other house. They did not actually have the guts to vote against it, because they did not want to be seen to be doing that. That is the difference. That is why we held up the legislation in this place for a while—it is because we knew what they planned to do in the other place. There is a very big difference between the Labor Party and the Liberal-National Party. We stand up for our police officers. We do what we can for them. I remind the house that it was the Liberal and National Parties in opposition that first introduced legislation to ensure that our injured police officers would be fully compensated for their medical expenses. I commend the member for Murray-Wellington for the private member’s bill that he brought in to deal with that matter. The Labor Party in government would not have a bar of that. It voted that legislation down. The Labor Party had be dragged kicking and screaming to bring in some legislation to deal with that matter. The Labor Party decided to call an opportunistic early election rather than see that legislation — Point of Order Mr M. McGOWAN : Mr Speaker, the opposition has been relatively silent. The question from the member for Kingsley was directly in relation to mandatory sentencing, not these extraneous issues. Mr R.F. Johnson : And law and order. Mr M. McGOWAN : I would hope that, under standing order 78, the minister will come back to that. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham, I take your point of order, and, minister, I do want you to return directly to the question asked by the member for Kingsley. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Certainly, Mr Speaker. Can I just explain that the member for Kingsley did not ask just about mandatory sentencing. The question did expand on that to law and order and to what this government has done for our law enforcement agencies. That was the question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know that members opposite do not like the answer. That is because they are at fault here. They went to an early election and they did not put through urgent legislation to protect our police officers. Shame on them! But, not only that, they did not listen! The Commissioner of Police went to members opposite when they were in government, and police officers went to them, and they would not listen to them. They would not listen to them when they asked for legislation to protect police officers who had been seriously injured in the line of duty. They ignored them! We did not. As I have said, we were the ones who put through legislation to ensure that injured officers would get their medical expenses paid for. Members opposite did not do that. They could not be bothered. Members opposite did not listen to the police. The Commissioner of Police went to the former government and asked for what are basically auxiliary police officers. The former government ignored that request time and again. We brought that in. We will continue to do everything we can for our brave and hardworking police officers in this state, who put their lives on the line every time they go on duty. We will do that. I just hope that at some stage the Labor Party will start to realise that our police officers are very valuable community members—and, not just them, but also their families. I have never seen such a large number of police officers demonstrate outside the steps of Parliament House as I did when the Labor Party was in government. I have never seen that in all the time I have been in this place. Our police officers know where they stand with this government. As I have said, I have received a lot of text and phone messages from serving police officers, from all ranks, and their families. They are saying, “Thank you, Rob, and can you also pass on our congratulations and our thanks to Christian”—meaning the Attorney General, of course—“and the Liberal-National government for doing that”. That is because we are the ones in this state who are standing up for the victims of crime. We are standing up for our police officers, who do a fantastic job. We will continue to do that, even though we are being frustrated by members of the Labor Party time and again. We will stand up for our police officers, and we will stand up for law and order.
I thank the member for Kingsley for the question, and for her genuine interest in law and order in our state, and in particular in her electorate. Tuesday was a great day for our police officers and their families, and for the community, because they saw the legislation that we had put through Parliament become law. That law was, of course, the minimum mandatory sentencing legislation. That legislation will ensure that any person who wants to kick, punch and seriously injure any of our police officers will receive a minimum mandatory sentence. I have to tell members that on Tuesday, and since then, I have received many text messages and phone messages from serving police officers. I have also received a couple of messages from their family members. Mr D.A. Templeman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Is it not interesting! The member for Mandurah and the Labor Party opposed this legislation all the way through. In essence, they wanted to gut it. They did not have the guts to actually vote against it, because they did not have the guts to go up against all our police officers and their families, and members of the public. But they tried to gut this legislation in this house. They also tried to gut it in the other house. They did not actually have the guts to vote against it, because they did not want to be seen to be doing that. That is the difference. That is why we held up the legislation in this place for a while—it is because we knew what they planned to do in the other place. There is a very big difference between the Labor Party and the Liberal-National Party. We stand up for our police officers. We do what we can for them. I remind the house that it was the Liberal and National Parties in opposition that first introduced legislation to ensure that our injured police officers would be fully compensated for their medical expenses. I commend the member for Murray-Wellington for the private member’s bill that he brought in to deal with that matter. The Labor Party in government would not have a bar of that. It voted that legislation down. The Labor Party had be dragged kicking and screaming to bring in some legislation to deal with that matter. The Labor Party decided to call an opportunistic early election rather than see that legislation — Point of Order Mr M. McGOWAN : Mr Speaker, the opposition has been relatively silent. The question from the member for Kingsley was directly in relation to mandatory sentencing, not these extraneous issues. Mr R.F. Johnson : And law and order. Mr M. McGOWAN : I would hope that, under standing order 78, the minister will come back to that. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham, I take your point of order, and, minister, I do want you to return directly to the question asked by the member for Kingsley. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Certainly, Mr Speaker. Can I just explain that the member for Kingsley did not ask just about mandatory sentencing. The question did expand on that to law and order and to what this government has done for our law enforcement agencies. That was the question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know that members opposite do not like the answer. That is because they are at fault here. They went to an early election and they did not put through urgent legislation to protect our police officers. Shame on them! But, not only that, they did not listen! The Commissioner of Police went to members opposite when they were in government, and police officers went to them, and they would not listen to them. They would not listen to them when they asked for legislation to protect police officers who had been seriously injured in the line of duty. They ignored them! We did not. As I have said, we were the ones who put through legislation to ensure that injured officers would get their medical expenses paid for. Members opposite did not do that. They could not be bothered. Members opposite did not listen to the police. The Commissioner of Police went to the former government and asked for what are basically auxiliary police officers. The former government ignored that request time and again. We brought that in. We will continue to do everything we can for our brave and hardworking police officers in this state, who put their lives on the line every time they go on duty. We will do that. I just hope that at some stage the Labor Party will start to realise that our police officers are very valuable community members—and, not just them, but also their families. I have never seen such a large number of police officers demonstrate outside the steps of Parliament House as I did when the Labor Party was in government. I have never seen that in all the time I have been in this place. Our police officers know where they stand with this government. As I have said, I have received a lot of text and phone messages from serving police officers, from all ranks, and their families. They are saying, “Thank you, Rob, and can you also pass on our congratulations and our thanks to Christian”—meaning the Attorney General, of course—“and the Liberal-National government for doing that”. That is because we are the ones in this state who are standing up for the victims of crime. We are standing up for our police officers, who do a fantastic job. We will continue to do that, even though we are being frustrated by members of the Labor Party time and again. We will stand up for our police officers, and we will stand up for law and order.
Mr D.A. Templeman interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Is it not interesting! The member for Mandurah and the Labor Party opposed this legislation all the way through. In essence, they wanted to gut it. They did not have the guts to actually vote against it, because they did not have the guts to go up against all our police officers and their families, and members of the public. But they tried to gut this legislation in this house. They also tried to gut it in the other house. They did not actually have the guts to vote against it, because they did not want to be seen to be doing that. That is the difference. That is why we held up the legislation in this place for a while—it is because we knew what they planned to do in the other place. There is a very big difference between the Labor Party and the Liberal-National Party. We stand up for our police officers. We do what we can for them. I remind the house that it was the Liberal and National Parties in opposition that first introduced legislation to ensure that our injured police officers would be fully compensated for their medical expenses. I commend the member for Murray-Wellington for the private member’s bill that he brought in to deal with that matter. The Labor Party in government would not have a bar of that. It voted that legislation down. The Labor Party had be dragged kicking and screaming to bring in some legislation to deal with that matter. The Labor Party decided to call an opportunistic early election rather than see that legislation — Point of Order Mr M. McGOWAN : Mr Speaker, the opposition has been relatively silent. The question from the member for Kingsley was directly in relation to mandatory sentencing, not these extraneous issues. Mr R.F. Johnson : And law and order. Mr M. McGOWAN : I would hope that, under standing order 78, the minister will come back to that. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham, I take your point of order, and, minister, I do want you to return directly to the question asked by the member for Kingsley. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Certainly, Mr Speaker. Can I just explain that the member for Kingsley did not ask just about mandatory sentencing. The question did expand on that to law and order and to what this government has done for our law enforcement agencies. That was the question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know that members opposite do not like the answer. That is because they are at fault here. They went to an early election and they did not put through urgent legislation to protect our police officers. Shame on them! But, not only that, they did not listen! The Commissioner of Police went to members opposite when they were in government, and police officers went to them, and they would not listen to them. They would not listen to them when they asked for legislation to protect police officers who had been seriously injured in the line of duty. They ignored them! We did not. As I have said, we were the ones who put through legislation to ensure that injured officers would get their medical expenses paid for. Members opposite did not do that. They could not be bothered. Members opposite did not listen to the police. The Commissioner of Police went to the former government and asked for what are basically auxiliary police officers. The former government ignored that request time and again. We brought that in. We will continue to do everything we can for our brave and hardworking police officers in this state, who put their lives on the line every time they go on duty. We will do that. I just hope that at some stage the Labor Party will start to realise that our police officers are very valuable community members—and, not just them, but also their families. I have never seen such a large number of police officers demonstrate outside the steps of Parliament House as I did when the Labor Party was in government. I have never seen that in all the time I have been in this place. Our police officers know where they stand with this government. As I have said, I have received a lot of text and phone messages from serving police officers, from all ranks, and their families. They are saying, “Thank you, Rob, and can you also pass on our congratulations and our thanks to Christian”—meaning the Attorney General, of course—“and the Liberal-National government for doing that”. That is because we are the ones in this state who are standing up for the victims of crime. We are standing up for our police officers, who do a fantastic job. We will continue to do that, even though we are being frustrated by members of the Labor Party time and again. We will stand up for our police officers, and we will stand up for law and order.
The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Is it not interesting! The member for Mandurah and the Labor Party opposed this legislation all the way through. In essence, they wanted to gut it. They did not have the guts to actually vote against it, because they did not have the guts to go up against all our police officers and their families, and members of the public. But they tried to gut this legislation in this house. They also tried to gut it in the other house. They did not actually have the guts to vote against it, because they did not want to be seen to be doing that. That is the difference. That is why we held up the legislation in this place for a while—it is because we knew what they planned to do in the other place. There is a very big difference between the Labor Party and the Liberal-National Party. We stand up for our police officers. We do what we can for them. I remind the house that it was the Liberal and National Parties in opposition that first introduced legislation to ensure that our injured police officers would be fully compensated for their medical expenses. I commend the member for Murray-Wellington for the private member’s bill that he brought in to deal with that matter. The Labor Party in government would not have a bar of that. It voted that legislation down. The Labor Party had be dragged kicking and screaming to bring in some legislation to deal with that matter. The Labor Party decided to call an opportunistic early election rather than see that legislation — Point of Order Mr M. McGOWAN : Mr Speaker, the opposition has been relatively silent. The question from the member for Kingsley was directly in relation to mandatory sentencing, not these extraneous issues. Mr R.F. Johnson : And law and order. Mr M. McGOWAN : I would hope that, under standing order 78, the minister will come back to that. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham, I take your point of order, and, minister, I do want you to return directly to the question asked by the member for Kingsley. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Certainly, Mr Speaker. Can I just explain that the member for Kingsley did not ask just about mandatory sentencing. The question did expand on that to law and order and to what this government has done for our law enforcement agencies. That was the question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know that members opposite do not like the answer. That is because they are at fault here. They went to an early election and they did not put through urgent legislation to protect our police officers. Shame on them! But, not only that, they did not listen! The Commissioner of Police went to members opposite when they were in government, and police officers went to them, and they would not listen to them. They would not listen to them when they asked for legislation to protect police officers who had been seriously injured in the line of duty. They ignored them! We did not. As I have said, we were the ones who put through legislation to ensure that injured officers would get their medical expenses paid for. Members opposite did not do that. They could not be bothered. Members opposite did not listen to the police. The Commissioner of Police went to the former government and asked for what are basically auxiliary police officers. The former government ignored that request time and again. We brought that in. We will continue to do everything we can for our brave and hardworking police officers in this state, who put their lives on the line every time they go on duty. We will do that. I just hope that at some stage the Labor Party will start to realise that our police officers are very valuable community members—and, not just them, but also their families. I have never seen such a large number of police officers demonstrate outside the steps of Parliament House as I did when the Labor Party was in government. I have never seen that in all the time I have been in this place. Our police officers know where they stand with this government. As I have said, I have received a lot of text and phone messages from serving police officers, from all ranks, and their families. They are saying, “Thank you, Rob, and can you also pass on our congratulations and our thanks to Christian”—meaning the Attorney General, of course—“and the Liberal-National government for doing that”. That is because we are the ones in this state who are standing up for the victims of crime. We are standing up for our police officers, who do a fantastic job. We will continue to do that, even though we are being frustrated by members of the Labor Party time and again. We will stand up for our police officers, and we will stand up for law and order.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Is it not interesting! The member for Mandurah and the Labor Party opposed this legislation all the way through. In essence, they wanted to gut it. They did not have the guts to actually vote against it, because they did not have the guts to go up against all our police officers and their families, and members of the public. But they tried to gut this legislation in this house. They also tried to gut it in the other house. They did not actually have the guts to vote against it, because they did not want to be seen to be doing that. That is the difference. That is why we held up the legislation in this place for a while—it is because we knew what they planned to do in the other place. There is a very big difference between the Labor Party and the Liberal-National Party. We stand up for our police officers. We do what we can for them. I remind the house that it was the Liberal and National Parties in opposition that first introduced legislation to ensure that our injured police officers would be fully compensated for their medical expenses. I commend the member for Murray-Wellington for the private member’s bill that he brought in to deal with that matter. The Labor Party in government would not have a bar of that. It voted that legislation down. The Labor Party had be dragged kicking and screaming to bring in some legislation to deal with that matter. The Labor Party decided to call an opportunistic early election rather than see that legislation — Point of Order Mr M. McGOWAN : Mr Speaker, the opposition has been relatively silent. The question from the member for Kingsley was directly in relation to mandatory sentencing, not these extraneous issues. Mr R.F. Johnson : And law and order. Mr M. McGOWAN : I would hope that, under standing order 78, the minister will come back to that. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham, I take your point of order, and, minister, I do want you to return directly to the question asked by the member for Kingsley. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Certainly, Mr Speaker. Can I just explain that the member for Kingsley did not ask just about mandatory sentencing. The question did expand on that to law and order and to what this government has done for our law enforcement agencies. That was the question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know that members opposite do not like the answer. That is because they are at fault here. They went to an early election and they did not put through urgent legislation to protect our police officers. Shame on them! But, not only that, they did not listen! The Commissioner of Police went to members opposite when they were in government, and police officers went to them, and they would not listen to them. They would not listen to them when they asked for legislation to protect police officers who had been seriously injured in the line of duty. They ignored them! We did not. As I have said, we were the ones who put through legislation to ensure that injured officers would get their medical expenses paid for. Members opposite did not do that. They could not be bothered. Members opposite did not listen to the police. The Commissioner of Police went to the former government and asked for what are basically auxiliary police officers. The former government ignored that request time and again. We brought that in. We will continue to do everything we can for our brave and hardworking police officers in this state, who put their lives on the line every time they go on duty. We will do that. I just hope that at some stage the Labor Party will start to realise that our police officers are very valuable community members—and, not just them, but also their families. I have never seen such a large number of police officers demonstrate outside the steps of Parliament House as I did when the Labor Party was in government. I have never seen that in all the time I have been in this place. Our police officers know where they stand with this government. As I have said, I have received a lot of text and phone messages from serving police officers, from all ranks, and their families. They are saying, “Thank you, Rob, and can you also pass on our congratulations and our thanks to Christian”—meaning the Attorney General, of course—“and the Liberal-National government for doing that”. That is because we are the ones in this state who are standing up for the victims of crime. We are standing up for our police officers, who do a fantastic job. We will continue to do that, even though we are being frustrated by members of the Labor Party time and again. We will stand up for our police officers, and we will stand up for law and order.
There is a very big difference between the Labor Party and the Liberal-National Party. We stand up for our police officers. We do what we can for them. I remind the house that it was the Liberal and National Parties in opposition that first introduced legislation to ensure that our injured police officers would be fully compensated for their medical expenses. I commend the member for Murray-Wellington for the private member’s bill that he brought in to deal with that matter. The Labor Party in government would not have a bar of that. It voted that legislation down. The Labor Party had be dragged kicking and screaming to bring in some legislation to deal with that matter. The Labor Party decided to call an opportunistic early election rather than see that legislation — Point of Order Mr M. McGOWAN : Mr Speaker, the opposition has been relatively silent. The question from the member for Kingsley was directly in relation to mandatory sentencing, not these extraneous issues. Mr R.F. Johnson : And law and order. Mr M. McGOWAN : I would hope that, under standing order 78, the minister will come back to that. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham, I take your point of order, and, minister, I do want you to return directly to the question asked by the member for Kingsley. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Certainly, Mr Speaker. Can I just explain that the member for Kingsley did not ask just about mandatory sentencing. The question did expand on that to law and order and to what this government has done for our law enforcement agencies. That was the question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know that members opposite do not like the answer. That is because they are at fault here. They went to an early election and they did not put through urgent legislation to protect our police officers. Shame on them! But, not only that, they did not listen! The Commissioner of Police went to members opposite when they were in government, and police officers went to them, and they would not listen to them. They would not listen to them when they asked for legislation to protect police officers who had been seriously injured in the line of duty. They ignored them! We did not. As I have said, we were the ones who put through legislation to ensure that injured officers would get their medical expenses paid for. Members opposite did not do that. They could not be bothered. Members opposite did not listen to the police. The Commissioner of Police went to the former government and asked for what are basically auxiliary police officers. The former government ignored that request time and again. We brought that in. We will continue to do everything we can for our brave and hardworking police officers in this state, who put their lives on the line every time they go on duty. We will do that. I just hope that at some stage the Labor Party will start to realise that our police officers are very valuable community members—and, not just them, but also their families. I have never seen such a large number of police officers demonstrate outside the steps of Parliament House as I did when the Labor Party was in government. I have never seen that in all the time I have been in this place. Our police officers know where they stand with this government. As I have said, I have received a lot of text and phone messages from serving police officers, from all ranks, and their families. They are saying, “Thank you, Rob, and can you also pass on our congratulations and our thanks to Christian”—meaning the Attorney General, of course—“and the Liberal-National government for doing that”. That is because we are the ones in this state who are standing up for the victims of crime. We are standing up for our police officers, who do a fantastic job. We will continue to do that, even though we are being frustrated by members of the Labor Party time and again. We will stand up for our police officers, and we will stand up for law and order.
Mr R.F. Johnson : And law and order. Mr M. McGOWAN : I would hope that, under standing order 78, the minister will come back to that. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham, I take your point of order, and, minister, I do want you to return directly to the question asked by the member for Kingsley. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Certainly, Mr Speaker. Can I just explain that the member for Kingsley did not ask just about mandatory sentencing. The question did expand on that to law and order and to what this government has done for our law enforcement agencies. That was the question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know that members opposite do not like the answer. That is because they are at fault here. They went to an early election and they did not put through urgent legislation to protect our police officers. Shame on them! But, not only that, they did not listen! The Commissioner of Police went to members opposite when they were in government, and police officers went to them, and they would not listen to them. They would not listen to them when they asked for legislation to protect police officers who had been seriously injured in the line of duty. They ignored them! We did not. As I have said, we were the ones who put through legislation to ensure that injured officers would get their medical expenses paid for. Members opposite did not do that. They could not be bothered. Members opposite did not listen to the police. The Commissioner of Police went to the former government and asked for what are basically auxiliary police officers. The former government ignored that request time and again. We brought that in. We will continue to do everything we can for our brave and hardworking police officers in this state, who put their lives on the line every time they go on duty. We will do that. I just hope that at some stage the Labor Party will start to realise that our police officers are very valuable community members—and, not just them, but also their families. I have never seen such a large number of police officers demonstrate outside the steps of Parliament House as I did when the Labor Party was in government. I have never seen that in all the time I have been in this place. Our police officers know where they stand with this government. As I have said, I have received a lot of text and phone messages from serving police officers, from all ranks, and their families. They are saying, “Thank you, Rob, and can you also pass on our congratulations and our thanks to Christian”—meaning the Attorney General, of course—“and the Liberal-National government for doing that”. That is because we are the ones in this state who are standing up for the victims of crime. We are standing up for our police officers, who do a fantastic job. We will continue to do that, even though we are being frustrated by members of the Labor Party time and again. We will stand up for our police officers, and we will stand up for law and order.
Mr M. McGOWAN : I would hope that, under standing order 78, the minister will come back to that. The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham, I take your point of order, and, minister, I do want you to return directly to the question asked by the member for Kingsley. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Certainly, Mr Speaker. Can I just explain that the member for Kingsley did not ask just about mandatory sentencing. The question did expand on that to law and order and to what this government has done for our law enforcement agencies. That was the question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know that members opposite do not like the answer. That is because they are at fault here. They went to an early election and they did not put through urgent legislation to protect our police officers. Shame on them! But, not only that, they did not listen! The Commissioner of Police went to members opposite when they were in government, and police officers went to them, and they would not listen to them. They would not listen to them when they asked for legislation to protect police officers who had been seriously injured in the line of duty. They ignored them! We did not. As I have said, we were the ones who put through legislation to ensure that injured officers would get their medical expenses paid for. Members opposite did not do that. They could not be bothered. Members opposite did not listen to the police. The Commissioner of Police went to the former government and asked for what are basically auxiliary police officers. The former government ignored that request time and again. We brought that in. We will continue to do everything we can for our brave and hardworking police officers in this state, who put their lives on the line every time they go on duty. We will do that. I just hope that at some stage the Labor Party will start to realise that our police officers are very valuable community members—and, not just them, but also their families. I have never seen such a large number of police officers demonstrate outside the steps of Parliament House as I did when the Labor Party was in government. I have never seen that in all the time I have been in this place. Our police officers know where they stand with this government. As I have said, I have received a lot of text and phone messages from serving police officers, from all ranks, and their families. They are saying, “Thank you, Rob, and can you also pass on our congratulations and our thanks to Christian”—meaning the Attorney General, of course—“and the Liberal-National government for doing that”. That is because we are the ones in this state who are standing up for the victims of crime. We are standing up for our police officers, who do a fantastic job. We will continue to do that, even though we are being frustrated by members of the Labor Party time and again. We will stand up for our police officers, and we will stand up for law and order.
The SPEAKER : Member for Rockingham, I take your point of order, and, minister, I do want you to return directly to the question asked by the member for Kingsley. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr R.F. JOHNSON : Certainly, Mr Speaker. Can I just explain that the member for Kingsley did not ask just about mandatory sentencing. The question did expand on that to law and order and to what this government has done for our law enforcement agencies. That was the question. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know that members opposite do not like the answer. That is because they are at fault here. They went to an early election and they did not put through urgent legislation to protect our police officers. Shame on them! But, not only that, they did not listen! The Commissioner of Police went to members opposite when they were in government, and police officers went to them, and they would not listen to them. They would not listen to them when they asked for legislation to protect police officers who had been seriously injured in the line of duty. They ignored them! We did not. As I have said, we were the ones who put through legislation to ensure that injured officers would get their medical expenses paid for. Members opposite did not do that. They could not be bothered. Members opposite did not listen to the police. The Commissioner of Police went to the former government and asked for what are basically auxiliary police officers. The former government ignored that request time and again. We brought that in. We will continue to do everything we can for our brave and hardworking police officers in this state, who put their lives on the line every time they go on duty. We will do that. I just hope that at some stage the Labor Party will start to realise that our police officers are very valuable community members—and, not just them, but also their families. I have never seen such a large number of police officers demonstrate outside the steps of Parliament House as I did when the Labor Party was in government. I have never seen that in all the time I have been in this place. Our police officers know where they stand with this government. As I have said, I have received a lot of text and phone messages from serving police officers, from all ranks, and their families. They are saying, “Thank you, Rob, and can you also pass on our congratulations and our thanks to Christian”—meaning the Attorney General, of course—“and the Liberal-National government for doing that”. That is because we are the ones in this state who are standing up for the victims of crime. We are standing up for our police officers, who do a fantastic job. We will continue to do that, even though we are being frustrated by members of the Labor Party time and again. We will stand up for our police officers, and we will stand up for law and order.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know that members opposite do not like the answer. That is because they are at fault here. They went to an early election and they did not put through urgent legislation to protect our police officers. Shame on them! But, not only that, they did not listen! The Commissioner of Police went to members opposite when they were in government, and police officers went to them, and they would not listen to them. They would not listen to them when they asked for legislation to protect police officers who had been seriously injured in the line of duty. They ignored them! We did not. As I have said, we were the ones who put through legislation to ensure that injured officers would get their medical expenses paid for. Members opposite did not do that. They could not be bothered. Members opposite did not listen to the police. The Commissioner of Police went to the former government and asked for what are basically auxiliary police officers. The former government ignored that request time and again. We brought that in. We will continue to do everything we can for our brave and hardworking police officers in this state, who put their lives on the line every time they go on duty. We will do that. I just hope that at some stage the Labor Party will start to realise that our police officers are very valuable community members—and, not just them, but also their families. I have never seen such a large number of police officers demonstrate outside the steps of Parliament House as I did when the Labor Party was in government. I have never seen that in all the time I have been in this place. Our police officers know where they stand with this government. As I have said, I have received a lot of text and phone messages from serving police officers, from all ranks, and their families. They are saying, “Thank you, Rob, and can you also pass on our congratulations and our thanks to Christian”—meaning the Attorney General, of course—“and the Liberal-National government for doing that”. That is because we are the ones in this state who are standing up for the victims of crime. We are standing up for our police officers, who do a fantastic job. We will continue to do that, even though we are being frustrated by members of the Labor Party time and again. We will stand up for our police officers, and we will stand up for law and order.
The SPEAKER : Order! Thank you, members. Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know that members opposite do not like the answer. That is because they are at fault here. They went to an early election and they did not put through urgent legislation to protect our police officers. Shame on them! But, not only that, they did not listen! The Commissioner of Police went to members opposite when they were in government, and police officers went to them, and they would not listen to them. They would not listen to them when they asked for legislation to protect police officers who had been seriously injured in the line of duty. They ignored them! We did not. As I have said, we were the ones who put through legislation to ensure that injured officers would get their medical expenses paid for. Members opposite did not do that. They could not be bothered. Members opposite did not listen to the police. The Commissioner of Police went to the former government and asked for what are basically auxiliary police officers. The former government ignored that request time and again. We brought that in. We will continue to do everything we can for our brave and hardworking police officers in this state, who put their lives on the line every time they go on duty. We will do that. I just hope that at some stage the Labor Party will start to realise that our police officers are very valuable community members—and, not just them, but also their families. I have never seen such a large number of police officers demonstrate outside the steps of Parliament House as I did when the Labor Party was in government. I have never seen that in all the time I have been in this place. Our police officers know where they stand with this government. As I have said, I have received a lot of text and phone messages from serving police officers, from all ranks, and their families. They are saying, “Thank you, Rob, and can you also pass on our congratulations and our thanks to Christian”—meaning the Attorney General, of course—“and the Liberal-National government for doing that”. That is because we are the ones in this state who are standing up for the victims of crime. We are standing up for our police officers, who do a fantastic job. We will continue to do that, even though we are being frustrated by members of the Labor Party time and again. We will stand up for our police officers, and we will stand up for law and order.
Mr R.F. JOHNSON : I know that members opposite do not like the answer. That is because they are at fault here. They went to an early election and they did not put through urgent legislation to protect our police officers. Shame on them! But, not only that, they did not listen! The Commissioner of Police went to members opposite when they were in government, and police officers went to them, and they would not listen to them. They would not listen to them when they asked for legislation to protect police officers who had been seriously injured in the line of duty. They ignored them! We did not. As I have said, we were the ones who put through legislation to ensure that injured officers would get their medical expenses paid for. Members opposite did not do that. They could not be bothered. Members opposite did not listen to the police. The Commissioner of Police went to the former government and asked for what are basically auxiliary police officers. The former government ignored that request time and again. We brought that in. We will continue to do everything we can for our brave and hardworking police officers in this state, who put their lives on the line every time they go on duty. We will do that. I just hope that at some stage the Labor Party will start to realise that our police officers are very valuable community members—and, not just them, but also their families. I have never seen such a large number of police officers demonstrate outside the steps of Parliament House as I did when the Labor Party was in government. I have never seen that in all the time I have been in this place. Our police officers know where they stand with this government. As I have said, I have received a lot of text and phone messages from serving police officers, from all ranks, and their families. They are saying, “Thank you, Rob, and can you also pass on our congratulations and our thanks to Christian”—meaning the Attorney General, of course—“and the Liberal-National government for doing that”. That is because we are the ones in this state who are standing up for the victims of crime. We are standing up for our police officers, who do a fantastic job. We will continue to do that, even though we are being frustrated by members of the Labor Party time and again. We will stand up for our police officers, and we will stand up for law and order.
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