The Hon. V.A. TARZIA (Hartley) (14:26): I, too, rise to pay my respects and pass on my
condolences following the very tragic events of the past two weeks. I rise also to acknowledge the
tremendous work of the whole South Australia Police family that are represented here today. To the
acting commissioner, representatives from PASA—Mark and your team—Police Legacy and other
representative bodies, I sincerely pass on my deepest condolences to Commissioner Stevens' family
and also the family of Brevet Sergeant Jason Doig of Lucindale.
Jason was the officer in charge of Lucindale, about 140 kilometres south of the crime scene
where these tragic events unfolded. He had been called to the property with his colleagues, Sergeant
Michael Hutchinson and Constable Rebekah Cass, as we have heard. Rebekah was thankfully
uninjured, and whilst Michael has suffered some injuries he has been able to recover. We have heard
today of the trauma that these officers will continue to experience, and that will never leave them. I
do want to thank and acknowledge the bodies that help in dealing with that. The South Australia
Police family has gone through an extraordinary amount of trauma. These people were known to
many right throughout the force, their community and the state as well.
We all understand the importance of our police force in South Australia. We know that they
work tirelessly day in, day out. To SAPOL, we say thank you for all that you do. We are sincerely
sorry for your loss. There is no more noble profession than one working in the service of others.
These officers are some of the most revered, loved and respected officers in Australia—some would
say even the world—and the courage that they display, the professionalism that they display, is
second to none.
Brevet Sergeant Jason Doig will never be forgotten. The South Australia Police officers who
have lost their lives serving our state, who have lost their lives on duty, will never be forgotten. To
the family, to the friends, to the colleagues of Brevet Sergeant Jason Doig: our thoughts and our
prayers are with you, and may he rest in peace.
