Motion: Victoria Police Deaths

MOTION

‘VICTORIA POLICE DEATHS’.

Tuesday, 9 September 2025.

Mr NEWBURY (Brighton) (13:13):

I rise in condolence of Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart.

On walking into the Chamber today, I looked outside and saw a dark sky, and I made sure to look up because I was struck by the words of Vadim’s brother: when we look into the sky, if we see a blue sky, we know he is there. Today it is a dark sky.

For two weeks Victorians have held their breath after learning of the terrible, senseless tragedy that occurred two weeks ago, like we remember every time, as a number of Members have said, when we have lost one of the 175 officers who have been lost in service and 30 who have been murdered.

It is a dark sky today because Victorians are holding their breath. It is a dark sky because we know that the alleged murderer is still on the run and has still not been caught. So, we as Victorians grieve for the loss of these officers but also for the officer who was injured and for every officer today who is searching in the most dangerous environment on our behalf.

23,000 good Victorians put on a police uniform, and when they do – I am sure we all remember the first time we saw a police officer, looking up, probably as kids when we first saw them – that uniform represents honour, justice, community service and, as Sacha, Vadim’s brother, said, heroism and a sense of invincibility. Every time we sadly lose a member of our emergency services or police, we know that they are not invincible, these good people who put on that uniform and step out to protect each and every one of us as Victorians.

I think what is so difficult at this time, as the Premier rightly said, is that Victoria Police especially are now working at a very, very difficult time – as the Member for Caulfield said, at a time when we are seeing a sickness in our social cohesion, and not just a sickness in Victoria, as the Premier said, but one that is here nevertheless. The police are stepping out into the centre of that environment and protecting us from that sickness. I am sure every member of this place has seen over recent weeks that sickness playing out through people using images that would make us all sick, as part of those weekly protests, of the individual involved in this crime. I find it repugnant, and I think that needs to be called out.

This is the most difficult time for Victorians and for the police community, and we should take every opportunity as community representatives to remind Victoria Police and the emergency services more broadly how strongly we support everything that they do, how much they are in our thoughts every day they put on that uniform and how each and every one of them, though they are wearing their uniform of invincibility, are not but are doing that job and doing that work on behalf of all of us. They are humans; they are people – people who hurt, people who love.

The words of both of their families were so incredibly beautiful. Vadim’s mother talked about Vadim being a white butterfly that we see when we next see a white butterfly, and Lisa, Neal’s partner, talked about the fact that he had taught her to love without fear. These are the truths of these wonderful officers. On behalf of the people of Bayside, I send my sincere condolences to the family and the friends of the officers involved. Vale, Neal Thompson and Vadim de Waart-Hottart, and may their memories be a blessing.